SO–IL
New York, United States
Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu (SO–IL) believes in open, thoughtful, and humanistic architecture that creates meaningful cultural and social impact. The studio is dedicated to designing transformative arts and civic projects that enrich communities and the environment. Founders Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu met in Tokyo in 2001 and formed SO–IL in 2008 with a vision of a global practice that merges craft and detail-oriented construction with intellectual rigor and a distinct aesthetic. SO–IL is an internationally recognized architecture firm featured in The New York Times, CNN, and Frankfurter Allgemeine. Their projects are part of the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago. The firm has received numerous awards, including the American Academy of Arts and Letters Architecture Award (2022) and the Architectural Review‘s New into Old Award (2023). SO–IL has been named United States Artists Fellows, is an Academician of the National Design Academy, and has received the Prix de Rome in the Netherlands and the Prince Bernhard Cultuurfonds Award. The firm is featured in the 2025 Venice Biennale.
2025 Biennial Project
Project Overview
450 Warren
450 Warren offers a model for urban living in which layered thresholds and shared outdoor spaces replace the anonymous, sealed apartment block. Three landscaped courtyards bring daylight and greenery into the heart of the site. Apartments are accessed directly from exterior walkways, while front porches act as thresholds between shared and private realms, recalling the sociable quality of neighborhood stoops. Residences are organized around gradients of indoor and outdoor space, with terraces, balconies, and courtyards opening on three sides of each unit.
Previous work
Project Overview
Venue
View moreChicago Cultural Center
Address
78 E. Washington St., Chicago, IL 60602
Neighborhood
The Loop
Description
Completed in 1897 as Chicago’s first central library, the building was established as the Chicago Cultural Center, the nation’s first and most comprehensive free municipal cultural venue, in 1991. One of the most visited attractions in Chicago, the stunning landmark building is home to two magnificent stained-glass domes, as well as free art exhibitions, performances, tours, lectures, family activities, music, and more – presented by the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and many others.
