Over the next two weeks, ArchDaily readers get to choose the best architecture of the past year by voting for their favorite projects across 15 different categories. Six SOM projects are nominated for the 2021 Building of the Year Award.
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Each year, the Chicago Tribune recognizes standout individuals for contributions to the arts. The 2020 Chicagoans of the Year in architecture are SOM's Adam Semel and Brian Lee, alongside KOO founder and principal Jackie Koo, for the adaptive reuse of the former Cook County Hospital.
SOM transformed the historic Beaux-Arts landmark on Chicago's West Side into a multi-use space that better serves the community. Architecture critic Blair Kamin celebrates the achievement in the Tribune's Best of 2020 list.
Vacant for decades, the former Cook County Hospital has been transformed into a hotel, food hall, medical office, and community spaces by SOM.
The rehabilitation of the long-vacant Cook County Hospital has revived the 1914 Beaux-Arts building and its surrounding district in Chicago's Near West Side. The SOM-led design-build team carefully restored, and adapted the former hospital building to meet the changing needs of the neighborhood.