The League’s First Friday events are informal social gatherings that allow members to visit the offices of leading design practices and see work on the boards.
This season’s events feature practices navigating the legacies and possibilities of American infrastructure, from ecological systems and transit hubs to community facilities and social networks.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is a collective of architects, designers, engineers, and planners founded in Chicago in 1936. With 11 studios across the globe, the firm is engaged in a wide set of international projects, ranging in scale from urban master plans to furniture design. Its portfolio includes numerous large-scale transportation initiatives, spanning international airports, central train stations, and strategic plans for urban transit systems. In its own words, “SOM’s designs anticipate change in the way we live, work and communicate, and have brought lasting value to communities around the world.”