Adaptive Reuse – SOM

Designed to Evolve: Adaptive Reuse and the Architecture of Endurance

Amy Dvorak — Fri, 01 May 2026 15:17:02 +0000

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Waldorf Astoria New York Wins MASterworks Design Award for Best Restoration

Julia.Pollak@som.com — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 11:26:57 +0000

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Head-Royce School

Admin — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 12:54:30 +0000

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Fast Company Spotlights Grimes Engineering Center

Ana.Cuadra@som.com — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 11:50:13 +0000

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Moynihan Train Hall Celebrates Five Years

Megan.Billman@som.com — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 12:59:58 +0000

On January 1, 2021, Moynihan Train Hall opened to the public—welcoming New Yorkers and visitors with a new front door to the city.
Built within the landmark Farley Post Office Building, the 255,000-square-foot train hall expands Penn Station and restores a sense of light, clarity, and civic presence to America’s busiest transit hub.
Conceived as a new gateway across Eighth Avenue from Penn Station, the train hall transforms a complex long defined by limited natural light and congestion. Set within the Farley Building’s former mail sorting room, the main concourse reintroduces daylight through a soaring skylight composed of four catenary vaults. More than 500 glass and steel panels per vault filter daylight into the space, while three original steel trusses—once concealed—anchor the new structure and reconnect the building to its history. The project realizes a long-held vision championed by U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Built above the existing rail infrastructure, the hall provides direct access to 17 tracks serving Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road, along with expanded circulation, seating, retail, and public art.
Guided by the lessons of the original Penn Station, the design demonstrates how adaptive reuse can elevate essential infrastructure while honoring a landmarked structure. As the first facility in the world to achieve LEED BD+C for Transit certification, with a silver rating, the project sets a new benchmark for sustainable civic architecture.
Five years on, the train hall continues to serve as critical infrastructure and generous public space on Manhattan’s West Side—an enduring investment in the future of New York.

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Jorge Rovira, Benton Johnson on Reuse at the Chicago Architecture Biennial

Jade Leslie — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 14:47:38 +0000

On February 9, 2026, SOM’s Jorge Rovira and Benton Johnson joined the Chicago Architecture Biennial for “Replacement and Reuse, Reconsidered,” a public program examining demolition, adaptation, and the evolving value of materials in post-industrial cities. The discussion was framed by the Biennial’s presentation of Re-SPLAM (Reclaimed Spatial Laminated Timber), on view in Millennium Park.
Developed by SOM in collaboration with Washington University in St. Louis, Norcon, and the Missouri Alliance for Construction Recycling, Re-SPLAM proposes an alternative to extractive construction by transforming reclaimed dimensional lumber into a high-performance structural system. Rather than treating demolition as an endpoint, the pavilion positions existing material as an active resource—capable of renewed structural, environmental, and cultural performance. The conversation underscored how buildings and their components can drive urban transformation when understood as long-term assets, particularly as demand for mass timber outpaces the rate of forest regeneration and challenges assumptions about renewability.
The event was moderated by Stewart Hicks and featured journalist and critic Anjulie Rao, who situated demolition within broader material, environmental, and social systems. Rovira and Johnson shared the research and testing behind Re-SPLAM, demonstrating how architecture and engineering—through advanced computation, structural analysis, and digital fabrication—can extend the life of existing materials and chart a viable path toward lower-carbon construction.

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Waldorf Astoria New York Wins Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award

Julia.Pollak@som.com — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 16:17:18 +0000

How do you honor the 90-year history and cultural legacy of a New York City icon while planning its next chapter?
At the Waldorf Astoria New York, we approached this question through a comprehensive transformation, a methodical work of preservation, and a meticulous restoration. The interplay between all three approaches informed thousands of decisions over the course of design and construction.
While 96 percent of the building was converted from a 1,400-room hotel into a 372-unit luxury residence and a 375-key hotel, the remaining 62,000 square feet—encompassing the iconic lobbies, corridors, ballroom, and event spaces—was carefully restored in collaboration with Higgins Quasebarth & Partners and Building Conservation Associates to recapture the hotel’s original 1931 splendor.
The result is a rejuvenation: the Waldorf Astoria New York serves a new role in the city, while remaining true to its history as one of the finest examples of Art Deco design. This work has been recognized with a Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award from the New York Landmarks Conservancy, the highest honors for outstanding preservation excellence in New York City.

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Frank Mahan to Present on Waldorf Astoria New York

Julia.Pollak@som.com — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 17:09:59 +0000

For a decade, our Adaptive Reuse team has worked to bring the Waldorf Astoria New York back to a state of grandeur and position it for modern-day use. The project combines careful preservation with meticulous restoration, resulting in thousands of design and construction decisions—many of which we’ll unpack next week.
Join us on February 12 in New York for an in-person conversation, The Waldorf Astoria New York—A Legacy Reimagined, at the Museum of the City of New York. Principal Frank Mahan will present a lecture in addition to joining a panel discussion alongside Ray Pepi of Building Conservation Associates, with Justin Davidson of New York Magazine moderating. Together, they’ll examine the architectural approach behind the project, the realities of working within a landmarked structure, and how the Waldorf’s cultural significance informed the work at every stage.

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Adaptive Reuse Plan in Washington, D.C. Wins AIA|DC Unbuilt Award

Julia.Pollak@som.com — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 12:43:46 +0000

As part of a larger vision for Washington D.C., we developed a comprehensive plan to convert underutilized federal buildings and campuses into highly sustainable and livable neighborhoods—a proposal that won an AIA DC Unbuilt Washington Award.
Today, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) campus is situated in Southwest Federal Center—a centrally located, yet disconnected neighborhood defined by the major vehicular-dominant thoroughfare, 14th Street. With BEP slated to relocate to Maryland, the site presents a rare opportunity to catalyze change at an urban scale and reinvigorate this downtown area.
Our proposal reimagines this congested infrastructure into a pedestrian promenade that introduces a series of indoor and outdoor public amenities, while also creating a walkable connection from the National Mall to the Tidal Basin, the Wharf, and Potomac Park. BEP’s current facilities—the Main Building and Annex—would be converted from office to mixed-use, with a focus on housing and public amenities that would activate a 24/7 neighborhood.

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The Story Behind SOM’s Appleton Library Renewal

Jade Leslie — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 22:03:48 +0000

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