Graphics + Brand – SOM

Palm Jebel Ali Friday Mosque

Admin — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 18:45:34 +0000

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The Gateway – Dubai Creek Harbour Metro Station

Admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 16:24:55 +0000

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Mulva Cultural Center Named “New Cultural Destination of the Midwest”

F.LopezdeArenosa@som.com — Wed, 14 May 2025 12:03:42 +0000

In the summer 2025 issue of Green Building & Design magazine, Mulva Cultural Center is profiled for its civic mission, environmental performance, and role in shaping a new cultural hub in De Pere, Wisconsin. Described as “the new cultural destination of the Midwest,” the project reflects a vision for architecture that invites community, supports cultural life, and endures over time.
Located along the Fox River, the 73,800-square-foot center was commissioned by James and Miriam Mulva as a gift to their hometown. It includes a 200-seat auditorium, flexible exhibition halls, educational spaces, dining areas, and river-facing terraces. Elevated on a limestone plinth and enclosed in triple-insulated glass, the design balances openness and performance while framing panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. “Our goal was to create something timeless and welcoming,” said Design Partner Scott Duncan. “Jim [Mulva] wanted this to feel like De Pere’s living room—a place where people would come and hang out.”
The article details the building’s advanced sustainability features, including a geothermal heat recovery system that distributes heating and cooling via radiant floors and air handling units. A cantilevered steel canopy and skylights offer passive shading, while motorized timber blinds—hidden within the ceiling—provide additional solar control along the 50-foot-tall, west-facing glass wall. Triple-insulated, bird-safe glazing and locally sourced limestone further reinforce the building envelope’s performance and resilience.
Mulva Cultural Center is now fully operational, offering year-round programming that reflects its mission as both a community gathering place and a regional beacon for arts and culture.

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Grimes Engineering Center Celebrates Opening at University of California, Berkeley

James.Juarez@som.com — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 11:43:35 +0000

On April 21, the University of California, Berkeley, celebrated the opening of the newly expanded Grimes Engineering Center. The adaptive reuse project is a demonstration of cutting-edge engineering, repurposing the campus’ original Bechtel Engineering building as the foundation for the new Center. The redesign—comprising an addition of a two-story, glass-and-steel pavilion with a three-level open forum at the center—provides a light-filled structure that flexibly accommodates classrooms, student services, and special events. The center creates a welcoming new public face for the storied engineering school overlooking the Memorial Glade, an open green space at the center of the campus. As a counterpoint to the Brutalist character of the original building below, the 35,570-square-foot glazed addition also doubles as a teaching tool. The structural systems are intentionally exposed, allowing engineering students to examine connections, gussets, braces, a rod-hung stair, and an innovative shape memory alloy tension-rod system. The design offers an immersive example for students to experience pioneering solutions to engineering challenges.

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Vanderbilt University Kirkland Hall Renovation

Admin — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 14:08:12 +0000

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Disney New York City Headquarters – Robert A. Iger Building

Admin — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 22:31:18 +0000

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U.S. DOT’s Volpe Center Wins Wayfinding and Signage Awards

Amy Dvorak — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 22:33:55 +0000

At the U.S. DOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, our Graphics + Brand studio developed a comprehensive signage and wayfinding strategy that not only makes the building easy to navigate, but also reflects the institution’s identity as a transportation research center. And for it, the project won two awards, the 365: American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA Design) Year in Design Award and a Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD) Merit Award, two programs that honor excellence in communication and experience design.
As the U.S. DOT’s primary research division, the center’s work encompasses all forms of transit, from land to air to sea. We expressed a sense of movement through typography—with each character styled to echo across the walls, as if moving through space. Numbers and department labels stretch horizontally, akin to a car or train speeding by, while numbers in the stairwells and elevator bays stretch vertically, mirroring the direction of travel. A series of images from the U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s archive add color to the office floors—creating memorable spaces for the center’s staff. To create that same sense of motion, a group of pixels in each image was isolated and pulled across the walls to create a mural.
The SEGD jury writes that the project is “a successful example of a restrained approach that transcends utility, complementing the aspirations of the architecture. The subtle variations in kinetic graphics and typography successfully unifies and accentuates the environment, imbued with the space with a sense of place and purpose.”

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William H. Gray III 30th Street Station Redevelopment

Admin — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 19:25:42 +0000

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John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center

Admin — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 14:51:57 +0000

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University of California, Berkeley – Grimes Engineering Center

Admin — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 20:43:26 +0000

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