On September 12, 2018, Mayor Tim Mahoney of Fargo, North Dakota, joined local civic and business leaders to break ground on Block 9, an 18-story mixed-use tower in the heart of downtown Fargo. The building is designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) and developed by Block 9 Partners, a partnership of Kilbourne Group and R.D. Offutt Company.
On August 16th, 2018, the University of California, Merced hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the first phase of the 2020 Project. The four-year project will add approximately 1.2 million gross square feet of teaching, research, residential, and student-support facilities to the existing campus.
NASA has named Northwestern University and SOM as one of the five leading teams in the latest phase of the agency’s 3D-Printed Habitat Centennial Challenge competition. Launched in 2014, the competition invites research teams from around the world to design habitats for space exploration.
On June 30th, 2018, the MAK Center for Art and Architecture and SOM opened "Poetic Structure: Art + Engineering + Architecture." The exhibition in Los Angeles celebrates the interconnected qualities of architecture, engineering, and the visual arts.
On May 19th, 2018, All Aboard Florida’s Brightline debuted introductory service into MiamiCentral, the new 11-acre mixed-use, intermodal development in downtown Miami. Brightline’s three stations—Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Miami, each planned and designed by SOM—are now in full operation.
A new exhibition in Venice features SOM's groundbreaking work in architecture and structural engineering. Presented at the European Cultural Centre, "Time Space Existence" is a collateral exhibition of the 2018 Venice Biennale of Architecture.
Optimo Hat Company's new headquarters consolidates design, operations, and production spaces inside a 100-year-old decommissioned firehouse in South Chicago. To reflect Optimo’s ethos of craftsmanship, authenticity, and timeless luxury, SOM created a space that befits a hatmaker known for its rigorous attention to detail.
SOM is pleased to release designs for the Hangzhou Wangchao Center, a tower slated for completion in 2021. The project will add more than 100,000 square meters of office, hotel, and retail space to the rapidly expanding region of Hangzhou, China.
A team that includes SOM and is led by Bouygues Immobilier UrbanEra has been selected for the Charenton-Bercy redevelopment project in eastern Paris. Bringing new connections to the district, the proposal includes a sustainable 180-meter-tall tower and a tech hub housed in a circular building.
3/12/18
Events, People, Press Releases
On March 13th, 2018, the 360 Chicago Observation Deck at 875 N. Michigan (formerly John Hancock Center) will unveil SOM's design for the building's second time capsule. Designed to be installed for the next 50 years, the new time capsule will replace the original, which was installed in 1968.
SOM is pleased to announce the release of The Future of Public Space, a collection of essays on the spiritual, virtual, and social futures of public space. The second volume in the SOM Thinkers series, the book poses provocative questions about design and architecture from perspectives outside its professional culture.
On January 28th, 2018, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was joined by civic officials to break ground on the SOM-designed Taylor Street Apartments and Roosevelt Branch Library. Mayor Emanuel also announced a new SOM-designed Public Library branch in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood.
A jury of leading voices in architecture has selected the winners of the #SOMinChicago Instagram contest. Nick Ulivieri and Laurie Shannon won first and second prize for their shots of the John Hancock Center, and Ian Liu was awarded third prize for his photo of the Willis Tower.
AIA has announced the 2018 recipients of the Institute Honor Awards, which recognize excellence and distinction in architecture, urban design, and interior architecture. Two SOM projects were honored: the New United States Courthouse in Los Angeles and the Chinatown Branch of the Chicago Public Library.
Geffen Hall at the University of California, Los Angeles has been awarded LEED® Platinum certification. The educational facility serves as a gateway for the David Geffen School of Medicine and the UCLA campus as a whole.
