Since 1981, the SOM Foundation has supported the work of more than 350 emerging architects, landscape architects, interior architects, urban designers, and engineers. Below are the most recent recipients of the SOM Foundation's awards. A comprehensive list of all past fellows can be found here.
Vertical Deconstruction, Housing Equity, and Humanistic Care
Based on urban vacancies and population density, Zhangxiang Dai will visit four cities in China and Japan in order to explore sustainable housing forms that conceptually challenge the status quo.
Zhangxiang Dai
Chang'an University
School of Architecture
Re-Inhabit the “Invisible Room”
Wenxiao Xiang will travel to four European countries to study the concept of “invisible rooms” in collective housing—shared spaces that serve residents’ well-being by providing natural light, air, and views. Despite historical challenges in prioritizing these spaces over profit, this research proposes that “invisible rooms” balance resident welfare and economic interests, fostering healthier communities.
Wenxiao Xiang
Hunan University
School of Architecture and Planning
Adapting Housing Strategies: Temporary Construction and Code Compliance
In this proposal, Xiangqing Zheng will explore how adapting housing strategies responds to new realities from the perspective of codes. When existing housing buildings that follow the old codes confront new realities and needs, how does the temporary construction of both bottom-up extension and top-down adaptation meet the requirements of the current codes? How do we find solutions under constraints and conflicts?
Xiangqing Zheng
The University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Architecture
Exploring Innovative Housing: A Playbook for Optimism
Global trends are creating pressures to find housing solutions that meet a multidimensional array of criteria. This project aims to create a playbook for optimism: a survey of nineteen case studies to identify innovative solutions that create meaningful impacts on housing outcomes.
Elizabeth Claypool
Stanford University
School of Engineering
Hospes: Housing Justice and Multispecies Cohabitation at the Wildland-Urban Interface
Hospes is a curatorial and artistic research project that investigates the frictions and affinities between environmental and housing justice organizations in Los Angeles, aiming to spark dialogue, collaboration, and exchange towards just and multispecies futures.
Maya Livio
American University
School of Communication
Pairing data analysis and design thinking, “A Taxonomy of Vacancy” will examine how San Antonio policymakers could accelerate multifamily housing production by reimagining the potential of vacant or underused commercial parcels.
Ian Caine
University of Texas at San Antonio
School of Architecture + Planning
Esteban López Ochoa
University of Texas at San Antonio
School of Architecture + Planning
Rudy Niño, Jr.
City of San Antonio
Planning Department
Christine Quattro
Appalachian State University
College of Arts and Sciences
Wei Zhai
University of Texas at San Antonio
School of Architecture + Planning
The project “Block by Block” seeks to design more just and desirable housing models by engaging the scale of the block.
Gabriel Cuéllar
University of Michigan
College of Architecture and Urban Planning
De Peter Yi
University of Cincinnati
College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
Open System for the Urban Regeneration of Housing Estates: A Case Study in Barcelona
Research group REARQ and students from the Barcelona School of Architecture will design and field test adaptations of an open system created for rehabilitating multifamily housing in Barcelona’s Southwest Besòs neighborhood.
Pere Joan Ravetllat
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Barcelona School of Architecture
Còssima Cornadó
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Barcelona School of Architecture
Marta Domènech
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Barcelona School of Architecture
Sara Vima-Grau
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Barcelona School of Architecture
University of Southern California School of Architecture
Texas Tech University Huckabee College of Architecture
Texas Tech University Huckabee College of Architecture
North Carolina State University College of Design
University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design
