Since the beginning of time, humans have been inspired by the curved forms found in nature. The current trend towards curved building shapes will result in more buildings that incorporate curved glass. Traditionally, a straight line or flat plane has been the default geometrical solution for many building enclosure designs, particularly since the advent of the … Continued
Beijing, China: On Friday, November 25th, the China World Trade Center Company Limited hosted SOM staff and prominent city officials for the topping-out ceremony of China World Trade Center Phase 3B. The 58-story tower is now the second tallest building in Beijing, behind the 74-story China World Trade Center 3A tower designed by SOM and … Continued
If you’ve driven through the Bronx on the Hutchinson River or Pelham Parkways recently, you’ve likely noticed the construction of a looming 250-foot, serrated metal cube. This facility, the City’s second Public Safety Answering Center (PSAC II), is deliberately defensive — once fully operational early next year, it will house command and control center operations for … Continued
CoreNet Global, the association for corporate real estate professionals, recently announced the winners of the 2015 REAL Awards—with Project of the Year going to the SOM-designed Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII) for UI Labs. The REAL Awards recognizes professionals and projects driving progress. Located on Goose Island in Chicago, UI Labs’ DMDII is … Continued
The new 22-story state courthouse, just over a year away from completion, is taking shape at State and C streets in downtown San Diego. The lower floors have been enclosed by precast, unitized curtain wall panels. The state seal has been installed at the entrance. And some 580 construction workers are spending 10 hours a … Continued
Midway in time between the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire and the advent of sound in motion pictures, the Jewel Theater opened its doors on San Francisco’s Market Street, part of a surge of such theatre openings in the early years of cinema. In spring of 2015, A.C.T. completed a $34.4 million renovation project … Continued
On Thursday, November 12, 2015, Yue Zhu, SOM Associate Director, delivered a lecture titled, “Design, Research, and Innovation” at the Architectural Design and Research Institute of Tsinghua University in Beijing. Presenting his topic through a series of case studies, Zhu explored SOM’s multidisciplinary design approach and the integral roles of research and innovation in sustainable … Continued
On Wednesday, November 18th, SOM Architect Leif Eikevik and Architectural Designer Maged Guerguis will participate in a panel discussion that will explore the present and future of 3D printing in architecture and the built environment. Eikevik? and Guerguis? will discuss their roles in AMIE 1.0, a high performance 3D-printed enclosure which shares energy with a … Continued
Virtual Depictions: San Francisco is a new site-specific installation that uses real-time public data drawn from Twitter, SFGOV.org and 3D depth camera footage of contemporary dancers to create one of the world’s first virtual data sculptures. “The idea was to connect in a new way with the City of San Francisco, and to bring a … Continued
The Chicago office of SOM recently hosted a lecture by architecture critic and historian, Nina Rappaport, on the life and work of the late architectural photographer Ezra Stoller. Responsible for many iconic images of the modern built environment, Stoller photographed a large number of SOM projects, such as the Lever House in New York City … Continued