As part of the 2017 National Planning Conference, SOM Associate Director Meredith Bostwick-Lorenzo Eiroa assisted in a walking tour of Roosevelt Island in New York City. Titled “Roosevelt Island: Planning for Unique Places,” the tour took place on Monday, May 8th. The program examined the history of the island, as well as current initiatives happening there, including … Continued
Danny Schulman, Program Director for Cultural Affairs, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), and Eric Keune, Design Director, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), join Justin to discuss the 50th anniversary of the iconic Picasso sculpture on Daley Plaza. Danny and Eric talk about the event tomorrow afternoon, why they are restaging the 1967 … Continued
What is responsible architecture and urban design? As a designer, how do you apply creativity to specific design challenges? Why is a firm’s capacity for a multidisciplinary practice so important, and what is it like to work for a top-notch architecture firm? These are just some of the questions addressed on Tuesday, June 6th, when … Continued
On Tuesday, August 8th, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) hosted a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Chicago Picasso at Daley Plaza. The event was a restaging of the original unveiling held at Daley Plaza in 1967, at which then-Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and SOM … Continued
In July, 2017, SOM’s Shanghai office hosted a group of visiting architects from the Fukuoka chapter of the Japan Institute of Architects (JIA Fukuoka). The group’s trip to Shanghai was part of an exchange program organized by JIA Fukuoka and AIA Shanghai. The events, which took place on Friday, July 28th and Saturday, July 29th, included … Continued
Pablo Picasso was 85 when he gave the monumental untitled sculpture now famously known as The Chicago Picasso to the city in 1967. The work precipitated an aesthetic shift in civic and urban planning, broadening the idea of public art beyond the commemorative. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the work’s unveiling, the Department of … Continued
Port City Colombo is a large-scale integrated city being developed on more than 200ha of reclaimed land near Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is the single biggest private sector development in the country and expected to transform Colombo into a commerce, tourism and cultural hub.? …? Skidmore, Owings & Merrill developed the masterplan for the development, … Continued
The SOM-designed office building at 1515 West Webster Avenue—the latest addition to the North Branch of the Chicago River—has topped out in Chicago. Located at the edge of the Lincoln Park neighborhood, where the Chicago River meets one of the city’s vital east-west corridors, 1515 West Webster Avenue is the first development to emerge on … Continued
The facade of the Baccarat Hotel & Residences, located at 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City, shimmers like a crystal in the sunlight. Large panes of textured glass splay rainbows of color from the modern entrance that acts like a jeweled base for the 46-story hotel and condo tower… Glassform’s prismatic glass … Continued
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has confirmed plans to move forward with the execution of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s (SOM) redesign of Penn Station in Manhattan. The $1.6 billion overhaul will see the James A. Farley Building on 34th Street and Eighth Avenue reimagined as the Moynihan Train Hall. The project is scheduled for a 2020 completion.