SOMA is a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

–based firm of architects founded in 2004, with a portfolio and expertise in refurbishment and sustainability. In 2009, it opened another office in

Beirut, Lebanon Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, where the principal and founder

Michel Abboud Michel Abboud is an architect and artist based in New York. He is the founding principal of SOMA Architects, an architectural firm established in 2004 in New York City. Abboud has won the AIA Gold Medal and the James Beard award in 2015, and is ...

, was born. SOMA’s work, mainly in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

Erbil Erbil (, ; , ), also called Hawler (, ), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The city is the capital of the Erbil Governorate. Human settlement at Erbil may be dated back to the 5th millennium BC. At the h ...

, and

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, covers projects across several industries.SOMA :: Architecture :: DESIGN SERVICES :: Archileb.com
/ref> SOMA architects designed the controversial

Park51 Park51 (originally named Cordoba House) was a development originally envisioned as a 13-story Islamic community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The developers hoped to promote interfaith dialogue. Due to i ...

Islamic Cultural Center in Manhattan, New York, dubbed the "

Ground Zero A hypocenter or hypocentre (), also called ground zero or surface zero, is the point on the Earth's surface directly below a nuclear explosion, meteor air burst, or other mid-air explosion. In seismology, the hypocenter of an earthquake is its p ...

mosque", the designs to which they unveiled in October 2010. The firm was awarded first place in the ‘Best Restaurant and Bar Design in the Americas’ category in the international 2013 Restaurant & Bar Design Awards in 2013. ‘ Workshop Kitchen + Bar’ is located in Palm Springs, California. SOMA's portfolio contains several residential projects, such as the 50 Lispenard, luxury residential lofts in the

Tribeca Tribeca ( ), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Str ...

neighborhood, and 93 Crosby lofts in the

SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

neighborhood both located in New York. The practice is currently exploring expansion of its activities into the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, having several projects underway abroad, such as the upcoming Shaza Kempinski in Doha, Qatar. A mega project in Erbil, Kurdistan, named Aura, consists of a city centre, and rises high amidst the dry desert that surrounds it.

Founding director

, the founding director and principal of SOMA, provides overall design direction for all of the firm’s projects. He plays a major role in many aspects of the design and construction industry, including research projects, and professional committees.Newsmaker: Michel Abboud , News , Architectural Record
/ref>

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.soma.us Architecture firms based in New York City 2004 establishments in New York City