Conceptualized as a gateway to the budding tourist destination city of Bahrain, the Four Seasons Bahrain Bay Hotel looks like it could measure up to its zealous marketing. The vaguely H-shaped building comprises two textured concrete piers supporting a stack of 17 hotel floors at lower elevations, and two additional floors of restaurants and conference … Continued
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), one of the leading architecture, interior design, engineering, and urban planning firms in the world, has developed the initial framework and core principles of a sustainable new city of Cairo, Egypt. The vision for THE CAPITAL CAIRO is a product of the collaboration of the Egyptian Ministry of Housing … Continued
Architecture tells us a lot about economic history, as these charts by Martin Vargic show. Vargic, a Slovakian artist and designer who runs the blog halcyonmaps.com, created six charts that document the history of the tallest buildings on six continents — Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, South America and Oceania — over the last 5,000 … Continued
Rockefeller needed to be a man of serious vision to see past the site’s shortcomings, including the lack of roads, fresh water, electricity, plumbing, vegetation, and pretty much every other infrastructural necessity. His serious means certainly helped, too. Even today, the nearest resort is a 15-minute drive and the nearest town, farther. He used a … Continued
Among SOM’s many current projects is an office and hotel complex in Shenzhen, China, now under construction for the Shen Ye Land Company and slated to be complete by mid-2017. To deliver the desired openness within a pristine envelope, the architects designed two towers—one 984 feet tall and the other 1,276 feet tall—each with a … Continued
An international airport is an opportunity for a city to showcase its identity to visitors. That’s why the architects of Terminal 2 in Mumbai’s airport chose to reference the patterns of local jali window screens along its 17-acre roof The coffered ceiling’s pattern that drips into columns lets in light from above with skylights, creating a … Continued
the distinguished hotel chain four seasons has opened its doors in bahrain’s capital city manama. continuing its middle-eastern expansion, the hotel is designed by SOM architects, who are also involved in the bold master plan of the whole district. the completion of four seasons bahrain bay is the first of many programs to be erected … Continued
On March 4, 2015, SOM hosted a reception at its London office to celebrate the Exchange House winning the 25-Year Award for 2015 from the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Exchange House is the first project in the UK — and only the third international project — to win the prestigious accolade. The centerpiece of … Continued
SOM Director Joan Suchomel will speak at Women’s Health: Rewriting the Goals, a symposium hosted by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs on March 6, 2015. The event, a full day of panel discussions and keynote speakers, will bring together international thought leaders in order to explore long-term issues related to women’s health and empowerment. … Continued
The artists commissioned to create works for One World Trade Center were given only one guideline by the developers: The work had to be unifying. There’s no mention of the site’s history, but all the artists understood they had to somehow live up to it, reports CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason.