The New School’s University Center to Open January 23

New York, NY: A series of events will be held this week to mark the official opening of The New School’s University Center, a striking new landmark for the school designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM). The week-long celebration will include an opening ceremony on January 23rd and an open house for students, alumni, … Continued

Four Seasons Hotel, Designed by SOM, Opens in Bahrain’s Capital

Manama, Bahrain: Bahrain Bay, a Four Seasons Hotel designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), has officially opened. A ribbon-cutting ceremony, attended by Bahrain’s Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Four Seasons senior officials, and other dignitaries, was held on March 1, 2015, to mark the occasion. Situated on a private … Continued

New School Seeks Unity with Manhattan Hub

Designed by architect Roger Duffy, a principal at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the University Center is a high-design take on an urban student union—an airy, glass-and-steel structure dominated by huge windows and a wide central staircase. On a recent weekday afternoon at the building, cadres of artfully disheveled young students were passing the time together, … Continued

Long-Planned East 57th Street Tower Set to Rise This Year

With a handful of luxury towers rising on West 57th Street, the Midtown thoroughfare was beginning to feel a bit lopsided. Not anymore. The Observer reports that the long-planned 57-story tower at 250 East 57th Street is ready to rise from the ground. First announced in 2006, the crazy tapering tower, designed by Roger Duffy … Continued

Four SOM Projects Featured in Architectural Record’s March Issue

In its March 2014 issue, dubbed “The Big Issue,” Architectural Record magazine spotlights large-scale buildings around the globe. Four SOM projects are featured, from the super-green Pearl River Tower in Guangzhou, China, to the striking new Terminal 2 in Mumbai.  Pearl River Tower In the feature story “Towering Ambition,” senior editor Joann Gonchar visits the … Continued

A 21st-Century Delivery for Denver

After years of master planning, 20 acres of rail lines near Denver’s Beaux Arts Union Station have been converted into a multi-modal masterpiece of transportation. ‘It fits the purpose,’ says Roger Duffy, design partner at Skidmore Owings and Merrill. ‘It brings it up to the 21st century.’ Yes – it does. With the opening of … Continued

Previewing the New School’s University Center

The New School in New York City will soon have a new facility that will bring together a number of the school’s academic programs. University Center, located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 14th Street, will open in January. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s Roger Duffy, FAIA, the building is a 16-story, 375,000-square-foot … Continued

Building of the Week: Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal 2

 “Cultural design collaboration” is not seen typically in a list of an architect’s consultants, but it makes perfect sense here, given the client’s mandate that the new terminal at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport embodies “the heritage of India and the spirit of Mumbai.” SOM took that requirement seriously, collaborating with Indian fashion designers Abu Jani … Continued

City’s First ‘Net-Zero’ Energy Efficient School Opens on Staten Island

A “net-zero” school that promises to produce as much energy as it consumes opened its doors for the first day of classes Wednesday after four years of planning and construction. Architects hope to use it as a test case for future schools.  P.S. 62, at 644 Bloomingdale Rd. near the intersection of Woodrow Road, has … Continued

Former Chase Manhattan Plaza Renovation Moves Forward

In May, Fosun International Ltd. unveiled their plans for the overhaul of One Chase Manhattan Plaza, which has been going by 28 Liberty since the developer picked it up in December 2013. The plans included adding ground-floor retail sheathed in glassy wrap-around storefronts, a detail that was shot down by the Landmarks Preservation Commission that … Continued