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AIA Chicago Recognizes High Quality Architecture with Annual Design Excellence Awards

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The Chicago chapter of the AIA has announced its annual Design Excellence Awards. Thirty-three projects were honored for their design ingenuity across four different categories, which include Distinguished Building, Divine Detail, Interior Architecture and Unbuilt FORWARD—a newly added category that recognizes architectural design for projects that will not see completion but put a focus on relevant social, … Continued

Carlos Madrid III Selected as Juror for Contract Magazine’s 40th Annual Interiors Awards

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SOM’s Carlos Madrid III has been selected as one of the jurors for the 40th Annual Interiors Awards presented by Contract magazine. The awards program honors projects across 16 professional project categories, including one category for student design projects. Award winners will be published in the January/February 2019 issue of Contract magazine and honored at … Continued

Carlos Madrid III Attends Contract Design Forum

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In October 2018, SOM senior designer Carlos Madrid III attended Contract Magazine’s annual Design Forum. The gathering brings together members of the magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board with real estate professionals. The board includes national leaders in the design of workplace, healthcare, hospitality, education, and retail architecture and interiors. The two-day event took place at The … Continued

SOM Wins S.L.A.M. League Softball Championship

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On Monday, October 1st, SOM won New York’s S.L.A.M. Softball League championship. As day turned to dusk at the unlit Heckscher Field in Central Park, SOM defeated Robert A.M. Stern Architects in Game 2 of the best-of-3 series. The final score was 8-3. SOM narrowly took Game 1 by a score of 7-5. The 2018 … Continued

SOM Restores Iconic Chicago Skyway Toll Plaza to Original Midcentury Glory

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Described as “ultra-modern” in 1958 when it first opened, the Chicago Skyway toll plaza connecting the Indiana Toll Road to Illinois’s Dan Ryan Expressway had devolved into anything but in recent years. The iconic gateway to the city was in need of modernization, notably new solutions to help drivers and reduce the confusion that caused … Continued

Check Out This 103-Year-Old Beverly Firehouse-Turned-Hat Making Workshop

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A Beverly fire station that was transformed into a hat-making workshop has won an award. Chicago-based Optimo has a celebrity following, with its fans including actor Johnny Depp and musician Jack White. The hatmakers set up shop in the firehouse in 2013, and the renovated workshop won a Design Excellence awrad from the American Institute of Architects’ … Continued

Jennifer Grosso to Join Harvard GSD Panel

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On Saturday, November 3rd, SOM senior architectural professional Jennifer Grosso will participate in a conference at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design (GSD). Titled “A Convergence | at the Confluence of Power, Identity, and Design,” the event marks the creation of a network of equity-focused student groups representing the GSD and other design schools. Grosso will … Continued

SOM Participates in 2018 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo

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The Greenbuild International Conference and Expo takes place from November 14-16, 2018, at McCormick Place in Chicago. During the event, architects and sustainability experts from SOM will lead guided green building tours and present on topics highlighting this year’s conference theme, “Human by Nature.” Auxiliary events for the annual conference begin Monday, November 12th, with … Continued

SOM Participates in China Design Open Course

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On Monday, November 5th, SOM Associate Director Thomas Kinzl and Associate Weiqi Wang will speak at the China Design Open Course symposium. Held in Zhengzhou, China, the event is part of a multi-city event sponsored by Sina Home. The symposium has dual themes: “Looking for the Soul of a Contemporary City” and “Design Evolution: Dialogue in the … Continued

A Look Inside Barnard’s New Milstein Center

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“We’ve won the academic lottery with the Milstein Center,” said Linda Bell, provost and dean of the faculty at Barnard College, at the October 3 grand opening of the 128,000 square foot, $137 million building…. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, the building creates a hub for the campus. Officially opening on September 4, it … Continued