Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

Join Peter J. Kindel AIA ASLA RIBA, SOM's Cities and Climate Lead, at the upcoming Circular Cities Summit 2.0 in Dubai. Building upon last year's UN COP28, this conference will delve into the future of sustainable urban development in the Middle East and the application of circular design principles in urban planning to address the region's pressing environmental challenges. Kindel will deliver a keynote lecture, "Biomorphic Urbanism: Cultural and Ecological Circularity for a Sustainable Middle East," where he will showcase four scales of circularity—the region, the city, the district, and the building—using SOM projects, including the Bahrain National Plan and Sultan Haitham City in Oman. Both projects seek to enhance the quality of urban development and promote ecological resilience using different strategies. Learn about the conference below. MORE → bit.ly/4efkPBd 📷 : © SOM | ATCHAIN

For decades, the West Side Rail Yard has sat as an urban void in New York's Midtown West, an open train yard and sunken parking lot. Now, we are reimagining the site into a 7-million-square-foot, mixed-use development known as Hudson Yards West—with a 5.6-acre park to boot. Alongside Related Companies, Wynn Resorts, and landscape architects Sasaki and Hollander Design Landscape Architects, we envision a new neighborhood complete with modernized rail infrastructure, enhanced pedestrian access, a landmark resort and hotel, a residential tower with affordable housing, offices, and a school that repositions 11th Avenue as a citywide destination. “The project would transform Manhattan’s western green spaces into an interconnected necklace of parks and public amenities, knitting Hudson Green with the High Line, Hudson River Park, and Hudson Yards,” said SOM Partner Colin Koop. Learn about the vision for Hudson Yards West below. MORE → bit.ly/3yY7AG6 📷: © SOM | ATCHAIN

Now open: The SOM Foundation released its call for applications for the annual Research Prize and European Research Prize under the topic of "Advancing Toward a Water-Secure Future.” Applications are also now open for the Robert L. Wesley Award—named in honor of the first Black partner at SOM—to support BIPOC undergraduate students enrolled in architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, urban design, or engineering programs in the United States. Share the opportunity or throw your hat in the ring before November 11. MORE → bit.ly/350vu1N 📷: © Lauren Jian, 2023 Robert L. Wesley Award Recipient

Good news: The U.S. DOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center has been recognized with a LEED Platinum certification! It’s the highest mark of excellence for sustainability awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council. In collaboration with Atelier Ten, we engineered a structure with an orientation that fully maximizes daylighting and a glass and aluminum facade that minimizes glare, all with triple glazing and an overall window-wall ratio of 48 percent that further contributes to the building’s energy performance. Through our built projects, research initiatives, and our role as advocates in our industry and beyond, we are working to advance a net-zero carbon built environment, and this is yet another demonstration of our commitment to environmental stewardship. MORE → bit.ly/3z1wEvH 📷 : Dave Burk © SOM

Coming to Hanoi: The Smart City Financial Tower is set to be the tallest building in Vietnam—a 108-story, mixed-use skyscraper surrounded by a vast public park. BRG Group and Sumitomo Corporation, working with a committee of Vietnamese and international experts in construction, urban planning, and architecture, selected SOM to design and engineer the North Hanoi centerpiece. Said SOM Design Partner Olin McKenzie, “The design is driven by smart technology and sustainability, leveraging passive strategies to allow the building to breathe, giving inhabitants access to natural gardens hundreds of feet in the air, and catering to a dense mix of uses that will bring thousands of people through the building every day.” Learn about the project below. MORE → bit.ly/3WVsCgc 📷: © SOM | ATCHAIN

Please vote! Mulva Cultural Center is a finalist in the AIA Chicago Lerch Bates People's Choice Awards, which celebrate “buildings that contribute not just to our iconic skyline, but to the quality of life for its citizens.” Mulva Cultural Center stands as a premier destination for the creative arts and cultural programming in the midwest, envisioned as a vibrant hub for creativity, education, and entertainment in the greater Green Bay area. Writes AIA Chicago, “With its bright, soaring volumes and seamless integration of architecture, structure, and interiors, the Mulva Cultural Center offers a world-class design and cultural experience.” Please join us in recognizing this new project by casting your vote below! Vote → bit.ly/3T2pBK3 More about the project → bit.ly/46XqOIo 📷: Dave Burk © SOM

Find out more about why SOM joined the World Green Building Council's Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment in a new interview with SOM Sustainability Director Mina Hasman. SOM was one of the first design and engineering firms to join the Commitment, which recognizes leadership action by businesses, organizations, cities, and subnational governments in tackling operational and embodied carbon emissions from the building and construction sector. In the article, Hasman writes about our firm's approach to decarbonizing our global studio spaces and how we contribute to decarbonization at large.

Crain's Chicago Business has recognized SOM Design Partner Scott Duncan in its monthly column, “A Chicagoan to Know,” where they get to know a noteworthy Chicagoan in business, nonprofits, or government. This feature comes after a recent article about the design of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport Satellite Concourse 1, which Duncan is leading. In this profile, he describes his upbringing and what pushed him to fall in love with big cities. He discusses everything from his dream project to his favorite building and most hair-raising experience. Read on for more. Read the article → bit.ly/4cwexf3 Learn about O’Hare’s Satellite Concourse 1 → bit.ly/3yQe49n 📷: SOM and NORVISKA © City of Chicago

Kempegowda International Airport Terminal 2 won ARCHITECT Magazine’s Honor Award in the Government and Civic Building category of the annual Architecture & Interiors Awards program. “There’s something sort of joyful and fantastical about it,” said Brooke Horan, juror for Architect Magazine’s 2024 Architecture & Interior Award and associate Vice President and Interior Design Director at HDR. “It feels warm and welcoming and comfortable, bringing respite to the potentially stressful situation of travel.” Architect Magazine recognizes a diverse range of design projects showcasing innovation and ingenuity in all its forms. See the winners below. MORE → bit.ly/4cscd8T 📽: Ar. ekansh goel © Studio Recall

“With a distinguished history, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill is keen to continue pioneering the construction and engineering industry,” reports the latest issue of APAC Outlook Magazine. In this multi-page feature, Design Principal Nicolas Medrano, AIA shares insights on the transformative impact of SOM’s work on cities and communities, from Lever House, the first modernist office building in New York City, to Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.  “SOM has set new standards for quality, sustainability, and innovation, from Urban Sequoia, a carbon sequestering concept, to 8 Shenton Way (pictured), the tallest tower in Singapore,” writes Tom Arnold and Rachel Carr for APAC Outlook. Read the full story below. MORE → bit.ly/3WPWt9S Image: 8 Shenton Way, Singapore, © SOM | Bezier