How a team of architects and engineers designed a California civic building to serve as a model for low-carbon architecture — Even in construction, the new County Office Building (COB3) in downtown Redwood City is turning heads. Planks and beams of mass timber, rather than steel or concrete, form the five-story building’s structure, visible to all who pass by the building site. Mass timber has become an emblem for sustainable architecture…

SOM’s Frank Mahan and Atelier Ten’s Nico Kienzl see office vacancies as an opportunity to apply creativity and expertise. — New York City’s aging office buildings from the 1950s and 60s pose a conundrum. Falling short of today’s sustainability standards and in dire need of renovations, many of these buildings have seen increasing vacancy rates in the wake of the pandemic, to the point of becoming financially unviable for building…

For Hispanic Heritage Month, we look back at the late architect’s connections to the Spanish-speaking world and how it influenced his love for cities, buildings, and art. One cannot visualize Chicago’s skyline without the gargantuan contributions of Bruce Graham (1925–2010), nor can one imagine the architect’s career without the power…

Designer Lonny Israel on crafting new signage for a San Francisco institution — In 2003, San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum (AAM) moved into its new home, a more than century-old Beaux-Arts style building designed to be a public library. Since its opening in 1966, the museum had occupied a wing of the de Young Memorial Museum in Golden Gate Park, but a city…

In a 1979 commencement speech, the boundary-pushing architect shared insights from an unconventional life in design. — On May 6, 1979, architect Walter Netsch received an honorary doctorate of humanities and gave a commencement address to the graduating class at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The site was a familiar one. The Miami University Art Museum, which Netsch designed, had opened one year prior. He spoke to…

What if buildings absorbed carbon like trees? This future may not be far away. A research team at the University of Colorado Boulder believes that a new generation of biological materials could turn the construction industry into a force to heal the planet. …

We asked four women at SOM to tell us what inspires them. — “Women Take Charge at SOM”: This May 2020 article in Architectural Record, a profile on the three women partners who lead SOM’s Executive Committee, describes a milestone in the journey toward gender equity in our firm and in our profession. Women’s History Month is an occasion to celebrate influential women…

When the pandemic upended our global photography plans, photographer Dave Burk revisited some of SOM’s most noteworthy 20th century works in his backyard. — Dave Burk was quite familiar with SOM’s work before joining the firm in 2019 as our photographer. An architecture fan and Chicago native, Burk grew up with SOM towers in the backdrop to his daily life as a child before eventually taking an apprenticeship with the heralded photography firm Hedrich…

Our annual architecture and urban design preview — New parks and public spaces will open, campus buildings will be inaugurated, and civic treasures will be renovated and reimagined: around the world, 2022 has many highlights in store. With climate change top-of-mind, this work demonstrates an array of strategies to decarbonize the built environment, from ecological restoration to adaptive…