1992 Master of Architecture
Timothy Johnson

Impact of the Award

June 4, 1996

My receipt of the SOM Foundation fellowship in 1992, which focused on the turbulence of the restructuring identity of the former Eastern Bloc countries through modern architecture, Communist housing, and nuclear power stations, has allowed me to greater understanding of the extent to which “modernity” has effected (both positively and negatively) the human condition.

Today, as the Design Director of our [Ellerbe Becket] Asia Pacific market, I am responsible for a wide range of designs from masterplans to high-rise mixed-use development and everything in between. Everyone that is working in these hyperdeveloping countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, etc. knows how important the process of design will be for the long-term investments of these countries. My foundation for the understanding of this context in many ways has been formulated within my studies at Columbia University with the William Kinne Fellowship and from the real-world exploration during my SOM Foundation fellowship.