Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is a global collective of architects, designers, engineers and planners responsible for some of the world’s most technically and environmentally advanced buildings and significant public spaces. Asia-Pacific Sustainability Lead Stefano Tronci explained more.
The firm’s approach is highly collaborative, and its interdisciplinary team is engaged on a wide range of international projects, with creative studios based across the globe. This year, SOM celebrates 50 years in Hong Kong, having built up a robust practice across the Asia-Pacific region, with offices in Hong Kong and Melbourne as well as Shanghai and Guangzhou.
“Sustainability and decarbonization are at the heart of our practice,” said Stefano Tronci, Architect and Asia-Pacific Sustainability Lead. In 2023, SOM launched Whole Life Carbon Accounting, a system for evaluating and measuring whole life carbon emissions clearly and comprehensively, from the very start of a project and throughout its life cycle.”
Brief history
Since its founding in 1936, SOM has been designing the future. From the first modernist office building in New York City to supertall towers that have redefined city skylines, the firm has been responsible for some of the most significant architectural and engineering achievements in modern history, including the Burj Khalifa and One World Trade Center.
“Big landmarks and tall towers are our trademarks,” said Mr Tronci. “SOM is also recognised for large master-planned
communities and groundbreaking sustainability projects.”
Since 2022, SOM has been carbon neutral via emissions reductions strategies as well as carefully selected carbon offsets. By 2030, it is targeting Net Zero operational carbon for 100% of their active work, putting SOM ahead of the Paris Agreement, the UN SDGs and the AIA 2030 commitment.
SOM’s Sustainable Engineering Studio consists of a diversified team of professional engineers, computation fluid model specialists, designers and building physicists, collaboratively performing design engineering services for different new and existing project typologies. Today, in a rapidly evolving collaboration within a multidisciplinary practice, SOM strives to create environments that can be regenerative to the environment and have exceptional wellness for occupants.
“This work is grounded in science,” Mr Tronci continued, “ensuring that designs develop with a sustainable ethos, substantiated with data and always deliver the most sustainable solution possible.”
Asia-Pacific Focus
The Asia-Pacific region is home to climatevulnerable countries, facing threats from extreme heat waves, flooding, storms and earthquakes, while striving for ambitious decarbonisation goals.
“A key challenge is to design for resilience against future climate risks,” Mr Tronci explained, “while ensuring that cities thrive in a changing climate. We develop solutions for thermal comfort, enabling outdoor enjoyment and healthy lifestyles in hot and humid conditions; implement decarbonisation strategies and adaptive reuse to transform existing buildings into green landmarks; enhance energy efficiency through cutting-edge technology; and promote urban regeneration that reintroduces nature into cities.”
These initiatives mitigate the urban heat island effect, improve residents’ quality of life and establish vital green networks for local ecosystems.
“We collaboratively design with clients and stakeholders, prioritising sustainable
systems and emissions reductions, enhancing quality of life and working in the context of future climate scenarios,” Mr Tronci said. “By adopting a systems-thinking perspective on nature and biodiversity, we deliver value to our clients’ portfolios. As future tenants seek sustainable office spaces and residents desire healthier communities, our approach ensures that clients’ projects remain relevant, competitive and future-proofed.”
Sustainable materials
Using fewer materials is key to sustainable construction. SOM achieves this through collaboration between structural engineers and architects, designing the most efficient structures possible, like in the case of Hong Kong’s Tung Chung East
“About 70 per cent of a building’s embodied carbon emissions is typically in its structure, so efficient structures have lower emissions,”
Mr Tronci explained. “Working with our structural engineers, we design for material efficiency, combining highly performative structural or construction systems, and integrate biogenic materials when possible.
“The Asia-Pacific region, fast-developing and heavily reliant on concrete, offers an ideal location to test new materials and technologies, finding the best strategies to design low-carbon architecture.”
For example, engineered bamboo, known for its excellent structural properties, can potentially perform equally, if not better, than steel.
“Our research into new materials informs our decarbonisation goals, and we see a very near future when entire buildings can be built out of engineered bamboo,” said Mr Tronci.
“In SOM’s recently-completed Terminal 2 of Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, India, a ceiling made of
cross-laid engineering bamboo filters natural light and provides a warm and calming travel experience for passengers, the lightest rooftop structure of a major international airport worldwide which translates into huge embodied carbon savings. The terminal was recognised as the largest terminal in the world to have been precertified as a LEED Platinum building by the US Green Building Council.”
Project pioneers
SOM has designed numerous sustainable architectural landmarks in the region. The groundbreaking Pearl River Tower in China, which opened in 2013, integrated wind turbines to meet almost all of its energy needs on-site.
The firm’s upcoming WeBank Headquarters in Shenzhen, China, will showcase a usercentric approach with a series of flexible workspaces, planted terraces and gardens, blended indoor-outdoor spaces, and
a diverse series of high performance design strategies for a healthy, collaborative, and amenity-rich working environment. “The vision was realised through a series of terraced atria, designed to optimise airflow,” Mr Tronci explained. “Even in Shenzhen’s hot and humid climate, these atria are partially naturally ventilated, ensuring user comfort.”
Set to open by 2027, Tung Chung East in Hong Kong will feature an office tower, a data centre and a retail podium. “We began by designing the most efficient structural system we could to reduce concrete usage, and integrating technology to lower carbon emissions,” said Mr Tronci. “It will include solar panels on the facade and roof, and utilise natural, low-carbon materials like bamboo, timber, and terracotta, becoming a stunning landmark of sustainable design.”
In Singapore, sustainability drives landmark projects like Guoco Tower, LEED Platinum certified and the tallest building in the city, completed in 2018, and the recently opened
Elementum, an innovative pharmaceutical lab surrounded by nature and with a public covered plaza at its core.
“Our sustainability ethos centres on people and our climate-centric approach is inherently human-centric too,” said Mr Tronci.
“In cities with challenging climates like Hong Kong and Singapore, addressing climate change means designing comfortable and enjoyable spaces.”
Collaborate to the future
Earlier this year, SOM entered into a partnership with Energy Vault, known for its Gravity Energy Storage Systems, which offers a way to store renewable energy without degradation or safety risks. SOM has developed products to incorporate gravity energy storage technology into tall buildings in urban environments as well as designing and engineering deployable structures in natural environments, all aimed to maximise sustainability,
accelerate carbon payback and lower the levelized cost of energy consumption.
Another innovative research project currently under development is Urban Sequoia, launched at COP26. This project defines a blueprint for future cities, designed for lowcarbon emissions and contributing to urban regeneration by producing surplus energy and absorbing carbon from the air through integrated carbon capture technology.
“It is a profound privilege to foster this ethos in the Asia-Pacific region,”
Mr Tronci concluded, “shaping the future for developing countries and cities where unique environmental challenges arise.
“Our mission is to tackle today’s most pressing challenges and future climate threats through design. We are dedicated to developing resilient and adaptable sustainable communities, enabling them to thrive in a changing climate and leading the way toward a carbon-neutral future.” n
