Built in 1929, the Civic Opera House, home to the Lyric Opera of Chicago, had remained essentially unchanged from its original design. However, the rigorous demands of increasingly sophisticated productions had rendered many features obsolete. SOM’s renovation preserved the theater’s original Art Deco grandeur while adding major structural improvements. To accommodate modern programming requirements, SOM … Continued
A soaring addition to the Ningbo skyline Anchoring the skyline in Ningbo Eastern New City, the Ningbo Bank of China building is a landmark for the city’s financial district. As the regional headquarters of the Bank of China, the 50-story tower consolidates the company’s operations, bringing nearly 8,000 employees from Zhejiang and Ningbo under one … Continued
Unlocking the potential of a complex site Manhattan West is one of the largest and most complex developments in recent history in New York City. The project, bound by Ninth and Tenth Avenues and West 31st and West 33rd Streets, is built almost entirely above railroad tracks leading to Moynihan Train Hall and Pennsylvania Station. … Continued
SOM’s renovation of the subway entrance, office tower lobby, and surrounding plaza at 560 Lexington Avenue has created a bright, fresh, and reimagined public amenity in Midtown Manhattan. Constructed in the 1980s, this Privately Owned Public Space was originally characterized by dark brick and bronze-colored metal. Surrounded by an enclosure composed of the same dark … Continued
When Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company opened a Manhattan branch location at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street in 1954, the building’s award-winning design ushered in a bold new era of bank architecture. SOM’s design dematerialized the bank’s walls with transparent glass facades, cantilevered floors, luminous ceilings, and a street-level vault. These elements symbolically … Continued
Master Plan + Phase 1 SOM’s master plan for the Silicon Valley headquarters of the gaming company Electronic Arts (EA)focused on density and connectivity. The programmatic needs dictated that development would proceed in multiple stages. For the first phase, SOM designed and completed a pair of contemporary six- and eight-story office buildings and a parking … Continued
Seeking new solutions for sustainability Buildings are the world’s number one source of greenhouse gas emissions. In New York City, home to the largest school district in the nation, the numbers add up: its 1,600 schools account for nearly 40 percent of emissions from municipal buildings. With the Kathleen Grimm School for Leadership and Sustainability … Continued
Long based in Midtown Manhattan, the International Center of Photography (ICP) moved its gallery to the Bowery, an emerging arts corridor in New York City. In renovating its new home inside the ground and basement levels of a primarily residential building, SOM sought to connect the ICP with the spontaneity of the street and the … Continued
Prominently located along the Hutchinson River Parkway and Pelham Parkway in the Bronx, this facility will augment existing 911 services in New York, strengthening the city’s ability to maintain communication in the event of a natural disaster or large-scale emergency. The center is designed to operate continually under adverse conditions and provide redundancy to the … Continued
A new flagship hotel for The Park Hotel Group, this 531,550-square-foot, 270-room hotel infuses a modern, sustainable design with the local craft traditions, and is influenced by the region’s reputation as a center for the design and production of gemstones and textiles. The project is distinctive for its profound implementation of sustainable design strategies, with … Continued