Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

We are delighted to share that our new student housing at UC Santa Barbara was approved by the California Coastal Commission! Designed with Mithun to add more than 2,200 undergraduate beds in apartment-style units as well as an inclusive new hub for student life at the northwest corner of campus, San Benito consists of seven slender buildings, spaced to bring in ample natural light and breezes off the Santa Ynez Mountains. Ground-level courtyard gardens tie together the nearly six-acre site, set atop a two-story plinth with student life amenities that underscore the university’s commitment to student wellness. When complete in 2027, San Benito will be the most significant expansion of student housing on campus in a decade. MORE → https://bit.ly/4ieFYNg All images courtesy SOM | Mithun

How do you design a contemporary building that creates harmony among its historic urban setting, all the while celebrating the beating heart of New York’s media landscape? Spanning a full city block at 7 Hudson Square, we designed The Walt Disney Company’s New York City headquarters to achieve a careful balance: standing out while fitting in. With its signature cerulean green terracotta panels, the building rises in a series of setbacks that culminate in two, 320-foot-tall towers, echoing the form of classic New York City architecture. Inside, a dense collection of studios, newsrooms, offices, and outdoor spaces brings The Walt Disney Company’s various brands together under one roof for the first time. It’s just one of our 2025 projects to watch, which you can learn about below. MORE → bit.ly/3QXG3tL Photos: Dave Burk | SOM © 2024 Disney

Designed to harmonize with its natural setting on the San Francisco Bay, the new Genesis Marina biotech campus has achieved a significant sustainability milestone: the world’s first building to earn TRUE Construction Gold Certification. The program—short for Total Resource Use and Efficiency—is the premier global standard for zero waste and recognizes projects that achieve outstanding levels of resource efficiency through waste reduction, reuse, and recycling practices. Unlike other certifications, TRUE focuses exclusively on waste and circular economy principles, setting the most rigorous standard for waste diversion from landfills, and we congratulate our partners Webcor on this construction achievement. Created to meet growing demand in the biotech sector and to connect the Bay Area’s scientific community, it is innovative in its approach as a multi-tenant campus. Purpose-built with robust infrastructures and systems, flexible laboratory designs, and a range of support services, Genesis Marina is just one of the many projects captured in our recent Climate Action Report that we spotlight here for Earth Month. Learn about it below. MORE → bit.ly/4jnM9j0 📷: Dave Burk © SOM #EarthMonth

“What’s so hard about building trains?” That’s the question Michael Kimmelman explores in a recent article from The New York Times about Brightline Trains—a privately owned rail service transforming travel between Miami and Orlando. We designed Brightline’s three stations—in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. Envisioned not only as gateways to their respective cities, the terminals are vibrant destinations filled with spaces to shop, eat, and meet. Launched in 2018, the company plans to expand to Tampa and to create a second service connecting Las Vegas with Los Angeles. Brightline's approach to passenger experience and station design—inspired by high-speed rail services in Europe and Japan—were significant factors in attracting three million riders last year. By repurposing 235 miles of existing tracks and eliminating emissions associated with driving and flying, the current project demonstrates how thoughtful infrastructure and architecture can create sustainable transit solutions for the 21st century. Read The New York Times story → bit.ly/3XNOziS See our Brightline designs → bit.ly/4iZXAhi 📷: Lucas Blair Simpson © SOM

An installation designed by SOM in collaboration with Artemide, the storied manufacturer of high-design lighting, is featured in a special exhibition during Milan Design Week. Organized by Interni Magazine as a centerpiece of the Fuorisalone program—a series of events and exhibitions taking place across the city during hashtag #Salone del Mobile—the exhibition, titled Cre-Action, includes contributions from international architects and designers. Our installation presents for the first time the prototype for a new lighting fixture, Tetras, designed by SOM for Artemide. The installation by SOM and Artemide shows how lighting can contribute to efficient and uplifting environments. SOM has designed a modular and versatile fixture that conceives of light as an architectural building block. The design of Tetras is based on extreme efficiency—its simple, cruciform shape achieves a perfect balance of diffuse and direct light, minimizing glare and enhancing visual comfort. In addition to the Interni exhibition, SOM’s Tetras lighting fixture will be on view at Artemide’s stand at Euroluce. Read on for details on how to experience the installation. MORE → bit.ly/42viZsE Images © SOM #salonedelmobile #milano #design #milan #salonedelmobile2025 #architecture #fuorisalone #italy #milandesignweek #designweek

Just 3 percent of members of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) hold the prestigious designation of ASCE Fellow, and we’re proud to recognize Structural Engineering Principal Preetam Biswas for this recent advancement. The news follows yet another recent fellowship advancement. In January, Biswas also became a Fellow of the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), an institute of the parent organization ASCE. “Biswas’ significant achievements have been in both conceptualizing new structural ideas and bringing them to fruition through project work, as well as making a multitude of efforts at furthering the profession of structural engineering,” the ASCE wrote about his noteworthy distinction. Help us congratulate Biswas, who will take part in the panel discussion, “Designing Tall Buildings: What I wasn’t Taught in School…Until Now,” during the Structures Congress 2025 in Phoenix next week. MORE FROM ASCE → bit.ly/423xG6l  MORE ABOUT F.SEI → bit.ly/3QVaelg Photo: © Brant Bender Photography for ASCE

April 1 kicks off Earth Month, but at SOM, sustainability is at the core of our work each and every day. Today, we recognize the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, which has earned LEED Platinum certification—the highest mark for sustainability excellence from the U.S. Green Building Council. In collaboration with Arup, we prioritized both sustainability and wellness through key strategies, including healthy material selections, responsible waste management, and water use reduction. Key to this effort is the building’s transparent double-skin facade—a high-performance, closed-cavity design that reduces energy consumption while establishing a monumental presence on MIT’s campus. Read about the project below, just one of many featured in our recently released Climate Action Report. The Project → bit.ly/4aXZ1sz Climate Action Report → bit.ly/4iMZ1PK 📷: Dave Burk + Lucas Blair Simpson © SOM #earthmonth #sustainability

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of our former Chairman David M. Childs, FAIA, who died peacefully at home Wednesday at the age of 83, surrounded by his family. David joined SOM's Washington, D.C., studio in 1971, and over the next 50 years, he was instrumental in many of SOM’s most impactful projects, including a master plan for the National Mall, the expansion of Dulles International Airport, and both One World Trade Center and 7 World Trade Center in New York City. His contributions to the profession were extensive and profound, and we will always be grateful for David's leadership, mentorship, and friendship. We will miss him dearly and extend our condolences and deepest sympathies to his family. Read his obituary in The New York Times and view a selection of his iconic legacy below. MORE → bit.ly/3DXvN1A Images: ▫️ Portrait | Greg Betz ▫️ One World Trade Center | © James Ewing Photography ▫️ 7 World Trade Center | © David Sundberg | Esto ▫️ Washington Dulles International Airport - Main Terminal AeroTrain Station | © Jeff Goldberg | Esto ▫️ Washington Mall and Constitution Gardens
| Getty Images | iStockphoto © picturist ▫️ 35 Hudson Yards | Dave Burk © SOM ▫️ JP Morgan Chase - 383 Madison | © David Sundberg | Esto ▫️ JFK International Airport - International Arrivals Building, Terminal 4 | © Jeff Goldberg | Esto

Since 2013, SOM has collaborated with Los Angeles World Airports on 11 transformative projects, including the LAX Design Guidelines. This comprehensive vision aims to enhance operations and elevate the passenger experience at one of the busiest international airports in the United States. SOM’s approach for LAX seamlessly integrates new and existing facilities to improve efficiency, create visual harmony, and provide intuitive wayfinding—all while honoring the airport’s modernist design legacy. The Terminal Facade Design Guidelines have informed ongoing renovations, including improved connections for arrivals, departures, and pedestrian interfaces with the airport’s Automated People Mover system. The guidelines are now a vital resource for design professionals, developers, builders, contractors, and the community, supporting current upgrades and future developments at the airport. Learn about our role in shaping the future of LAX below. MORE → bit.ly/4kVcTt3 📷: © Mike Kelley

“Indian airports are some of the most beautiful in the world,” writes The Economist as Principal Derek A. R. Moore shares his insights into our designs for Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai (pictured). Both serve as international gateways that embody the culture and heritage of India. “[We] wanted to ensure that when someone arrives at the airport they will instantly know they are in India,” said Moore. Learn more about how these projects stand apart from other international airports in The Economist below. MORE → bit.ly/4iOzx4o 📷 : Lucas Blair Simpson © SOM