Navigating complexity Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport’s second terminal is one of the most complex transportation projects SOM has undertaken. While the simple task was to expand Mumbai’s overcrowding airport, the larger challenge was multifarious. SOM had to triple the airport’s capacity on a site surrounded by informal settlements, an overflowing river, and immovable historical monuments … Continued
Greater capacity, more flexibility The International Arrivals Facility (IAF) at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) replaces a fifty-year-old arrivals facility with a dynamic structure that is nearly five times larger, dramatically improves the passenger experience, and readies the airport to nimbly adapt to future demands. Flexibility is the defining principle of the design: the project involved … Continued
Known for daring and unconventional designs such as the Cadet Chapel at the United States Air Force Academy, architect and former SOM design partner Walter Netsch (1920 – 2008) employed the same ingenuity for the design of his own home as he did in his major projects. His Chicago residence demonstrates the design philosophy he … Continued
Harrow Square is a new mixed-use development adjacent to Harrow on the Hill Station in outer London, providing 318 apartments, a public library, retail, and a new public square. Developed as part of a joint venture between Hyde New Homes and Barratt London, the project includes the tallest building in the London Borough of Harrow … Continued
In 1961, SOM’s One Chase Manhattan Plaza revitalized the urban landscape of Lower Manhattan with the introduction of the first International Style building in the area. In The New York Times, architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable wrote that “it carries the double promise of corporate efficiency and a more enduring value: significant civic beauty.” Fifty … Continued
MxD (formerly known as UI Labs) is dedicated to fostering collaboration between top-tier research universities, industry and government. A state-of-the-art facility was created to support this cross-disciplinary endeavor—to drive innovation in digital manufacturing, while also providing a demonstration space to showcase cutting-edge work. SOM led the adaptive reuse of an existing manufacturing building located on … Continued
Adapting historic architecture to serve the community The new West Loop library is the first-ever Chicago Public Library branch in the community and the 81st for the city. Donated to the City of Chicago by Sterling Bay as part of the ongoing development and transformation of the West Loop, the two-story adaptive reuse project preserves … Continued
When it opened in 1990, London’s Exchange House became an instant classic, one that exemplified a core belief at SOM that virtually all of the world’s cities can generate new urban space. Here, the space was found by utilizing air rights and applying sophisticated engineering techniques to the architectural design. Exchange House is a building-bridge … Continued
San Francisco’s Transit Center District is one of the most important development opportunities in the city’s history, and its transformation presents a bold vision for the South of Market Street neighborhood. Once isolated by residual 20th-century freeway infrastructure, the redesigned district—now a vibrant, fully integrated, mixed-use neighborhood—is a model for high density redevelopment. The centerpiece … Continued
Leveraging public investment The Jakarta Transit-Oriented Development Master Plan establishes the vision, principles, and framework to implement new infrastructure, public realm improvements, and mixed-use development. MRT Jakarta will be the first mass rapid transit rail system in the capital, and SOM’s master plan leverages the city’s investment to guide future urban growth and connectivity. In … Continued