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About
Awards
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Events
News
Contact
Support
Research Prize
European Research Prize
Structural Engineering Fellowship
China Fellowship
Robert L. Wesley Award
Researcher-in-Residence

SOM Foundation
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Chicago, IL 60604

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Searching for

About
Awards
Fellows
Events
News
Contact
Support
Research Prize
European Research Prize
Structural Engineering Fellowship
China Fellowship
Robert L. Wesley Award
Researcher-in-Residence

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. 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.

Applicants must be an undergraduate or graduate student in the last two years of a professionally accredited degree program in architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, or urban design in the People’s Republic of China. Chinese citizenship is not required. Students enrolled at universities in the People’s Republic of China who are currently participating in a study abroad program outside of the country are eligible for the award. Students from China who are enrolled at universities outside the People’s Republic of China are not eligible for the award. Applicants must intend to obtain a professionally accredited degree and enter the professional practice of architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, or urban design. The winning applicants will be required to thoroughly document their research findings and develop conclusions or suggestions for application to teaching and/or professional practice.

Applications Open in January 2026

2025

Somf 2025 china fellowship hao chang proposal 01
Somf 2025 china fellowship hao chang proposal 07

Rising Tides, Resilient Lives: Reimagining Vulnerable Communities in the River Deltas of Kampung Melayu, Jakarta

This research explores strategies to mitigate urbanization’s impacts in flood-prone areas, focusing on Kampung Melayu, Jakarta. It proposes a community center and modular, water-resilient shelters to address population density, social and economic vulnerabilities, flood resilience, and water security, aiming for holistic community development balancing environmental, social, and economic needs.

Hao Chang
Tsinghua University School of Architecture

Somf 2025 china fellowship lu ming proposal 01
Somf 2025 china fellowship lu ming proposal 05

Reconstructing the Power Order of the “Human-Water Relationship” Along China’s Grand Canal

Using the Grand Canal in China as the research subject, this study proposes a theoretical framework of “resilient water rights.” Through multi-scale institutional design, intelligent water network technology, and an ecological-social coordination mechanism, it explores innovative paths to resolve the contradictions in water rights allocation and enhance the sustainable resilience of the river basin. It provides a Chinese example for the governance of the global water crisis.

Lu Ming
Soochow University School of Architecture

Somf 2025 china fellowship zhang nan proposal 01

Four Dimensions of Water Security: Availability, Accessibility, Resilience, and Sustainability

This proposal analyzes water security through four dimensions—availability, accessibility, resilience, and sustainability—examining challenges and strategies in East/Southeast Asia and Australia. It integrates the UN’s sixth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 6) (ensuring access to clean water and sanitation for all) with case studies in order to develop a cross-disciplinary evaluation toolkit for policymakers and designers.

Zhang Nan
Southeast University School of Architecture

Somf 2024 china fellowship zhangxiang dai portfolio 01

2024

Vertical Deconstruction, Housing Equity, and Humanistic Care

Zhangxiang Dai

Somf 2024 china fellowship wenxiao xiang portfolio 01

2024

Re-Inhabit the “Invisible Room”

Wenxiao Xiang

Somf 2024 china fellowship xiangqing zheng portfolio 01b

2024

Adapting Housing Strategies: Temporary Construction and Code Compliance

Xiangqing Zheng

Somf 2023 china fellowship xianglan he portfolio 01

2023

Air Purification and Urban Strategies

Xianglan He

Somf 2023 china fellowship bolun qiu portfolio 01

2023

Air Justice: A Study on the Relationship Between Urban Form, Social Class, and Air Quality

Bolun Qiu

Somf 2023 china fellowship shuaibo shi portfolio 01

2023

Environmental Tectonics Through Air: Learning from Vernacular

Shuaibo Shi

Somf 2021 china fellowship chang guo final report 01

2021

Examining Social Justice Beneath the Surface: Taking European Public Swimming Pools as a Clue

Chang Guo

Somf 2021 china fellowship han tu portfolio 01

2021

Emotional Justice: Emotional Design of Urban Public Space

Han Tu

Somf 2021 china fellowship yunhan zhu final report 01

2021

Spatial Reproduction in Industrial Areas: Study on Chinese Workers’ Spatial Production in Europe

Yunhan Zhu

Somf 2019 china prize shen jie final report 01

2019

High-Density Habitation: Urban Planning and Residential Building

Shen Jie

Somf 2019 china prize jing qi final report detail of corridor groothandelsgebouw rotterdam

2019

The Influence of Megastructure Buildings on European Urban Space

Jing Qi

Somf china prize ziyuan zhu 01 2019

2019

The Urban Error System: Evoking Spatial Redundancy/Residue

Ziyuan Zhu

Somf china prize fenghao lu 2018 01

2018

In Between

Fenghao Lu

Somf 2018 china prize tangchenxi wei final report 01

2018

Native Community Development and Architectural Practice in the United States

Tangchenxi Wei

Somf 2018 china prize yuchen gao final report 01

2018

Slowness as Method

Yuchen Gao

Somf china prize hanxue wei 2017 02

2017

Urban Space with High Density: Study of Urbanization in India

Hanxue Wei

Somf china prize yue wu usb 2017

2017

Architecture, Infrastructure, and Urban Design and the Emerging Role of Infrastructure Design in the Modern City

Yue Wu

Somf 2017 china prize zhaoyang luo final report 08

2017

Atmosphere / Material / Behavior / Thoughts

Zhaoyang Luo

Somf china prize li dai 2016 09

2016

Reclaiming Urban Public Spaces

Li Dai

Somf china prize qiaozhi li 2016 03

2016

Form Follows Climate

Qiaozhi Li

Somf china prize xin ji 2015 02

2015

Research of Urban Public Space

Xin Ji

Somf 2015 china prize jinhui wang final report 04

2015

The Classical Spirit and Contemporary Architecture of Cities

Jinhui Wang

Somf 2011 china prize yige liu final report 01

2011

Materials, Structure, and Space

Yige Liu

Somf 2008 china prize wang baozheng final report 01

2008

Wang Baozheng

Somf 2007 china prize haohao zhu final report 01

2007

The Pantheon in II Campo Marzio dell’Antica Roma

Haohao Zhu

Somf 2006 china prize luo ke final report 01

2006

Luo Ke

Somf 2006 china prize li ning final report 01

2006

Li Ning

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