SOM Special Collection.1

Author: None
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Publish Date: None
Features: At the end of 2000, an unusual invitation letter was sent by a partner from SOM Company to five individuals: artist Jenny Holzer (New York); architect Jesse Reiser (New York); structural engineer Cecil Balmond (London); architect, historian, and critic Kenneth Frampton (New York); and architect and critic Wilfried Wang (Berlin). The letter asked the five individuals if they were willing to review certain projects from SOM Company's recent 46 ongoing projects in four offices located in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and London. This group was chosen not only because they are experts in their respective fields and could form a review committee but also because each of them is known for their broad interests in other professional fields. This fact was later confirmed during the discussion of individual projects: the review was rational, concise, and constructive. The unusual collaboration became evident throughout the day, clearly demonstrating the process of understanding and focusing on the selection of the review. The task of the review committee was to select 5 to 6 projects for a new SOM collection, which is also a collection entirely edited by outsiders, featuring project works. This was considered an unusual procedure that could ensure as objective a review as possible. After agreement among the five invitees, the review committee was scheduled to meet on March 18, 2001, at the New York office. The five invitees were all interested in the review process of one of the world's largest projects; they were very eager to understand the nature of the work of projects that had recently been implemented; would it be a tedious task? Or could it reflect certain new developments of SOM Company? Would it be a cliché? Would they reserve judgment in their comments? Or would it be an open and insightful event? The conditions for the review committee were simple. During the review process, there was no constraint, incentive, or interference from any member of SOM Company. The five members of the review committee were completely free to determine the selection criteria, and the inclusion or exclusion of any project was entirely their decision. The simplicity of these conditions was self-evident; without them, no reviewer would participate. The 46 projects, each accompanied by an explanation, were printed using 4 or 5 small digital printers. These projects were mounted on the walls of two meeting rooms. Some time was spent in the morning to understand the projects and begin the first round of discussions and selections. After lunch, the focus was narrowed to a dozen or slightly more projects, and the final round of selections and eliminations was conducted to achieve the goal of selecting 5 to 6 projects. The edited comments of the review committee members are included in this book, accurately reflecting their insights and thoughts. In the formal voting of the first round, the project with the fewest votes was selected, and in subsequent rounds, the project with the most votes was chosen. The final five projects and one research project were, in fact, selected with unanimous praise. Now, in this collection, the review results of the review committee are also included for the media to comment on.