The SOM Foundation supports individuals with the highest aspirations to enhance the design of the built environment.
Robert L. Wesley (1937–2026)
Robert L. Wesley, Chicago, 1996. © SOM.
2025 Research Prize
Visioning Eco-Connectivity with Youth in the Rio Grande Valley
Maggie Hansen
Miriam Solis
Cyclists enjoy the bike trail at Estrero Grande State Park, one regional precedent for our work. © Maggie Hansen.
Ali Fard
2025 Research Prize
Through the Cloud: Remapping Mobility in the Technical Landscapes of Northern Virginia
Development timeline along the Washington and Old Dominion Trail. © Ali Fard.
Supporting Lafayette International High School Students Interested in Architecture
Gordon Bunshaft. © SOM.
2025–2026 Topic
2025 China Fellowship
Rising Tides, Resilient Lives: Reimagining Vulnerable Communities in the River Deltas of Kampung Melayu, Jakarta
Hao Chang
Reclaiming the Negative Space. © Hao Chang.
2025 China Fellowship
Reconstructing the Power Order of the “Human-Water Relationship” Along China’s Grand Canal
Lu Ming
Axonometric drawing of the inner part of the city wall in the waterfront area. © Lu Ming.
2025 China Fellowship
Four Dimensions of Water Security: Availability, Accessibility, Resilience, and Sustainability
Zhang Nan
Scene of the transformation of the space under the viaduct in the Discover Eco-corridors project. © Zhang Nan.
Miro’s Chicago: The Iconic Public Sculpture That Almost Wasn’t
Miro’s Chicago, Chicago, 1981. Photograph by Hedrich Blessing Photographers. © Successió Miró / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris 2025.
2025 Researcher-in-Residence
A Permeable Atlas
Pablo Castillo Luna
A Tent for Lovers, A Garden for Pollinators, 2022. © Pablo Castillo Luna.
2025 Structural Engineering Fellowship
Reef Resilience: Designing Modular Solutions for Coastal Protection
Rebecca Henig
Coral Rubble at Moore Reef after MARRS star installation. Courtesy of Mars Incorporated and GBR Biology.
2024 European Research Prize
Coastal Register: Research and Design of Nature-based Solutions for Wetland Water Security
Map of Clew Bay in County Mayo. © Helen McFadden.
Steve Larkin
Helen McFadden
2024 Robert L. Wesley Award
Ferras Coulibaly
“Glitched Systems” is a product of manipulating established architectural works, reinterpreted through the theme of “glitch.” © Ferras Coulibaly.
2024 Robert L. Wesley Award
Erin Kurtycz
Kalamazoo Post Office Branch. © Erin Kurtycz.
2024 Robert L. Wesley Award
Beni Lawson
Treehouse—Consequences of Your Actions. © Beni Lawson.
2024 Robert L. Wesley Award
Salma Rodriguez
“Framing Mobility Through Space.” © Salma Rodriguez.
Call for Applications
Structural Engineering Fellowship Applications Now Open. Deadline: March 13, 2026
China Fellowship Applications Open in January 2026
Featured Fellow
A Case Study of the Cities of Japan
2019 Structural Engineering Research Fellowship
Samantha Eng
University of California, Berkeley
Awaji Yumebutai, Awaji, Hyōgo, 2019. © Samantha Eng.
Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, 2019. © Samantha Eng.
Kyoto Station, 2019. © Samantha Eng.
Current
Block by Block: Decoding New American Dreams of Housing
Organized by De Peter Yi, Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Cincinnati DAAP and director of Rebuild Collective, Block by Block is an exhibition that explores the design potential of accessory dwelling units, upzoning, lot splitting, single stair exits, and mass timber construction in housing. Read
Recent News
Robert L. Wesley (1937–2026)
It is with deep sadness that we announce that Robert L. Wesley has passed away at the age of 88. An architect who joined SOM in 1964 and became the firm’s first Black partner in 1984, Wesley made a lasting impact through both his built work and many years of committed civic leadership. In 2020 the SOM Foundation created the Robert L. Wesley Award to honor him and to support BIPOC undergraduate students enrolled in architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, urban design, and engineering programs in the United States.
SOM Foundation Announces Winners of the 2025 Research Prize
The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 Research Prize. Two teams—one from the University of Texas at Austin and one from the University of Virginia—have been awarded the 2025 Research Prize, and will each receive $30,000 to conduct original research that contributes to this year’s topic, “Exploring the Potential of Mobility Corridors.” The Research Prize was created in 2018 to cultivate new ideas and meaningful research that addresses the critical issues of our time.
2026 Structural Engineering Fellowship Opens
The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the opening of the 2026 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, “Exploring the Potential of Mobility Corridors.” 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.