Three SOM projects have won the 2015 Architizer A+ Awards, a program that recognizes outstanding architecture in more than 90 distinct categories. In the Commercial Office – High Rise Category, One World Trade Center has been chosen as the Popular Choice Award winner. In the same category, China Merchants Tower & Woods Park has been named as the Jury Award winner. And in the Airports Category, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal 2 has been selected as the Jury Award winner. Architizer A+ Award winners will be recognized at a formal gala on May 14, 2015.
One World Trade Center recaptures the New York skyline, reasserts downtown Manhattan’s preeminence as a business center, and establishes a new civic icon for the country. Completed in 2014, the skyscraper is a memorable architectural landmark for the city and the nation — a building whose simplicity and clarity of form will remain fresh and timeless. Extending the long tradition of American ingenuity in high-rise construction, the design solution is an innovative mix of architecture, structure, urban design, safety, and sustainability. The 104-story, 1776-foot office tower is the tallest in the Western Hemisphere.
China Merchants Tower & Woods Park adds 103,000 square meters of new office and retail space to Shenzhen’s Nanshan District. The tower’s bowed and tapered form allows lower floors to slope away from the sun, decreasing the amount of solar radiation that strikes the exterior wall. The shape also distributes exterior notches that support balconies, giving tenants access to the outdoors on each level. The building’s glass curtain wall and horizontal glass fins also help to reduce solar gain. At night, the fins refract light and work in conjunction with the top of the tower to read as a beacon across Shenzhen.
Terminal 2 at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport adds 4.4 million square feet of new space to accommodate 40 million passengers per year, nearly twice as many as the building it replaces. Located in Mumbai, the building combines international and domestic passenger services under one roof, optimizing terminal operations and reducing walking distances. Inspired by the form of traditional Indian pavilions, the new four-story terminal stacks a grand “headhouse,” or central processing podium, on top of highly adaptable and modular concourses below.
Selected from thousands of submissions, two SOM projects were named finalists in two categories: Kingtown International Center (formerly Jinao Tower) in the Mixed Use Category, and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal 2 in the Architecture + Engineering category. Additionally, SOM’s Central Barangaroo planning project in Sydney, Australia, was recognized with a Special Mention in this year’s awards program.