SOM Scale + Form at the 2018 Venice Biennale

© Tom Harris

Today, a new exhibition opened in Venice featuring the work of the global architecture and engineering practice Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). Presented at the European Cultural Centre, “Time Space Existence” is a collateral exhibition of the 2018 Venice Biennale of Architecture. The show includes work from leading architects, photographers, sculptors, and universities from around the world.

© Tom Harris

“Time Space Existence” invites participants to explore these three fundamental themes as they relate to the design of the built environment. By presenting architectural design projects together with photography and sculpture, the exhibition seeks to establish a dialogue between current and past projects, ideas, and thoughts in art and architecture. The wide-ranging exhibition includes models, concepts, and research, placing architectural installations in context with work by contemporary artists.

© Tom Harris

SOM’s contribution is an exhibit titled “Scale + Form” that investigates the intersection of urbanism, architecture, and structural design. Expanding on the firm’s research initiatives, the exhibit highlights ideas brought to life by SOM’s collaborative and integrated architecture, structural engineering, and urban design practices.

© Tom Harris

“Scale + Form” is spread across two rooms in the historic Palazzo Mora. It includes an immersive video installation that examines the firm’s interdisciplinary design methodology, with contributions from SOM’s design teams around the world. Projected on three walls of Palazzo Mora’s grand staircase, the video illuminates core values that inform each design project at SOM: simplicity, structural clarity, and sustainability.

© Tom Harris

In the second room, a lineup of structural models at 1:500 scale, juxtaposed with Venice’s historic architecture, puts SOM’s groundbreaking projects on display. The installation features some of SOM’s most innovative recent work in Europe, such as JTI Headquarters in Geneva, alongside influential and pioneering projects designed throughout the firm’s history, including Lever House, Inland Steel Building, Crown Zellerbach Headquarters, Broadgate Exchange House, Bank of America World Headquarters, 875 North Michigan Avenue, Willis Tower, and Burj Khalifa. Selected for their continued influence in the realm of structural design, these buildings all responded to periods of rapid urban growth and represented the most advanced building technology of their respective eras.

“Time Space Existence” is open to the public at the European Cultural Centre at Palazzo Mora (Strada Nova 3659, 30121 Venezia VE, Italy) from May 26th through November 25th, 2018.

• Title: SOM Scale + Form at the 2018 Venice Biennale
• Type: Exhibition
• Website: http://www.som.com/news/som_participates_in_european_cultural_centre_exhibition_for_2018_venice_biennale
• From: May 26, 2018 10:00 AM
• Until: November 25, 2018 06:00 PM
• Venue: Palazzo Mora
• Address: Strada Nova, 3659, 30121 Venezia VE, Italy

Structure names + buildings (low-rise to high-rise)

1.      Perimeter Cantilever Trusses: JTI Headquarters, Geneva (CH)
2.      Tied Arch: Exchange House, London (UK)
3.      Offset Frame: Inland Steel, Chicago (USA)
4.      Core with Suspended Hangers: 111 South main Street, Salt Lake City (USA)
5.      Framed Tube: DeWitt Chestnut Apartments, Chicago (USA)
6.      Core with Cantilever Transfer Walls: Manhattan Loft Gardens, London (UK)
7.      Steel-braced Concrete-frame: 100 Mount Street, Sydney (AUS)
8.      Diagrid with Corner Columns: Rural Commercial Bank Headquarters, Shenzhen (CN)
9.      Trussed Perimeter: Hotel Arts, Barcelona (ES)
10.   Core and Outrigger: Karlatornet, Gothenburg (SE)
11.   Diagrid: 100 Leadenhall, London (UK)
12.   Twisted Framed Tube: Cayan Tower, Dubai (UAE)
13.   Core and Outrigger: Charenton-Bercy, Paris (FR)
14.   Tube-in-tube: Guiyang World Trade Center, Guiyang (CN)
15.   Modified Michell Truss: Kunming Eye of Spring, Kunming (CN)
16.   Out-of-plane Steel-braced Concrete-frame: Al Jinan Tower, Jinan (CN)
17.   Braced Tube: John Hancock Center, Chicago (USA)
18.   Core and Outrigger with Transfer Arches: Nanning Wuxiang ASEAN Tower, Nanning (CN)
19.   Bundled Tube: Willis Tower, Chicago (USA)
20.   Frame and Soft-brace: Tianjin CTF Finance Centre, Tianjin (CN)
21.   Diagrid: Lotte Super Tower, Seoul (ROK)
22.   Stayed Mast: 7 South Dearborn, Chicago (USA)
23.   Supercore: Burj 2020, Dubai (UAE)
24.   Buttressed Core: Burj Khalifa, Dubai (UAE)
25.   Supercore: Desert Crystal, Jeddah (KSA)
26.   Stayed Buttressed Core: Aspire, Jeddah (KSA)