Latest Posts

Kristopher Takács Contributes Expertise at 2016 Rail-Volution Conference

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On Tuesday, October 11th, SOM Managing Director Kristopher Taká?cs will participate in the conference “Rail-Volution: Building Livable Communities with Transit.” Founded in 2005, Rail-Volution aims to serve as a catalyst for the movement to build strong communities by inspiring better transit and land use decisions. This year’s edition of the annual conference takes place in San Francisco and will bring together planners, community activists, … Continued

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP Elects a New Generation to its Leadership

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The Partners of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) are pleased to announce the election of Thomas Behr, Kent Jackson, and Douglas Voigt as Partners, effective October 1, 2016, in recognition of their outstanding accomplishments and contributions to the firm. Voigt becomes a Partner in SOM’s Chicago office, where he is currently based. Behr joins … Continued

The 50 Best Libraries in the United States

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Have you been to the best in your state, yet? If not, you’re missing out. From classical constructs to ultra-modern edifices, here are fifty reasons to apply for a library card stat. ?Chicago Public Library’s Chinatown branch is an otherworldly structure inspired by its neighborhood. Its design is based on Feng Shui principles, and its glass … Continued

12 Simply Amazing Facades

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Hand-picked from the Interior Design archives, these fantastic facades impress with their boundary-pushing designs… An enormous acute triangle with a “heroic cantilever,” per SOM interior design partner (and Interior Design Hall of Famer) Stephen Apking, the Geneva headquarters of JT International features anodized aluminum mullions that seem lifted off the ground by an architecturally minded giant.

Cuomo’s Vision for Revamped Penn Station: New Home for Amtrak and L.I.R.R.

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For nearly a quarter-century, governors and mayors in New York have been stymied in their attempts to fix Pennsylvania Station, one of the busiest transit halls in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most crowded and confusing. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Tuesday presented a fast-track plan that would finally create a train hall … Continued

New York City’s Nightmarish Penn Station is Getting a Much-Needed Makeover

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New York City’s Penn Station is a transit nightmare. It’s crowded, confusing to navigate, and frequently smells like a mix of Auntie Anne’s pretzels and body odor. Traveling through Penn is a bit of a necessary evil that commuters just deal with. It’s an incredibly busy transportation hub, where roughly 650,000 people and 1,200 trains … Continued

Governor Cuomo Unveils Penn Station’s Renovation Set for 2020

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Yesterday New York governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled the state’s plans to revamp Manhattan’s Pennsylvania Station—and he gave a realistic timetable. For nearly 25 years, officials have been impeded in their efforts to fix the aging and overcrowded station—one of the busiest transit hubs in the Western Hemisphere… For the $1.6 billion project-planned for completion in … Continued

Plan Steams Ahead for New Train Hall Near Penn Station

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A plan to recreate a grand train hall lost when the old Pennsylvania Station was demolished in 1963 is at last moving forward, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo promised on Tuesday. Mr. Cuomo announced a financial blueprint and the selection of a development team that will create a new, glass-enclosed train hall named for the … Continued

One World Trade Center is Big On Green Design

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Skidmore, Owings & Merrill is behind the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, so obviously knows a thing or two about building big. New York City’s One World Trade Center shows that the firm is also pretty handy at building green too, and the western hemisphere’s tallest building was recently awarded LEED Gold certification (a … Continued

The Resurrection of Greenwich Street

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A quarter-mile stretch of Greenwich Street disappeared from the map of Lower Manhattan in 1967, then from the face of New York on Sept. 11, 2001… Greenwich Street was the test case. It was vital to the recovery of downtown that the electrical substation be rebuilt quickly. That drove the timing of office tower No. … Continued