Award

Vote for Two SOM Projects in the AIA Chicago People’s Choice Awards

Sany IROOTECH Headquarters in Guangzhou and West Bund Convention Center in Shanghai have been named finalists in the 2026 AIA Chicago Lerch Bates People’s Choice Awards. Public voting opens September 8 and continues through September 16. Vote here.


Sany IROOTECH Headquarters Dave Burk © SOM

Sany IROOTECH Headquarters | Office

Designed for Sany’s new cloud-technology venture, the Sany IROOTECH Headquarters rises as two interconnected towers in Guangzhou’s rapidly developing Pazhou business district. An expressive diagrid and internal hanging system create flexible, column-free floor plates, while a spanning elevated podium opens the site as a multi-level public destination.


West Bund Convention Center
West Bund Convention Center Dave Burk © SOM

West Bund Convention Center | Community & Civic

Positioned along Shanghai’s Huangpu River, the West Bund Convention Center brings a new civic venue for global exchange to the city’s emerging “AI Valley.” Its diamond-like form was developed through an AI-assisted, multi-objective optimization workflow, resulting in a compact building that stacks major event spaces vertically, preserves the ground plane for landscaped public space, and extends the West Bund’s riverfront green corridor.


Voting is open from September 8 through September 16 at 11:59pm.