Block 9 is a new mixed-use tower in downtown Fargo, North Dakota, at the corner of Broadway and 2nd Avenue. The result of a public-private partnership between the City of Fargo, the Kilbourne Group, and R.D. Offutt, Block 9 transforms a surface-level parking lot into a cultural and economic asset. Appropriate to its prominent location, … Continued
Tackling a tough site Opened in 1856 and renovated in the mid-1980s, the Chicago transit station previously known as Randolph Street Terminal was an extraordinarily difficult space. Hemmed in by rail lines beneath and the street above, the station’s layout posed significant challenges. SOM utilized design, engineering, and lighting expertise to transform a critical but … Continued
In preparation for the 1976 Bicentennial Celebration, SOM was commissioned to develop a high-capacity circulation plan for the Washington Mall and Constitution Gardens. The main objective of the project was to accommodate growing numbers of visitors while augmenting the landscape and highlighting the site’s historical buildings, including the White House, the Capitol, the Washington Monument, … Continued
Artful design and planning Located on the second level wall is a mixed-media mural by artist CJ Hungerman. The eight-foot-high by sixty-foot-long artwork, titled “Universal Transverse Immigration Proclamation,” was commissioned through Chicago’s Public Art Program. The artist engaged the community in workshops to understand the area’s history and to gather generations of personal experiences before … Continued
A prominent location combined with innovative sculptural form gives the Arcapita Headquarters a significant presence in Bahrain Bay, a waterfront development planned by SOM and now under construction in Manama, the capital of Bahrain. The Arcapita Headquarters building is composed of a spacious rectilinear volume perched atop a sculptural plinth that resembles rolling waves. The … Continued
A venue designed for the digital age As part of the new King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, the Conference Center makes a distinct impression with its faceted geometry, evoking the landforms of the desert terrain. The master plan for the larger civic, financial, commercial, and residential development features a sunken outdoor pedestrian path … Continued
Reinventing an industrial site The Bio-Esfera office complex is the first parcel to be completed in Distrito La Perla, a new neighborhood that is emerging on a formerly industrial site in Guadalajara. Previously home to a Kodak manufacturing plant, the site was developed in the 1960s on what was then the urban periphery and remained … Continued
Exceptionally broad in scope and vision, this plan transforms a former industrial zone along the banks of the Pearl River into a new, sustainable city that will accommodate more than 740,000 residents and 660,000 employees. By expertly combining urban density, transit accessibility, and ecological vitality, this master plan will enable Baietan to become a regional … Continued
Located in Portland, Oregon, the Veterans Memorial Coliseum directly expresses SOM’s conviction that successful architecture depends on the balanced union of art and engineering. The design team, led by Myron Goldsmith, used a grid of reinforced concrete columns and cantilevered steel trusses to form a square building, 360 feet wide on each side. Unlike most … Continued
SOM’s renovation and expansion of Terminal E represented a signature component of a $1 billion improvement project at Logan International Airport. For the aging terminal, SOM added 410,000 square feet and conceived an experiential sequence that uses light to guide visitors. The sequence begins at the arrivals level, where travelers pass through three-story glass vestibules … Continued