Som
An overview of projects, products and exclusive articles about som
News • News • 17 Jun 2024
Key projects by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is a global group of architects, engineers, designers, and planners spanning a legacy of more than eighty years. Founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings and later joined by John Merrill in 1939, the firm’s philosophy is rooted in cross-disciplinary collaboration across architecture, planning, design, and construction. SOM has designed some of the most iconic feats in modern architecture and engineering, including Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, and Lever House, an International Style landmark in New York City.
Over the years, the firm has broadened its expertise to include urban planning, sustainable engineering, and ecology, allowing it to address some of the most... More
News • News • 1 May 2024
SOM completes “terminal in a garden” at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport
International and interdisciplinary architecture, design, and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has reimagined the conventional airport experience in its design for Terminal 2 of Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport in southern India. Envisaged as a “terminal in a garden”, the landscaped transport hub is inspired by Bengaluru’s reputation as India’s “garden city” and rethinks the architectural homogeneity of many of the world’s airports.
Ar. Ekansh Goel © Studio Recall
Ar. Ekansh Goel © Studio Recall
The new 255,000-square-meter (2,744,797-square-feet) terminal is a creative nod to Bengaluru’s rich history and culture and at the sa... More
Project • By Seth Powers Photography • Offices
Star River Headquarters
This sculptural addition to the business district on Guangzhou’s Pazhou Island is the centerpiece of a reconceptualized city block, which combines green space with covered walkways and multiple levels of retail and commerce.
Seth Powers
Seth Powers
Seth Powers
Reshaping Pazhou Island
A historic anchor for trade along the Pearl River, Pazhou Island has emerged as a modern center of commerce. The new headquarters for Star River is an emblem of this transformation. From afar, the tower’s pleated facade ascends in a parabolic taper, creating vertical planes of light and shadow that add to its unique character. Situated near two other SOM-designed towers—the Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce and SANY Irootech Pazho... More
News • News • 2 Jan 2024
SOM complete a new building at Rice University featuring a unique veil of brick and cast-stone modules
Located at the core campus of Rice University, the new Ralph S. O'Connor Building for Engineering and Science by SOM is now open. Designed to blend with the campus' historic Mediterranean Revival architecture, the building features brick, limestone, and an arcade complete with an elaborate brick and cast-stone veil. SOM Design Principal Javier Arizmendi explains that the design balances historical and contemporary materials, leverages existing circulation pathways, and provides an energetic social and scientific activity hub for the next generation of scholars and innovators.
Dave Burk
With a total area of 250,000 square feet, the interdisciplinary building offers state-of-the-art laboratories, classrooms, offices, a caf&eac... More
News • Innovations • 9 Oct 2023
SOM and Prometheus Materials exhibit an algae-based alternative to standard concrete blocks
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has designed a curvilinear installation constructed of brown-colored, algae-based masonry blocks for the 2023 Chicago Architecture Biennial. Developed in partnership with the US company Prometheus Materials, the featured Bio-Block product offers a carbon-neutral alternative to standard CMU blocks.
Dave Burk, SOM
The installation is constructed on the ground floor of an office building in Chicago’s Fulton Market District. It makes use of 544 Bio-Blocks arranged in a 2.2 meter (7 foot 4 inch) tall construction to demonstrate a savings of more than one metric ton of carbon when compared to typical CMU construction. SOM designed the installation as an extruded spiral which resembles a s... More
Project • By Seth Powers Photography • Offices
Ningbo Guohua Financial Tower
Guohua Financial Tower, a 45-story office high-rise and adjacent four-story mixed-use podium, is set to rise in Ningbo, China. As a model of simplicity, sustainability, and urban connectivity, the complex propels the evolution of a dynamic central business district in the port city.
Seth Powers
Seth Powers
Situated along a prominent east-west boulevard in East New Town, the site’s new public spaces are organized to draw tenants and visitors from all directions. A plaza features highly visible public art, and the low-rise building’s primary functional spaces are lifted to create an inviting open-air courtyard whose light-filled terraces, waterfalls, and serene reflecting pool demand attention. A spacious glass atrium d... More
News • News • 7 Mar 2023
Kansas City International Airport by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s female-led team emphasizes inclusivity and accessibility for all
Designed, planned, and engineered by SOM in collaboration with Clark | Weitz | Clarkson (CWC), the new Kansas City International Airport (KCI) terminal is a 1.1 million square foot travel hub replacing the original, outdated terminal building dating back to 1972. Led by a predominantly female consultant team, the project increases passenger capacity while reflecting the region’s rich culture and emphasizing the idea of the airport as a place that is both inclusive and accessible to all.
Lucas Blair Simpson © SOM
I-shaped in plan, the two-storey terminal building dedicates the upper level to departures, including check-in and security, and the lower level to arrivals.
Lucas Blair Simpson © SOM
Upon a... More
News • News • 5 Jun 2022
Soaring aerial walkway welcomes passengers to the new International Arrivals Facility at Seattle-Tacoma Airport
Improving efficiency and elevating the passenger experience, the new and expanded International Arrivals Facility (IAF) at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) features an aerial walkway, which is the longest of its type in the world, a Grand Hall, and a secure corridor to increase passenger numbers to international gates.
Dave Burk / Lucas Blair Simpson | SOM
Spanning 7880 feet across an active taxi lane, the walkway affords passengers 360-degree views of the Pacific Northwest landscape, including Mount Rainier, and the Olympic and Cascade Mountain Ranges. Passengers can simultaneously watch planes passing beneath as they head towards the Grand Hall.
Dave Burk / Lucas Blair Simpson | SOM
With a sweeping roofline that tilt... More