Archinect - News

SOM and Neri debut inaugural line of urban furniture

2024-11-29T08:45:00-05:00

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has collaborated with Italian manufacturer Neri on a collection of outdoor furniture products. Named the Nebula collection, the products are designed to fill a need for considered, versatile street furniture to populate main streets and urban corridors. The collection includes bench seating, stools, tables, and a bicycle rack.

“This is a collection born of necessity,” said Carlos Madrid III, Senior Associate Principal at SOM, about the collection. “Our firm has a long history of working at the urban scale, and we have consistently found a dearth of products in the marketplace that are flexible enough to work at the scale of the conversation, as well as the scale of the city.”

SOM breaks ground on new 53-story office project in Shenzhen

2024-10-16T15:11:00-04:00

Another important new project for Shenzhen—the SOM-designed CIMC Global Headquarters—just broke ground on its path to a 2029 completion. By that time, the 53-story, 886-foot tower will begin welcoming the first of its 60,000 anticipated daily users. Located in the Qianhai commercial district, the design targets both LEED and WELL Platinum certifications.

SOM (currently hiring for three project manager positions on Archinect Jobs) also recently broke ground on the $336 million new NJPAC redevelopment scheme with Weiss/Manfredi in Newark, New Jersey.

Image: Atchain © SOM

SOM to redesign upper floors of Hancock Center in Chicago

2024-10-02T17:29:00-04:00

One of the most significant skyscraper designs in SOM’s portfolio, the John Hancock Center (now known as 875 N. Michigan Avenue) in Chicago, will be receiving an upgrade to its upper-level Signature Room, according to 360 Chicago, the group that bought the former restaurant space on the 95th and 96th floors earlier this year.

The managing director of 360 Chicago told the Chicago Sun-Times they were still in the "early stages" of planning for the project. She added: "One of the strengths of bringing on a firm like SOM is that they’re very focused on research and strategy as well. e’re deep in the planning process with them, and challenging both them and us what the best use of the space can be."

SOM, Weiss/Manfredi, and Future Green's $336 million NJPAC redevelopment breaks ground in Newark

2024-09-20T11:05:00-04:00

Skidmore, Owings & Merril (SOM) have broken ground on a new $336 million campus redevelopment at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in downtown Newark. The state’s largest city will receive a new 350-unit SOM-designed ArtSide apartment complex through the plan. Other key elements include new headquarters for legendary WBGO radio, Future Green Studio’s reimagined Chambers Plaza park area, and the 58,000-square-foot Cooperman Family Arts Education and Community Center from Weiss/Manfredi.

ArtSide. Image: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, courtesy of NJPAC.

SOM had created the NJPAC’s original master plan in 1988. Newark’s Mayor Ras Baraka commented: "The streets of Newark have always been steeped in the arts. This is a city where jazz and hip hop are in the breeze, and every wall without a mural is just a canvas no one’s yet claimed. The new neighborhood around NJPAC will fully embrace that dynamic spirit, bringing more housing, stores and gathering places to our already lively do...

Your next role could be delivering aviation projects at SOM

2024-09-18T07:30:00-04:00

Following our previous look at an opening for a Store Planning Designer at Kering Beauté, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Transportation Project Manager at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

The role, based in New York, calls for an individual to serve as a project team leader for the firm’s transportation and aviation projects, as well as serving as a client point of contact. While potentially encompassing a broad transport portfolio, the role will focus particularly on aviation projects “including all aspects of terminal building planning and design including airside, landside and the various specialties such as baggage handling and airport systems, needed to deliver terminal development programs.”

Related on Archinect: New Chicago O’Hare satellite concourse design by SOM-led team unveiled. Image credit: SOM and Norviska

Why the role interests us

The open role at SOM offers us the opportunity to review the many ...

Chicago pushes O'Hare Airport redevelopment completion target to 2034

2024-09-11T19:26:00-04:00

The official timeline of the planned $8.5 billion Chicago O’Hare Aiport expansion has been moved to 2034, according to Crain’s. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is working with Ross Barney Architects, Arup, and Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects (JGMA) to complete its first 19-gate Satellite Concourse 1 phase, which will be completed in 2028. Phase 2 will follow four years later (two years more than was previously scheduled). The $300 million renovation of Terminal 3, which broke ground in April, is expected to be complete by 2032.

Whither 400 Lake Shore Drive? Chicago critic Edward Keegan asks for a firm answer

2024-08-15T13:05:00-04:00

Chicago’s most infamous vacant site of the 21st century is finally getting a tower. But will we be getting the architect’s best vision — or just half of a good design? A look at some recent history of large projects in the city offers some guidance, and reason for concern. I have no reason to doubt Related’s stated intention to build both towers, but if history is a guide, it’s more likely than not that the single tower will never see its sibling.

The Windy City's newest architecture critic, Edward Keegan, explains 400 Lake Shore Drive (designed by SOM's Chicago office with David Childs) against five other similar projects that never saw the original vision of their architects fully realized. He says a potential void might become a permanent edifice where once Santiago Calatrava endeavored to build his 2,000-foot Spire tower if Related Midwest is not kept to task by city officials and an active group of "concerned citizens."

"We need a planning mechanism that pays more attention to the interim state of larger projects without becoming too enamored with the complete design," he writes further for the Tribune's newly established architecture column. "Because city building is always a work in progress, as a number of orphan towers can attest."

The first half of the project broke ground in June and expects to be ready for its initial tenants to move in by the fall of 2027.

SOM unveils new bus shelter designs for a more equitable future LA

2024-07-07T08:00:00-04:00

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has shared photos of its new bus shelter designs for the City of Los Angeles.

The LA STAP (short for Sidewalk and Transit Amenities Program) shelters are the first prototype designs for the initiative that will eventually install 3,000 shelters and 450 shade structures in need-based locations across Los Angeles over the next decade. Officials from the city's Bureau of Street Services (aka StreetsLA) met in Tarzana last month to preview the designs.

Image: James Michael Juarez © SOM

There, they bore witness to what will eventually be unique new additions to the city's visual landscape. Another 250 total are expected to be installed by June 2025.

Image: James Michael Juarez © SOM

The configurable designs are said to be inspired by the California Modernism movement and will display a digital art program and feature smart lighting technology.

Image: James Michael Juarez © SOM

Leading the contract for STAP is Tranzito-Vector, a joint venture between smart mobi...

SOM completes lush, high-end residential tower in Mumbai

2024-06-21T15:46:00-04:00

Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill (SOM) has announced the completion of a new high-end residential tower that provides a lush oasis amidst the bustle of Mumbai.

Called Carmichael Residences, the tower addresses an increasing demand for high-rise living. It sits in Tardeo, a neighborhood known for its historic bungalows and expansive gardens. The building is distinguished by a western red cedar façade that is accented with plantings. It also embraces passive design strategies inspired by the architecture of the region.

On the street level, a driveway winds toward an elevated and private lobby surrounded by curved glass.

The lobby offers a serene atmosphere through the presence of gardens that feature scented flowers, running water, lush plantings, and finishes made of locally sourced granite and western red cedar. These natural elements ascend to the parking levels, which are shrouded in plantings.

“This development adds a new residential experience for the neighborhood,” said SOM Partne...

SOM's 400 Lake Shore Drive officially breaks ground in Chicago

2024-06-18T15:25:00-04:00

Yesterday marked the official groundbreaking ceremony for Developer Related Midwest’s Chicago Spire replacement designed by the Chicago Office of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM) with David Childs. What will become a pair of new architectural centerpieces for the Lakefront and Streeterville neighborhood are set to be realized at 857 and 765 feet each, with the first tower ready to move in the first of its 635 new residents by the third quarter of 2027.

“As we break ground today, we do so with immense optimism for the future of Chicago […] 400 Lake Shore is a testament to the enduring strength of our great city and I am confident it will inspire future generations to continue building and dreaming big," Related Midwest's Curt Bailey said at the ceremony. Its progress follows last week's topping out of the TWBTA-designed Obama Presidential Center museum building on the South Side. Demolition work on the Thompson Center to make way for Google's new $280 million takeover has also be...

'Turning skyscrapers into batteries': SOM unveils energy storage prototypes partnership

2024-05-31T12:17:00-04:00

Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill has announced a new partnership with the Swiss energy storage company Energy Vault Holdings that will produce a series of prototype designs for deployable structures and vertical energy storage units up to 1,000 meters (3,280 feet).

Led by SOM Partners Adam Semel and Scott Duncan in collaboration with Burj Khalifa’s structural engineer Bill Baker, the initiative will be the first such technology to integrate gravity-based energy storage technology within the superstructure of tall buildings, enabling a carbon payback within accelerated 3–4 year timeframes.

SOM says: “The 10-year agreement is expected to result in multi-GWh of long duration Energy Vault GESS deployments to contribute to SADC region’s energy storage needs estimated to be 25 GW/125 GWh by 2035.”

New Chicago O’Hare satellite concourse design by SOM-led team unveiled

2024-05-29T17:30:00-04:00

Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill has announced plans for a new satellite concourse at Chicago O’Hare International Airport along with Ross Barney Architects, Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects, and Arup.

What will become the first new building in the airport’s largest expansion in 68 years features improved passenger experiences to compete with other modern airport designs. The firm won the commission for two new terminal structures at O’Hare, the country’s fourth-busiest airport, in 2019 and is expected to follow with the 1.3 million-square-foot total addition’s second half by 2030.

Image: courtesy of SOM and Norviska

"We designed the new satellite concourse to create a frictionless experience for travelers, on par with the best airports in the world," said SOM Design Partner Scott Duncan. "The gate lounges feature column-free expanses for easy wayfinding, high ceilings to improve views and air circulation, and a daylighting strategy to help align the body's natural rhythms — all to make ...

SOM's new Schwarzman College of Computing opens at MIT

2024-05-01T14:02:00-04:00

The new home for the recently established MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been completed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

What will be a research hub for AI and other disciplines in the computing sciences offers 185,000 square feet of labs, collaborative spaces, classrooms, and faculty areas inside a shingled profile that defines two eight-story pavilions.

Image credit: Dave Burk © SOM

The structure's design was limited by an existing railroad track running along the site’s north axis, creating the need for a 44-foot bridge that connects to either volume across three levels. After entering its oak-finished triple-height lobby from a central plaza area, engineers and researchers have space to explore flexible arrangements in the offices along its perimeter on Vassar Street.

Image credit: Dave Burk © SOM

The building includes social kitchens, a large 250-seat lecture ...

Your next job could be designing federal government buildings at SOM

2024-04-10T11:07:00-04:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for Visiting Faculty Fellowships in Design for Spatial Justice at the University of Oregon, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Technical Architect - US Government Work at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

The role, based in Washington, D.C., calls for an individual “responsible for the technical innovation, integration, documentation, and execution of the architectural and engineering design intent.” Among the responsibilities for the role will be contributing technical innovations to aid the design process, reviewing applicable codes, and tracking metrics such as energy, water, and carbon use in projects.

Related on Archinect: SOM shares photos of new John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge. Image: © Dave Burk/SOM

Why the role interests us

The open role at SOM offers us the opportunity to highlight some of the significant recent developments reporte...

SOM's tapering Star River Headquarters project completes in Guangzhou

2024-03-20T17:49:00-04:00

SOM has unveiled the newly completed Star River Headquarters project in Guangzhou, China, which it says is emblematic of the city’s late transformation into a national destination for trade and cultural tourism.

The 918-foot-tall office tower was realized at Pazhou Island and anchors a new block-size development that is helping to revitalize the city’s traditional hub for commerce and financial services.

Image: © Seth Powers/SOM

SOM says its design "represents a new class of office buildings" that are currently reshaping Guangzhou, joining the new Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce and Sany IROOTECH Headquarters from 2020 and 2025, respectively.

Image: © Seth Powers/SOM

From a distance, the tower's tapered parabolic silhouette stands prominently above a landscaped public plaza area and retail establishments below, utilizing a pleated effect that enables unique possibilities for the interplay of light and shadow on its facade.

Image: © Seth Powers/SOM

Vertical mullions running the length...

Construction starts at SOM-designed 400 Lake Shore Drive replacement in Chicago

2024-03-05T14:24:00-05:00

The much-publicized void left behind in the wake of Santiago Calatrava’s failed Chicago Spire proposal is finally being attended to, as now the Chicago Sun-Times and other outlets are reporting on developer Related Midwest’s start of construction for the SOM-designed replacement at 400 Lake Shore Drive.

The 76-foot hole was partially filled by the 12-hour concrete pour required for the mat foundation for the two-tower scheme that will yield 1,100 apartments and the new DuSable Park at the three-acre site by Q3 2027.

Video showing the 12-hour mat foundation pour, which included 250 concrete trucks delivering 9 million pounds of concrete. Video courtesy Related Midwest

This update comes after caisson permits for the project were granted in December. David Childs is responsible for the design, which references Chicago's vernacular masonry and terra cotta architecture in two faceted 765- and 857-foot forms. Urbanize Chicago reports there to be a total of nine million tons of concrete...

Take an inside look at the form-making process for LACMA's new David Geffen Galleries

2024-02-06T12:15:00-05:00

LACMA’s Unframed blog recently profiled the work of contractor Clark Construction to build the concrete structure for the Peter Zumthor-designed $750 million new David Geffen Galleries extension. The concrete will be left untreated to match its architect’s long-established aesthetic and elevate the "hand of the craftsman."

Work will now commence on the installation of the 347,500-square-foot gallery’s interior walls, plus its exterior facade glazing, MEP systems, and roof-level horizontal decks.

"The building has no columns!," Chris Bell, the project executive for Clark Construction, shared with Unframed. "Instead, there are seven 30-foot-tall park-level pavilions that support the entire exhibition space. That's three football fields long with supporting cantilevers that hold people, glass, artwork — cantilevers that are 60 feet long. Being able to achieve and balance the structural and architectural requirements, it's a feat unto itself."

The update comes after LACMA celebrated t...

SOM completes Two Manhattan West, marking a major milestone for corporate office design in NYC

2024-01-31T15:18:00-05:00

SOM has completed work on their Two Manhattan West tower project to culminate the shorter second half of its $4.5 billion mixed-use Manhattan West development in New York City.

The four-year construction effort yielded a total two million square feet of new office space that was built above active railroad tracks in what the firm describes as an "extraordinary" advancement of the methods used in urban design, structural engineering, and architecture.

Photo: Dave Burk © SOM

It joins SOM's already-completed One Manhattan West office tower and five other buildings at the eight-acre mixed-use site, which is being developed to over seven million square feet by Brookfield Properties. Design Principal Kim Van Holsbeke says it offers a "thriving new urban destination."

Photo: Dave Burk © SOM

By extending the urban fabric of the development west to its new boundary at Ninth Avenue and 31st Street, Two Manhattan West creates a new gateway to the neighborhood backed by the four smaller buildin...

SOM begins $550 million Gray 30th Street Station redevelopment in Philadelphia

2024-01-29T13:57:00-05:00

The groundbreaking on SOM’s $550 million William H. Gray III 30th Street Station redevelopment was held in Philadelphia this month in advance of the next 50-year leg of the historic building’s journey in service to commuters who first began making use of it in 1933.

Gilbane will be directing the design-build for the project, which will last at the station through the end of 2027. By that time, its passenger capacity will have doubled to 25 million per year. The project covers approximately 500,000 square feet overall and is part of a larger $10 billion District Plan that will add retail amenities and other improvements to the Market Street Plaza outside.

Image courtesy Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

According to Amtrak, the scope of the redevelopment includes:

modernizing and expanding station food & beverage and retail offerings
improving station operations and enhancing the customer experience
upgrading The Porch landscaping and commun...

SOM completes ‘terminal in a garden’ for India’s Kempegowda International Airport

2024-01-04T11:25:00-05:00

The Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed Terminal 2 at India’s Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru has opened to passengers. Inspired by the ‘garden city’ heritage of Bengaluru, the designers describe the airport terminal as “a serene multimodal transit hub that radically reimagines the airport experience.”

Image credit: Ar. Ekansh Goel © Studio Recall

Designed in collaboration with landscape architects Grant Associates and designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla (AJSK), SOM’s vision for a “terminal in a garden” sought to heighten the presence of nature in the airport experience. The main terminal block, housing check-in, immigration, security, retail, arrivals, and baggage claim, is separated from the terminal’s departure gates by a 295-foot-wide, multilevel “forest belt” housing native plants, pathways, and bamboo-clad, multistory pavilions.

Image credit: Ar. Ekansh Goel © Studio Recall

“For Terminal 2, SOM’s design inverts every expectation of how an airport can look and feel,”...

SOM shares photos of new Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge

2023-12-28T18:15:00-05:00

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) have shared photos of their new U.S. DOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center project in Cambridge, Massachusetts following the building’s formal public inauguration in September.

The 13-story, 410,000-square-foot building reclaims an existing 14-acre lot in Kendall Square that has been used by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) since 1970. Added outdoor public spaces replete with an undulating Maya Lin land art piece and further landscaping designed by Reed Hilderbrand surround the new design, which houses formerly separate laboratory facilities, data centers, and administrative offices into a singular “vertical campus” concept for the first time.

Image: © Dave Burk/SOM

The building is oriented to maximize the sun’s position throughout the year while also working to minimize glare and solar radiation at the east and west elevations. The Center's footprint has been reduced to 4 acres as part of a land-use agreement signed with MIT’s...

Chicago issues caisson permit for 400 Lake Shore Drive

2023-12-14T12:41:00-05:00

An important milestone has been reached in the construction of 400 Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. According to Urbanize Chicago, a caisson permit has been issued, and below-grade work is scheduled to kick off early next year.

The blog reports that once that work is done, "above-grade work will start in Q1 2025 and continue through Q2 2027. Landscaping and the final completion of the tower is expected for Q3 2027."

The project had previously set a date for around December 1st for its construction to start. SOM's chairman emeritus David Childs is the designer of the two-tower scheme, which quotes the masonry and terra cotta traditions that are synonymous with the Windy City.

Previously on Archinect: Chicago's 400 Lake Shore Drive developers finally set a construction start date

The project will culminate in a total of 1,100 residential units. The first phase of its development calls for the construction of the 3.44-acre DuSable Park and the 72-story Tower One, which stands as a half-size...

SOM completes Rice University’s new engineering and science building behind a patterned brick facade

2023-12-08T13:24:00-05:00

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has completed a new engineering and science building for Rice University in Houston, Texas. Named the Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science, the 250,000-square-foot facility seeks to “provide students and researchers with technology-rich facilities that align with the University’s goal to stay at the forefront of scientific discovery.”

The new building contains laboratories, classrooms, offices, a cafe, and gathering spaces. At the top level, meanwhile, a multi-purpose event space contains an outdoor terrace set against the backdrop of the Houston skyline.

The building is anchored by a five-story central atrium, imagined by the team as “a hub of activity” connecting the wider facilities. A glazed facade at the ground level visually connects the building with the Engineering Quad outside, while a cantilevered sculptural stair is framed by brick walls and a fritted glass wall on the upper levels.

Image cred...

SOM completes restoration of Lever House, a midcentury Manhattan office icon

2023-11-17T15:14:00-05:00

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has announced the completion of a recent restoration project that’s meant to breathe new life into their historic Lever House design in Manhattan.

The scope of their work entailed the creation of a new lobby, ground-level public plaza, installation of an entirely new modernized building system, and 15,000-square-foot Lever Club hospitality suite in addition to redesigned interior spaces from Marmol Radziner.

The brief called for repairs affecting the material character of the building (terrazzo flooring, refinished exterior columns, and a glass mosaic tile wall) and fixes to water-damaged ceilings. Reed Hilderbrand has also contributed a comprehensive new landscape program for the building that connects the plaza area to third-floor terraces. Costs for the project were around $100 million.

“This renovation brings Lever House into the 21st century,” SOM Partner Chris Cooper said in a statement...

Chicago's 400 Lake Shore Drive developers finally set a construction start date

2023-10-19T12:25:00-04:00

In 45 days, the construction team will be on site to begin site clearing and mobilization. Crews will begin below-grade work, including caissons, sheeting, and the cofferdam. Work below-grade is expected to begin in Q1 of 2024 and run through Q2 2025. Once underground work is done, crews will transition to vertical construction, including concrete pours, the building enclosure, and interiors. Above-grade work will start in Q1 2025 and continue through Q2 2027.

Developers Related Midwest had initially promised a start of the project by the end of last year. Construction now will begin with the 72-story Tower One and work towards an eventual 2027 completion, ending a saga that began with the cancellation of Santiago Calatrava’s ambitious 150-floor Chicago Spire proposal in 2008.

Writing after the revised SOM plan’s approval in 2020, critic Blair Kamin said it offered a “watering-down of the project’s previously arresting skyline presence and a weakening of its contribution to a network of public spaces that was envisioned in the 1980s.”

SOM unveils new algae-based Bio-Blocks technology at the Chicago Architecture Biennial

2023-09-29T14:01:00-04:00

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has debuted a new concrete alternative material as part of its participation in the fifth Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB 5), which is taking place now through February 11th at multiple locations citywide.

The firm’s Bio-Blocks technology is being presented as a replacement for traditional Concrete Masonry Units (or CMUs) and can reduce emissions on a project by up to 8% if used at scale. The blocks were fabricated with help from Prometheus Materials using microalgae that were then subject to the company’s patent-pending photosynthetic biocementation process. The results seen therein offer a one-metric-ton total offset, according to the product team.

Displayed in a spiral construction courtesy of the International Masonry Institute and J&E Duff, Inc., in The Mews space at their 167 Green development in the city’s Fulton Market District, the product demonstrates its future potential as a building...

SOM reveals plans for 100,000-person Sultan Haitham smart city in Oman

2023-08-23T14:53:00-04:00

A new plan for a proposed smart city in Oman has been released by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in advance of the project’s anticipated construction start next year.

The 14.8 million-square-meter Sultan Haitham City is located west of the country’s capital, Muscat, and will accommodate 100,000 people with a total of 20,000 units of housing and climate-resilient naturalistic elements developed around twelve core aims of creating an experience that is "affordable, safe, compact, accessible, comfortable, robust, efficient, circular, healthy, smart, and lovable."

The project is part of the larger Vision 2040 initiative, which has, to date, seen the construction of the world’s largest 3D printed building made with real concrete. The development will begin with the construction of six neighborhoods around a 1.9-square-mile central core and later spread out along a 4.6-mile stretch until completion in 2045. SOM’s Managing Director Thomas Behr says it "provides a new model for sustainabl...

U.S. Air Force Academy releases update on iconic Cadet Chapel refurbishment

2023-08-09T16:21:00-04:00

Earlier this year, the ongoing refurbishment of SOM’s Walter Netsch-designed United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel in Colorado reached a significant milestone when contractors for the $220 million project removed the final aluminum fin from its iconic exterior, culminating the renovation’s asbestos removal stage and clearing the way for the final reconstruction to begin.

The painstaking process, which began in 2019 and hit an impasse after two years due to “unforeseen” issues that added nearly $80 million to the project’s original budget of $158 million, is now on track for completion in 2027 and will result in the installation of an aluminum water barrier system the Air Force scrapped during construction in favor of cheaper caulking seals.

“Scraping the sealants off the building damaged the aluminum finish and as time went on and new resealant projects came in, the sealants were no longer adhering to the aluminum very well,” Academy architect Duane Boyle said in an Air Forc...

SOM's two-tower office complex in Guangzhou has topped out

2023-08-04T15:36:00-04:00

SOM’s striking two-tower project, the Sany IROOTECH Headquarters in Guangzhou, China, has officially topped out at 669 feet. Situated in the city’s rapidly developing Pazhou business district, the structure was built for construction equipment company Sany’s new cloud technology arm.

Photo: SOM and Mo Peihua

The 1.9 million-square-foot complex is comprised of two Class A office towers. One will serve as the company’s headquarters, with the other being a leasable tenant space. Both structures are united by an external system of five-story steel columns that rise in a diamond grid pattern, which creates a self-shading façade. The diagrid system also contributes to the building’s resilience against seismic activity and strong winds.

Rendering courtesy of SOM

The design allows the floors to be suspended from the structure, ridding the need for interior columns. Landscaped terraces are also featured at five-floor intervals across the façade.

The towers sit atop an elevated podium, which br...

SOM introduces Whole Life Carbon Accounting service for developers and design professionals

2023-07-12T12:20:00-04:00

A new Whole Life Carbon Accounting service from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) was unveiled last month in an effort to help building owners and developers make accurate decisions about building performance at all stages of the design phase while pushing the industry further toward a much-needed reduced carbon future.

The service was created by the firm’s sustainability team and targets the important early-stage embodied carbon emissions of a building, offering a consolidation of disparate carbon assessments that can lead to drastic miscalculations of emissions on projects in between their initial design and completed construction.

“[The] gaps between traditional assessments and a building’s true performance can lead to a performance gap of up to five times more energy use and/or carbon emissions between predicted and actual values. Our service puts an end to this,” SOM’s Sustainability Director, Mina Hasman, explained via a press announcement.

Related on Archinect: Can the archi...