Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

One of the missing pieces to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 is grid-scale energy storage, which is precisely what we are tackling in our partnership with Energy Vault. As CNN reports, tall buildings are SOM’s specialty, which creates “an opportunity to take this expertise … and use it for energy storage, enabling us to wean ourselves [off] fossil fuels," said Bill Baker, SOM consulting partner and structural engineer of the Burj Khalifa. Our design stores renewable energy, such as excess solar energy, and converts it into electricity when demand is high. Unlike a traditional battery, this gravity energy storage system is designed as a building that could last for many decades without risk of fire or need for offsite storage. Read more about it in the CNN article below. MORE → bit.ly/3WunFuM 📷: Pictury © Energy Vault Holdings, Inc.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 SOM Foundation China Fellowship, Zhangxiang Dai, Wenxiao Xiang, and Xiangqing Zheng. The China Fellowship is awarded annually to three students to conduct independent travel and research that contributes to the SOM Foundation’s current topic, which this year is "Adapting Housing Strategies to Respond to New Realities." It seeks to explore affordable, equitable, and innovative modes of multifamily housing that respond to current and future needs. Learn more about the Fellowship and winners below. MORE → bit.ly/4db3MA2 📷: Xinmin Road Community Experiment, © Wenxiao Xiang

Monday kicks off the inaugural Holcim Foundation Fellowship, and we're excited to welcome the following Fellows to our New York office for an intensive, two-week course that empowers students to bridge education and the practice of sustainable construction. Learn more about the program and meet the first fellowship cohort below. MORE → bit.ly/4fydTk7

Last week, we hosted Take Your Kids to Work Day at our Chicago studio! From toddlers to teens, these future architects got a chance to experience a day in the life of a designer and have a hand in their own creations. Have a peek below at what's been called the happiest day of the year at SOM. 🎥: Cheyenne Tobias, Francisco Lopez de Arenosa, Dave Burk © SOM

From Hangzhou’s tallest tower to a riverfront restoration, four SOM projects in China have been selected as CREDAWARD winners in what marks the 10th anniversary of this influential and rigorous international awards program. Our latest work in Hangzhou—Wangchao Center (pictured) and Greenland Hangzhou Century Center—won Gold Awards in the Comprehensive Commercial Projects category. In Shanghai, Jingyuan Road Riverfront District won a Gold Award in the Future Project category and Shanghai Lingang Financial Bay Phase 2 Urban Design took home a Silver Award for Planning Design. Originally named the “Chinese Real Estate Design Award,” CREDAWARD’s strict selection process, transparency, and rigorous standards have made it known as one of the industry’s most credible award programs. Read on for more about the projects and to see all winners. MORE → bit.ly/3LKZNOt 📷 : Qingyan Zhu

We are pleased to have joined Article 25’s More Than a Building network. Article 25 is a UK-based architectural NGO, known for designing and delivering high-quality hospitals, schools, and homes in the global south. “At SOM, we believe that building greater equity is a collective effort,” said Design Partner Kent Jackson. Learn more about our involvement below.

We're thrilled to announce that Lincoln Common has been honored as part of the 2024 Urban Land Institute (ULI) Americas Awards for Excellence! Located in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, Lincoln Common has transformed the former site of Children’s Memorial Hospital into a vibrant, 1.1 million-square-foot, mixed-use community. This LEED Silver master-planned development blends new construction with adaptive reuse across a six-acre site, introducing new high-rise density to an otherwise low-rise neighborhood. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to our partners, co-developers McCaffery and Hines, our design collaborators Antunovich Associates, and W.E. O'Neil Construction. Our San Francisco project 49 South Van Ness & 1550 Mission also gained recognition in the ULI Americas Awards program—it was named as a finalist. Learn about the winning projects below. MORE → bit.ly/4dmyxBP 📷: Dave Burk © SOM

Fast Company said it best: “Bengaluru’s new airport is so nice you’ll want to hang out there even if you’re not flying.” As part of its annual Innovation by Design Awards, Fast Co identifies the top projects and ideas that shape the world we live in for the better. And we made the list. Elissaveta Brandon writes about our Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru — Terminal 2 design, “A typical airport exists to serve one very specific purpose: usher you to your gate in the most efficient way possible. But for one airport in Bengaluru, India, efficiency is the bare minimum… The architects have made sure that on top of getting to your gate efficiently, you can also relish moments of calm and delight.” The new Terminal, which radically reimagines the airport experience by connecting passengers to nature, joins a robust list of Fast Company’s recognized projects and ideas that showcase a spark of ingenuity, including our High Line – Moynihan Connector project, which earned an honorable mention for urban design. Read the full story below. MORE → bit.ly/3YkEwTs

Recently, exhibition space Wrightwood 659 in Chicago held a documentary screening and panel discussion on artist Chryssa’s largest sculpture, which she produced, engineered, and constructed in collaboration with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. The first office building post-energy crisis to include multi-story stacked atria, SOM’s Bruce Graham envisioned Chryssa’s neon work at 33 West Monroe in Chicago as a lantern to illuminate the space. In the documentary—and preview here—Graham’s former Executive Secretary Sonia Cooke, SHRM-SCP and exhibition Assistant Curator Ashley Janke speak about her impact and talent. Closing July 27, Chryssa’s work is on view in “Chryssa & New York,” at Wrightwood 659, Chicago. Learn about the event and see the documentary below. MORE → bit.ly/3WAmPOc 📽: Cheyenne Tobias

Introducing Shanghai Zhenru China Overseas Center, a new mixed-use project complete with two office towers, the Huanyu Max shopping mall, a theater, and cultural amenities. With a focus on wellness in the workplace, the towers feature ample green space, terraces, and operable windows where the facade modules overlap. Its design also touts column-free interiors, which can flex to accommodate a wide range of office layouts. With generous shading, landscaping, and permeable paving, the master plan put a special emphasis on ecology, livability, and cultural heritage. The former village has been transformed into a contemporary business district, yet a 500-year-old gingko tree remains for what has become the centerpiece of the project and a nod to its past. MORE → bit.ly/46ggtqy 📷: Songkai Liu © TraceImage