Design that resonates with culture and place SOM reinterpreted the highly identifiable form of the Bedouin tent to create a marvel that became the world’s largest cable-stayed, fabric-roofed structure upon its completion in 1981. The terminal serves as a physically welcoming, culturally symbolic, and structurally innovative portal for more than one million pilgrims annually. Built … Continued
Built for the Union Carbide Corporation, this sleek tower, built over railroad tracks leading out of Grand Central Terminal, was unlike its neighbors on Park Avenue when it opened. Not only was it set back in a plaza, but it also stood out for its innovative structural engineering design, which responded to the constraints of … Continued
A symbol for Tianjin Located in the historic heart of Tianjin, the Global Financial Center embodies the city’s international prominence as a gateway to China. Across the Hai River from the city’s high-speed rail and transit hub, the 337-meter tower provides a point of reference at the city center. The Center contains 240,000 square meters … Continued
The distinctive Nanjing Keyne Centre anchors the entrance to Hexi District, an emerging commercial and civic hub in Nanjing. Driven by sustainability concerns, the tower’s faceted form is an evolution of integrated architectural, structural, and mechanical systems. A double-skin curtain wall enables the building to respond to the city’s extreme heat during summer. The cavity … Continued
An outdoor transformation The 17-acre Millennium Park master plan guided the transformation of a once-blighted site in the heart of downtown Chicago into an expansive green roof for the entire city to enjoy. The park opened to the public in 2004, marking the completion of Daniel Burnham’s 100-year vision for the site. SOM designed the … Continued
Built in the 1950s to provide housing for military families after World War II, the Parkmerced neighborhood in San Francisco has declined in recent years. SOM’s redevelopment plan represents a remarkable opportunity to transform this large, aging housing complex and its surrounding area into a vibrant, sustainable community. In addition to new energy-efficient residential buildings, … Continued
This scheme addresses one of the largest remaining undeveloped tracts in downtown Chicago. Hemmed in by busy, multilevel streets, the 28-acre former freight yard was never considered ideal for development, and its fate remained in limbo for decades. Rather than focusing outward, SOM’s plan places a six-acre park in the center of the development and … Continued
The Distrito La Perla Master Plan envisions the transformation of an underutilized site in Guadalajara—a dormant Kodak manufacturing facility—into the city’s next vibrant, mixed-use destination. The facility was built in the 1960s as a secure, self-sustaining precinct on the periphery of Guadalajara, with little connection to the farmlands that originally surrounded it. As the city … Continued
Arena Tower represents the second phase of SOM’s master plan for Baltimore Wharf. The sinuous tower is a beacon for the 2.7-hectare site located immediately south of Canary Wharf, and for the wider Isle of Dogs district. The 45-story building comprises 366 residential units in a mix of layouts and configurations. All apartment floors feature … Continued
A step toward the future As the first building erected at the World Trade Center site since September 11, 2001, and with the site’s master plan then still in the works, 7 World Trade Center established a vision for the future of the district. It set a new benchmark for environmental performance as one of … Continued