Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

What makes a museum a monument? a+u magazine’s latest issue—exploring how contemporary museums redefine public spaces—looks to the new David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) for answers. “Realizing this complex geometry required placing over 65,000 cubic meters of architecturally exposed concrete,” a+u reports. “The resulting structure behaves as a monolithic, post-tensioned mass without expansion joints, balancing its immense engineering scale with raw material permanence.” Spanning Wilshire Blvd as a single, continuous gallery, this monolithic concrete structure balances monumental scale with advanced seismic engineering. The feature highlights the unique collaboration between Peter Zumthor and SOM, breaking away from traditional museum design to create a modern environment for public enjoyment. For more, the issue is available for purchase below. More → bit.ly/4yAGTkt 📷: Dave Burk © SOM

Fun fact: Lever House once had a built-in shuffleboard court! It's one of the lesser-known stories behind the 1952 landmark that transformed Park Avenue and helped define corporate modernism in America. "I think there is not enough acknowledgement of the way that the building is still a radical proposal in New York City," says Associate Principal Amy Garlock. As we celebrate SOM's 90th anniversary, we're asking the people behind our landmark projects to share the stories most visitors never hear. For Garlock, that means everything from the terrace's surprising history to an unrealized collaboration with Isamu Noguchi on a sculpture garden for the plaza, the proposal for which you can see at the Noguchi Museum until September 13. Since Lever House’s debut more than 70 years ago, our Adaptive Reuse team has returned twice, revitalizing and preserving the landmark structure with a completely updated plaza and outdoor spaces, a fully restored lobby, and new mechanical systems. Swipe through as Garlock takes us on a deeper dive and read more below as the studio reflects on the challenge of preserving our architectural legacy while designing for what comes next. More → bit.ly/3RmSbs4 📷: © Ezra Stoller | Esto, Thomas Murtaugh, and Lucas Blair Simpson © SOM

SOM Sustainability Director Mina Hasman OBE joined Al Jazeera Media Network’s “Talk to Al Jazeera” series to discuss how architects and urban designers can help cities adapt to a rapidly warming climate. Drawing on SOM’s research and global practice, Hasman explores the role of regenerative design in creating more resilient, healthier communities. From concepts like Urban Sequoia to the firm’s broader work in climate-responsive design, she emphasizes the critical role the built environment can play in helping communities adapt to a rapidly changing climate while accelerating the transition to a more regenerative future. See the interview below for Hasman’s vision of designing cities that behave like forests and buildings that act like trees. More → bit.ly/4yz17uX 📷: Grant Donaldson and Miysis © SOM

Planning a trip to Chicago this summer? We asked five partners to share the places they return to again and again in the Windy City, from favorite restaurants and cultural institutions to parks, neighborhoods, and skyline views. Curated for Architecture Hunter's City Guide series, Chicago studio Partners Adam Semel, Doug Voigt, Ryan Culligan, Scott Duncan, and Xuan Fu 傅萱 offer perspectives through a design lens, with an eye toward the buildings, landscapes, and public spaces that define Chicago. As our partners said best, "Chicago has always been a city of big ideas, and that spirit has shaped SOM from the beginning." Explore the full guide via Architecture Hunter below. More → bit.ly/4b0FdXw 📷: Dave Burk © SOM

Travel can be taxing, but airports don't have to be. As architects, we have the opportunity to radically reimagine the passenger experience, Bloomberg reports. In “The Airport Seeks Its Zen,” Principal and Airports Practice Leader Derek A.R. Moore shares insights into how our approach to airport design is deeply rooted in the passenger experience. “The biggest calming device we’ve been able to implement is greenery,” says Moore. At Kempegowda International Airport Terminal 2 in Bengaluru, India, for example, we designed a “terminal in a garden” that reimagines the airport experience by connecting passengers to nature at every turn. From the transit hub to the terminal and gates, passengers move through a sequence of spaces marked by distinctive garden elements, including green walls, hanging gardens, and the forest belt, a 90-meter-wide swath of lushly planted landscape. And at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport—Terminal 2, our design celebrates Mumbai with a structure deeply rooted in the local setting, history, and culture. We maximized natural daylight through multistory light wells, which ensure that light penetrates the lower floors, acting as a constant reminder of the surrounding city and landscape while elevating the passenger experience. Learn more about the projects below. Read the story → bit.ly/4wMbpGC More on our airport practice → bit.ly/4w9jAgd 📷: ekansh goel and Lucas Blair Simpson © SOM

We recently welcomed clients, friends, and collaborators to celebrate the opening of SOM’s new Melbourne studio at 189 Toorak Road—on the seventh floor of one of our own projects in South Yarra. The evening brought together many of the people who have supported our Melbourne team over the years. Senior Associate Principal Michael Powell opened with an Acknowledgement of Country followed by remarks from SOM Partners Adam Semel and Scott Duncan on our global practice, the firm’s history in Australia, and the growth of the Melbourne studio—now a team of 28. Our new home sits atop the reimagined South Yarra Coffee Palace, a 19th-century Melbourne landmark. At 189 Toorak Road, SOM restored the building’s historic facade while introducing an 11-story contemporary addition with flexible workspaces, cascading terraces, and a lightweight lattice structure. Read on for more. More → bit.ly/4aV0xhb 📷: Mason Mo © SOM

As universities plan for their next era of growth, how can campuses expand to support future generations of students while advancing carbon neutrality goals? At Princeton University, the answer is taking shape in the new Meadows Neighborhood. Designed in collaboration with Field Operations, our master plan transforms former agricultural land into a sustainable campus neighborhood with graduate housing, athletic facilities, and infrastructure needed to support the university’s path to carbon neutrality. Organized around a connected system of open spaces, the design preserves the character and openness of the existing landscape while creating a resilient and highly walkable environment. At the heart of the plan is a new central utility building and an extensive geo-exchange system. With limited space above grade, we created an underground thermal reserve 600 feet below the new softball and baseball stadiums that can be tapped to heat and cool the campus throughout the year. Learn more about it below. More → bit.ly/4w4i5Qq 📷: Lucas Blair Simpson © SOM

SOM Managing Partner Larry Chien recently delivered a keynote address at the 2026 Council on Vertical Urbanism (CVU) China Conference in Guangzhou. Themed “Revitalizing High-Density Cities: Urban Vitality and Ecological Resilience,” the event convened leaders from across the built environment to explore the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of our urban centers. In his presentation, “Resilient Symbiosis: SOM’s Practice of High-Density Urban Renewal,” Chien shared insights into how design reshapes complex and high-density landscapes, citing SOM’s global urban renewal portfolio. Highlights included Guangzhou Baietan Julong Bay, the venue of this year’s conference and part of a larger SOM-designed master plan; San Francisco’s Transbay Redevelopment, a reimagined transit-centered district that serves as a model for sustainable urbanism woven seamlessly into the urban fabric; and the revitalization of Manhattan’s West Side, where SOM has been the driving force for more than two decades, stitching together infrastructure, architecture, and public space to create a continuous urban experience from Penn Station to the Hudson River.

For the third year in a row, SOM has topped Architizer’s list of the “100 Best Architecture and Design Firms in the United States.” “From a strategic regional plan to a single piece of furniture, SOM’s designs anticipate change in the way we live, work and communicate and have brought lasting value to communities around the world,” Architizer editors report. The No. 1 ranking reflects the breadth of our award-winning work and interdisciplinary approach. Since 2013, SOM has earned 27 Architizer A+ Awards and 45 finalist recognitions. This year alone, we received six A+ Awards for projects across a wide range of typologies and scales, including The New York Climate Exchange, Waldorf Astoria New York, Sultan Haitham City in Oman, LG Corporate Headquarters in Seoul, Sany IROOTECH Headquarters in Guangzhou, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. See the full list of winners below. MORE → bit.ly/4vTxPp4 Images: 1. Sany Guangzhou Pazhou Rootcloud Headquarters | Dave Burk © SOM 2. LG Corporation Headquarters | © Namsun Lee 3. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) — David Geffen Galleries | Dave Burk © SOM 4. Waldorf Astoria New York | Dave Burk © SOM 5. New York Climate Exchange | Courtesy of the New York Climate Exchange and SOM 6. Sultan Haitham City | © SOM | ATCHAIN

Behind every great building is an even greater team. 🤝 The new David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) are the result of years of collaboration across disciplines, and we're honored to see that work recognized with the 2026 Building Team Award from the Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects (@AIA|LA). The award recognizes the team behind the new LACMA campus, where the David Geffen Galleries span Wilshire Boulevard and rethink the museum experience through a highly coordinated design and construction effort. Congratulations to our collaborators, who will be recognized at the 2026 AIA|LA Design Awards Ceremony in October: ◦Client: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) ◦Architect: Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partners ◦Collaborating Architect & Structural Engineering: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) ◦MEP Engineering, Lighting Design & Sustainability/LEED: Buro Happold ◦Landscape Design: OLIN ◦Civil Engineering: KPFF Consulting Engineers ◦Contractor: Clark Construction Group ◦Theater Consultant: Apeiro Design MORE → bit.ly/4petevd 📷: Hailey Spicer © SOM