Since 2000, the Center for Architecture Science and Ecology (CASE)—a collaboration between Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, N.Y., and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill—has been trying to bring the fresh outdoor air inside. In 2009, CASE won an R+D Award from ARCHITECT for its Active Modular Phytoremediation System (AMPS), which uses plants to remove toxins—VOC, particulates, … Continued
a video documenting singapore’s tallest building has been revealed by developers guocoland, exploring the 290 meter tower in more detail. designed by global architecture firm SOM, the 160,000 square meter tanjong pagar centre’ will provide a mix of uses, comprising office, residential, retail and hospitality, all set within the city-state’s central business district. positioned as … Continued
Today’s supertalls may boggle the mind, but they are stunningly factual, immediately obvious, impossible to overlook. It’s their children, the unbuilt towers of futurity, that are surrounded by a dense, foggy haze of harbingers. Futurist scenarios can prove useful here. Scenarios cause loose ideas to separate and clump into trends. I’ll do a little quadrant-work … Continued
The flagship of the latest luxury hotel brand from Starwood Capital Group, Greenwich, Conn., the newly opened Baccarat Hotel & Residences is a 605-foot-tall, mixed-use building located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street in New York City. New York City-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) LLP architects were tasked with designing a … Continued
Metal Architecture magazine recently announced SOM’s Baccarat Hotel & Residences as a winner of its 2015 Metal Architecture Design Awards. Completed this year, the project was honored with the Smooth Metal Wall Panels Award. Organized by Metal Architecture magazine, the program recognizes design excellence and creativity in the metal industry. Designed by SOM, the 605-foot-tall, … Continued
In 1954, the State Department gathered an advisory panel of prominent architects, who would review all building plans for the Office of Foreign Buildings Operations. The resulting program of contemporary design gave prominent designers a chance to showcase America on the international stage Gordon Bunshaft, Bremen Consulate (1956): Technically not an embassy, this design by … Continued
On July 15, 2015, SOM Associate Director Jon Cicconi will discuss P.S. 62 Net Zero Energy School at GreenHomeNYC’s “July Forum: Spotlight on Staten Island” in New York City. The talk is one of three lectures that will examine notable sustainable projects under development in the borough of Staten Island. When completed, the cutting-edge academic building … Continued
I spent an hour inside San Francisco’s most architecturally sublime yet extravagant government building Unless you’re an attorney, you probably haven’t paid a visit, and it’s your loss: The staid granite exterior hides an effusion of materiality and craftsmanship, layer upon layer of deep-carved delight from a time when government was willing and able to … Continued
On July 7, 2015, Brian D. Griffith, SOM Sustainable Engineering Studio Team Leader, will participate in the Third International Symposium on Energy Challenges and Mechanics. As part of the Energy and Environment session in Aberdeen, Scotland, Griffith will discuss “A Net Zero Carbon High Rise Approach to London’s Housing Crisis.” His presentation will feature a … Continued
It seems logical that the chapel at the United States Air Force Academy would be inspired by airplanes. But architect Walter Netsch took that basic idea and created something truly incredible, pointing the plane shape upward to create something inspired by classic cathedrals and yet wholly its own.