SOM has made the 2026 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in Architecture. Ranked 10th on this year’s list, SOM has been recognized for “incubating the innovation ecosystem.” By partnering with pioneers like Energy Vault, Prometheus Materials, and Idealab Arizona, we are moving beyond traditional design to solve the most pressing challenges in the built environment, including reimagining clean energy storage and developing algae-based bio-concrete.

Concrete is among the world’s most widely used materials, and its carbon footprint is a global challenge. To address this, we developed Bio-concrete in conjunction with Prometheus as a construction material that absorbs carbon—forming the basis for carbon-negative buildings. We recently partnered with the International Masonry Institute to test the material’s real-world feasibility. By enlisting expert masons to work with these bio-blocks as traditional CMUs, we’re ensuring that sustainable innovation is as practical as it is radical.

Reporting for Fast Company, Nate Berg writes, “These investments, and others in the works, could radically redefine the buildings that make up city skylines.”