SOM Foundation

The SOM Foundation and the MAK Center for Art and Architecture are now accepting applications for the 2025 Researcher-in-Residence. A fully funded summer residency program based in Los Angeles, the Researcher-in-Residence program provides an architect, artist, and/or researcher dedicated space and time for innovative work that addresses pressing issues related to the built environment. This year’s topic is “Advancing Toward a Water-Secure Future,” which corresponds to the SOM Foundation’s 2024–2025 research topic. The Researcher-in-Residence will receive a $5,000 stipend and a four-to-eight-week summer residency in the live/work space at R.M. Schindler’s Fitzpatrick-Leland House in Los Angeles, which is also home to the MAK Center’s Study Center. Residency recipients are encouraged to participate in the activities of the MAK Center and engage with the larger art, architecture, and design communities of Los Angeles. The residency will culminate with a public talk or program related to the recipient’s research and interests. The inaugural recipient of the Researcher-in-Residence was Maya Livio, an interdisciplinary curator, writer, scholar, and media artist, as well as Assistant Professor of Climate, Environmental Justice, Media and Communication at American University. The Researcher-in-Residence program began in 2024 and is proudly presented as a joint endeavor between the SOM Foundation and the MAK Center for Art and Architecture. This program is the newest addition to the MAK Center’s illustrious history of hosting residencies, including the Urban Futures Initiative (2008–2011) and the Artists and Architects-in-Residence Program at the Mackey Apartments. To date, the MAK Center has hosted 56 groups of international residents in the Artists and Architects-in-Residence Program. The Researcher-in-Residence program also reflects the SOM Foundation’s 40+ year commitment to providing research support to innovative architects and designers as they shape the future of the built environment. Applications are currently being accepted for the second residency cycle, which will take place in summer 2025. The deadline to apply is Friday, March 28, 2025, at 5:00 PM PST. https://lnkd.in/gkYTjyRW

Congratulations to undergraduate architecture student, Erin Kurtycz, for winning the 2024 Robert L. Wesley Award from the SOM Foundation. The Wesley award supports Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) undergraduate students in architecture and other related fields with a $10,000 scholarship and yearlong mentorship connecting them with leading practitioners and educators. Zain AbuSeir, lecturer in architecture and DEI faculty lead, commended Kurtycz’s work, saying that she demonstrates an outstanding spatial intuition and sophisticated design abilities. “I am extremely honored to be a recipient of the Robert L. Wesley Award. Being recognized by the SOM Foundation provides me with both personal motivation and further career opportunities as I continue pursuing my journey as an architect,” Kurtycz said. Read the full article: https://myumi.ch/pke5q

Fourth-year student and research assistant at POST (Project for Operative Spatial Technologies) Salma Rodriguez from the Huckabee College of Architecture El Paso has received the 2024 Robert L. Wesley Award. This award, bestowed by the SOM Foundation, honors four students who display leadership, talent, and commitment to each of their communities. Recipients receive a $10,000 prize in addition to support from Black Spectacles and a yearlong mentorship program connecting them with leading BIPOC practitioners and educators. To learn more about the Robert L. Wesley Award and Salma's achievements, click the link below:

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2024 Robert L. Wesley Award. Four fellows, Ferras Coulibaly (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, @School of Architecture), Erin Kurtycz (Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning, University of Michigan), Beni Lawson (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, School of Architecture), and Salma Rodriguez (Texas Tech University Huckabee College of Architecture) will each receive a $10,000 award in addition to a yearlong mentorship program that connects the students with leading BIPOC practitioners and educators. Awardees will also be supported by Black Spectacles as they work toward becoming licensed architects. This year’s jury was chaired by Robert L. Wesley (Retired Partner, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Chicago) and included Monica Chadha (Founder and Principal, Civic Projects Architecture, Chicago), Andrew Santa Lucia (Founder, Office Andorus; Associate Professor of Practice, Portland State University’s School of Architecture, Portland), and Stephen Slaughter (Chairperson of Undergraduate Architecture, Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture, New York City). “I was beyond impressed with the caliber of students that applied for the Robert L. Wesley Award. We have so many talented young people in design that are deserving of an easier path in school. The fact that this award can honor, support, and provide mentorship is invaluable,” said Monica Chada, 2024 Robert L. Wesley Award juror. “The students who have received the award exhibit leadership, talent, and commitment to each of their communities. I feel privileged to have had a chance to see the work that they have done, and I look forward to seeing how they grow both through the support of this award, and the mentorship that this award offers.” “This was the most difficult jury I have ever participated in. I found myself moved by both the students’ essays and videos, and waffled back and forth between the value of merit versus value of need. Seeing how accomplished, compelling, and beautiful the work was, only made my deliberations more difficult,” said Stephen Slaughter, 2024 Robert L. Wesley Award juror. “In all honesty, if every applicant was awarded the prize, I would be overjoyed, but I am satisfied with the short list we settled on, and content knowing the prize will make a difference in the lives, and possibly careers, of the recipients.” https://lnkd.in/gVcjc8QY

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the winner of the 2024 European Research Prize. A team from the Technological University Dublin will receive a €20,000 prize to conduct original research that contributes to this year’s topic, “Advancing Toward a Water-Secure Future.” The European Research Prize was created in 2021 to cultivate new ideas and meaningful research that addresses the critical issues of our time. As part of the project “Coastal Register: Research and Design of Nature-based Solutions for Wetland Water Security,” Steve Larkin and Helen McFadden aim to lay the foundation for efforts to protect and restore coastal wetlands along the western seaboard in County Mayo, Ireland. This project asks the research question: How can architectural methods and interdisciplinary collaboration support the implementation of nature-based solutions for water security? “The jury was delighted to award the 2024 European Research Prize to ‘Coastal Register‘ by the School of Architecture, Building and Environment (SABE), TU Dublin. Wetland degradation is a critical global water-security issue; this is especially urgent in Ireland which faces the highest loss with 75% of its wetlands depleted over the past thirty years,” comments juror Jane Withers. “We considered ‘Coastal Register‘ a well-conceived approach to researching and designing nature-based solutions to wetland degradation. By engaging interdisciplinary teams including farmers’ networks and citizen scientists as well as student groups, the project has the potential to inspire far reaching change.” “‘Coastal Register’ reflects a comprehensive approach to addressing the intertwined issues of water security and climate resilience, particularly within the context of Ireland's significant wetland loss. With a strong research and design methodology, the project brings together an interdisciplinary team of architects, geomorphologists, community members, and policymakers to develop and implement nature-based solutions. ‘Coastal Register’ clearly puts the focus on student engagement through real-world, studio-based projects, ensuring that future architects gain practical skills and insights necessary for sustainable design,” mentioned juror Montserrat Bonvehi Rosich. “By integrating cultural and ecological perspectives, the project aims to restore and protect Ireland's coastal wetlands and extend the impact of these efforts across various landscapes. The initiative’s alignment with the SOM Foundation’s focus on water further emphasizes the importance of knowledge exchange and independent thinking in tackling contemporary environmental challenges. This is going to be an incredible project to follow along during the entire process!” https://lnkd.in/gayRUma9

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the second recipient of the 2024 Research Prize. The second winning proposal is “Soft-Urban Riverfront: A New Paradigm for Headwater Metropolises” led by Dingliang Yang, Jennifer Yoos, FAIA, Maura Rockcastle, Ross Altheimer, Roger Cummings, Daniel Carlson, and Changó Cummings (University of Minnesota, The Schools of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design [ALI]). Pig’s Eye Lake at the Mississippi River in St. Paul, Minnesota, a site of historical pollution with significant Indigenous heritage and ecological importance, will serve as a catalyst project of the “Soft-Urban Riverfront: A New Paradigm for Headwater Metropolises” studio. Through a cross-disciplinary and cross-scalar approach, the studio will work with ecologists, scientists, historians, policymakers, and community stakeholders to create design strategies that enhance biodiversity, public health, and cultural awareness. “‘Soft-Urban Riverfront’ stood out amongst other proposals in its multi-scalar approach to architecture and landscape design. Working on a particular site near the Mississippi River’s headwaters, students are also asked to analyze the larger watershed and metropolitan context of the site,” mentioned juror Carson Chan. “That the proposal also acknowledged the Dakota Nation’s primacy in this area made clear that the project leads understand that any ecological design research is a continuation of the environmental knowledge gained by those who have lived on this land for far longer than settler colonists and immigrants.” https://lnkd.in/gEHdmuj9

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the second recipient of the 2024 Research Prize. The second winning proposal is “Soft-Urban Riverfront: A New Paradigm for Headwater Metropolises” led by Dingliang Yang, Jennifer Yoos, FAIA, Maura Rockcastle, Ross Altheimer, Roger Cummings, Daniel Carlson, and Changó Cummings (University of Minnesota, The Schools of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design [ALI]). Pig’s Eye Lake at the Mississippi River in St. Paul, Minnesota, a site of historical pollution with significant Indigenous heritage and ecological importance, will serve as a catalyst project of the “Soft-Urban Riverfront: A New Paradigm for Headwater Metropolises” studio. Through a cross-disciplinary and cross-scalar approach, the studio will work with ecologists, scientists, historians, policymakers, and community stakeholders to create design strategies that enhance biodiversity, public health, and cultural awareness. “‘Soft-Urban Riverfront’ stood out amongst other proposals in its multi-scalar approach to architecture and landscape design. Working on a particular site near the Mississippi River’s headwaters, students are also asked to analyze the larger watershed and metropolitan context of the site,” mentioned juror Carson Chan. “That the proposal also acknowledged the Dakota Nation’s primacy in this area made clear that the project leads understand that any ecological design research is a continuation of the environmental knowledge gained by those who have lived on this land for far longer than settler colonists and immigrants.” https://lnkd.in/gEHdmuj9

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the first recipient of the 2024 Research Prize. Aurelie Frolet and Emily McGlohn, AIA, NCARB (Auburn University, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture) and Jillian Maxcy-Brown (Auburn University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering) won with their proposal “Imaging Underground: Illustrating Wastewater Challenges and Opportunities to Inform and Empower Alabama’s Black Belt Communities.” The project will produce a Wastewater Design Manual for stakeholders and municipalities in the Black Belt. It will include three components: a history of regional wastewater practices, an explanation of cluster system functions, and suggested tools to give communities control over design decision-making during the economic development driven by new wastewater systems. Juror Carol Coletta commented: “Making the invisible visible is a skill we must learn if we have any hope of solving our most pressing problems. The team from Auburn University is doing that, supported by the trust with locals built over many projects and many years. The subject—wastewater infrastructure—is not sexy, but it’s critical. The lessons from this team’s work will have broad applicability and great promise for educating and engaging people on issues that affect their lives every day.” https://lnkd.in/gNyUFzRw

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the opening of the 2025 China Fellowship. The $5,000 China Fellowship is awarded annually to three students in the last two years of either an undergraduate or graduate program in architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, or urban design in the People’s Republic of China to conduct independent travel and research that contributes to the SOM Foundation’s current topic, “Advancing Toward a Water-Secure Future.” The China Fellowship was created in 2006 to support emerging design leaders to broaden their education and contribute to their future professional and academic careers. Deadline: March 28, 2025. https://lnkd.in/eaTvarr9

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the opening of the 2025 Structural Engineering Fellowship. The $20,000 fellowship will be awarded to a student currently enrolled in a master’s or PhD program or in the final year of their bachelor’s program based in the United States who specializes in structural engineering to conduct independent travel and research that contributes to this year’s topic, “Advancing Toward a Water-Secure Future.” The Structural Engineering Fellowship was created in 1998 to support research that has the potential to influence the practice and teaching of how structures can positively impact our built environment. Deadline: March 14, 2025. https://lnkd.in/eSh6_JzV