The SOM Foundation supports individuals with the highest design aspirations to achieve excellence.
Bringing together the brightest design minds to undertake interdisciplinary research that can help shape our future
Hauts-de-France Mining Basin. © David Schalliol.
2020 Research Prize
Reclaiming Black Settlements: A Design Playbook for Historic Communities in the Shadow of Sprawl
Diane Jones Allen
Austin Allen
Kathryn Holliday
Black Settlements flourished along the Trinity River bottomlands from Fort Worth east to Dallas. © Google Earth and USGS Watershed | Map by Kathryn Holliday and William Dibble.
2020 Research Prize
Public Space and Scrutiny: Examining Urban Monuments through Social Psychology
Tiffany Lin
Emilie Taylor
Lisa Molix
View of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s bronze sculpture being removed from its pedestal. Courtesy of Infrogmation.
Landscape Portrait, “50 Species-Towns.” © Harvard GSD Office for Urbanization.
Towards an Agrarian Urbanism: Progressive Potentials for Contemporary Practice
Lecture by Charles Waldheim
October 14, 2020
2021 Structural Engineering Fellowship
Decolonizing Urban Landscapes: Reclaiming a Black and Indigenous Right to the City through Structural Design
Michelle Chang
41st Street Bridge, Chicago, IL, United States. © James Steinkamp.
Featured Fellow
Weather Permitting: The Journey of a Storm Chaser
2006 SOM Prize for Architecture, Design, and Urban Design
Cathlyn Newell
Rice University
Rain or shine. © Cathlyn Newell.
Floating world. © Cathlyn Newell.
Sulphur pool. © Cathlyn Newell.
Featured Events
Towards an Agrarian Urbanism: Progressive Potentials for Contemporary Practice
On October 14, 2020, architect and urbanist Charles Waldheim, juror of the 2019 Research Prize, discussed his work as it relates to the topic of the Research Prize: “Shrinking our Agricultural Footprint.” The lecture was organized in collaboration with the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and the Chicago Architecture Biennial. Watch
Recent News
The Chicago Institute for Architecture and Urbanism under Janet Abrams
As part of a series highlighting the history and initiatives of the SOM Foundation, in this piece we look at the Chicago Institute for Architecture and Urbanism under the leadership of Janet Abrams (1991–1992). Read
2021 Robert L. Wesley Award Application Opens
The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the opening of the 2021 Robert L. Wesley Award. The award supports BIPOC undergraduate students enrolled in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, or engineering programs in the United States. This year, three students will receive a $10,000 award in addition to a yearlong mentorship program that connects the students with leading BIPOC practitioners and educators. The award is named in honor of Robert L. Wesley, the first Black partner at SOM. Read
2021 Research Prize Application Opens
The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the opening of the 2021 Research Prize. Two $40,000 prizes will be awarded to faculty-led interdisciplinary teams based in the United States to conduct original research that contributes to this year’s topic, “Envisioning Responsible Relationships with Materiality.” The Research Prize was created in 2018 to cultivate new ideas and meaningful research that addresses the critical issues of our time. Read