The real estate industry in Metro Manila is currently experiencing a major surge in development. Scaffolding is now a constant element on city streets while new structures are seemingly being built on every corner. But behind the rising skylines, the big question looms: can all this progress also translate to a greener future for the … Continued
After several years of construction, the new Los Angeles Federal Courthouse is approaching completion. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), the cubic glass-clad structure intends to become one of America’s most environmentally friendly, as it aims for a LEED Platinum certification. Part of a larger redevelopment scheme impacting the entire downtown area of … Continued
On Wednesday, March 16th, SOM’s Chicago office and Metropolis Magazine hosted a “think tank” event, moderated by Susan S. Szenasy, the magazine’s Publisher and Editor in Chief. Themed “Innovation in Action,” the evening featured a panel discussion on three pioneering projects, each driven by unique research partnerships: the Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy (AMIE) project, the Timber Tower research project, and UI LABS. The panel featured members of each of … Continued
The glassy corporate HQ is a timeworn trope of architectural expression. Ever since Mies van der Rohe proposed a speculative glass skyscraper for the skyline of 1920s Berlin, the idea of a solid block carved from translucency has intrigued architects and their clients, testing structural engineers and, in recent decades, environmental engineers to make this … Continued
Lego is the great equalizer. It requires no skill to wield, unlike CAD software or cardboard models. So when the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) shipped boxes of Lego bricks to some of the top architecture firms in the world, what it got back…was a series of 10 models that any eight-year-old could have … Continued
Two SOM projects have won a 2015-2016 Real Estate Design China Award. The awards program recognizes projects that achieve excellence in architectural design and enhance Chinese cities and society. SOM was awarded the Gold Award for the Jiangxi Nanchang Greenland Zifeng Tower and the Merit Award for the Zhengzhou Greenland Plaza in a ceremony on … Continued
Rebuilding the American City highlights 15 urban design and planning projects in the United States that have been catalysts for their downtowns and were implemented during the tumultuous start of the 21st century—a period marked by renewed interest in cities but also by ongoing social, economic and environmental challenges. … DENVER, Colorado, embraced the redevelopment of … Continued
Singapore’s famed Changi Airport has kept its title of ‘World’s Best Airport’ for the fourth year in a row, the 2016 World Airport Awards revealed on Thursday. Air transport research firm Skytrax, which conducts the annual World Airport Awards, picks its winner based on the number of votes sent in by travelers in what Skytrax … Continued
A 500,000-square-foot office building in the Flatiron District is getting some upgrades. 41 Madison Avenue, located between East 25th and 26th streets, was built by Samuel Rudin in 1972 and now the Rudin Management Company is renovating its public spaces, and YIMBY has the first renderings. The 42-story, 546-foot-tall building was designed by Emery Roth … Continued
This Fourth of July weekend, many tourists will be visiting New York’s One World Trade Center, which just opened its observatory this May. Standing at 1,776 feet tall—built that height to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776—it is certainly one of America’s most patriotic buildings. Of course, that isn’t the only … Continued