What Will Air Travel Look Like Post-Covid-19?

. . . So what will flying look like in a post-COVID-19 age? Scott Duncan has an idea. As a partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, he’s designed several high-profile and highly trafficked terminals, such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal 2 in Mumbai and Changi Terminal 3 in Singapore (ranked the best airport in the world.) Currently, he’s … Continued

Laura Ettelman Joins Industry Experts to Develop New York City’s Official COVID-19 Response

Laura Ettelman, Partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), has been appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio to New York City’s Advisory Council in the Construction and Real Estate Sector. The new Advisory Council will guide and inform the administration’s efforts to restart the city’s economy in response to COVID-19. Ettelman is one of two architects appointed … Continued

Public Space in the Time of COVID-19

Join SOM’s Peter Kindel on Thursday, May 14th, for a panel discussion focused on COVID-19 and its impact on the cities we live in. A group of experts will share observations about their local communities, what we can learn from other cities around the world, and the need to reexamine density, interaction, and proximity of … Continued

The Hidden Feats That Built New York’s Towering Skyscrapers

Over the years, architects have not been the only ones to inscribe New York’s skyline — the signature image of the last American century — across the urban ether.  Among others, structural engineers, practical poets of often towering imagination and import, have also figured out how to scale those heights. Skyscrapers are team efforts, after … Continued

Women Take Charge at SOM

Back when Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings formed an architectural practice in Chicago in 1936, and then brought engineer John Merrill into its fledgling New York office in 1939, it was men who ran firms (Julia Morgan being a rare exception). Men continued to dominate the leadership at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) over the decades … Continued

Brightline Recognized for Architecture and Urban Planning in AIA | DC Chapter Design Awards

Brightline has earned recognition for both architecture and urban planning in the 2020 AIA | DC Chapter Design Awards. The project—a high-speed rail line connecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach—won the Architecture Award and received a citation in the Urban Catalyst category. SOM, in association with Zyscovich Architects, designed and planned each of the three stations … Continued

Two SOM Projects Honored in Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards

Two SOM projects, the Wild Mile and Moon Village, have been recognized by Fast Company in the 2020 World Changing Ideas Awards. The program recognizes innovations that solve some of the world’s most complex challenges. Both projects were honored in the Spaces, Places, and Cities category. The Wild Mile, a 17-acre floating eco-park designed in collaboration with Chicago-based Urban Rivers, … Continued

The World is Racing to Build on the Moon Again

. . . the European Space Agency and its Director General Jan Woerner are taking a distinctly apolitical approach to their lunar aspirations. Woerner’s vision is to build a “moon village,” or semi-permanent, multinational settlement, that could serve as a base for research or further exploration. “The original vision of Jan Woerner was to take … Continued

SOM Releases Concept for Moon Village, the First Permanent Human Settlement on the Lunar Surface

Five decades after humans first set foot on the Moon, a new initiative is underway to bring us back—and this time, the aspiration is to settle there on a permanent basis. Today, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has released a … Continued

SOM Unveils Vision for First Human Settlement on the Moon

Skidmore Owings and Merrill have unveiled their vision for the “Moon Village”, the first permanent human settlement on the Lunar surface. Developed in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the multidisciplinary project will be masterplanned, designed, and engineered by SOM. The Moon Village revolves around principles of … Continued