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. 

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. 

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. 

Vertical mullions running the length of the volume contain user-controlled panels that aid in the building's ventilation strategy, allowing workers to control and enjoy environments that are invigorated by fresh air and natural light deep into the interior spaces.

Through a high-performance curtain wall system and added thermal insulation, the firm states that the exterior envelope drastically reduces the cooling loads while improving the user's comfort in the perimeter zone year-round. 

A covered pedestrian arcade at the ground level completes the project, connecting with a subway station. SOM has also published a Conceptual Framework Plan for the city's Old Town and created a master plan for Guangzhou University's University Island development to add to its Pearl River Tower from 2013 and the U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou project on Shamian Island from the same year.

Recently, the firm also revealed it is working on an EV manufacturing plant for the automaker Rivian in Stanton Spring, Georgia. Another corporate office design, Two Manhattan West, was inaugurated in January. 

SOM is currently hiring for a Senior Business Development & Marketing Manager in its New York office and has two open Project Manager positions in Chicago.