A landmark for a growing urban district Ningbo, a coastal city with ancient origins, has achieved remarkable economic growth in the 21st century. The city has guided its urbanization with robust planning initiatives that prioritize walkability, and preserve parks, greenways, and canals. The Guohua Financial Tower is designed as a model workplace that emphasizes health … Continued
Working with a team of local and international architecture and landscape architecture firms, SOM led the design of a 16-hectare master plan in the heart of Bangkok. One of Thailand’s largest private-sector developments, One Bangkok will tie together Wireless Road, a leafy, active pedestrian road dotted with embassies, hotels, and bustling restaurants; Sathorn Road, a … Continued
Built on former farmland, the primary feature of this building’s 73-acre site is its linearity, which enhances the processional experience upon approach. The building and site organization are conceived as a series of carefully developed, linked objects that refer to the local, rural vernacular in scale and form. The 145,000-square-foot building contains offices, a training … Continued
With more than 80 properties worldwide, The Ritz-Carlton has long been a leader in the luxury hotel market. SOM has designed several projects for the venerable company, including this 250-room, five-star hotel in booming Beijing. A curved tower with an eye-catching glass façade, the building rises from a prominent site within Beijing Finance Street, a … Continued
Chicago’s next great neighborhood Envisioned as the city’s 78th neighborhood , the 62-acre site is the focus of one of the largest development projects in Chicago’s history. It will transform a former brownfield through a multi-phased approach to the development of a mixed-use neighborhood with residential, commercial, academic, civic, cultural, and recreational components for all … Continued
A new community hub Located in the newly revitalized civic center of Long Beach, California, the Billie Jean King Main Library fosters community, learning, and collaboration. The welcoming and flexible building serves the city’s diverse population with a variety of spaces including group study rooms, independent work areas, and a technology-driven “makerspace” with a learning … Continued
Defining visuals Graphic elements complete the concept of this new international destination. A system of logos identifies different components, yet works together as a unifying thread woven through the development’s wayfinding signage, street furniture, advertising, and marketing collateral. Together, the graphics delineate the project as a new neighborhood and provide a sense of arrival at … Continued
The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex is a multi-purpose sports and recreational facility. Situated alongside a major inter-city freeway, it is designed to accommodate both indoor and outdoor athletic events, exhibitions, theatrical presentations, and public meetings. It has the capability of staging two functions simultaneously. The complex consists of three basic elements: an outdoor stadium, an … Continued
For 680 Folsom, the project team utilized creative solutions and careful design to reinvent an aging commercial complex in the heart of San Francisco. Often, the trend in large-scale urban development is to demolish existing buildings and start anew, but 680 Folsom was transformed from the inside out. The original building, completed in 1964, was … Continued
Crown Zellerbach Headquarters was the first International Style curtain-wall tower to be built in San Francisco, and has claimed a position as a lasting figure in the downtown streetscape. The project includes an epoch-making open floor design and a sweeping plaza layout. Occupying one-third of a triangular site, the building consists of a 20-story office … Continued