Since 1981, the SOM Foundation has supported the work of over 250 emerging architects, landscape architects, 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.
Examining Social Justice Beneath the Surface—Taking European Public Swimming Pools as a Clue
Chang Guo’s proposal will explore the role of community swimming pools in contributing to social justice through visiting and researching sites in France, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
Chang Guo
Southeast University
School of Architecture
Emotional Justice: Emotional Design of Urban Public Space
Han Tu’s research will explore the emotional design and justice of urban public spaces in Thailand, India, and Singapore.
Han Tu
Tsinghua University, Beijing
School of Architecture
Spatial Reproduction in Industrial Areas: Study on Chinese Workers’ Spatial Production in Europe
“Spatial Reproduction in Industrial Areas” proposes to study the impact of Chinese workers in Europe and whether the new production of space can achieve a certain degree of social integration while balancing the interests of both local and immigrant communities.
Yunhan Zhu
Shandong Jianzhu University
School of Architecture and Urban Planning
Black and Indigenous communities have historically been exiled from the urban environment. The proposed research aims to study exemplary structures that address race relations in both process and form. These examples will inspire future works so that racially equitable projects may one day become the norm rather than the exception.
Michelle Chang
University of Washington
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Oklahoma College of Architecture
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Department of Architecture
University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture
University of Washington Department of Landscape Architecture
Academy of Art University School of Architecture
Reclaiming Black Settlements: A Design Playbook for Historic Communities in the Shadow of Sprawl
Historic Black settlements in urban contexts across the United States are subjected to environmental and industrial hazards that jeopardize their health and survival. This project will bring together faculty and students in architecture, landscape architecture, planning, policy, and historic preservation to develop a design playbook particular to the needs of historic Black settlements in Dallas-Forth Worth that are exposed to risks of top-down development in the wake of explosive urban development and sprawl.
Diane Jones Allen
University of Texas at Arlington
Program of Landscape Architecture
Austin Allen
University of Texas at Arlington
School of Architecture
Kathryn Holliday
University of Texas at Arlington
School of Architecture
Public Space and Scrutiny: Examining Urban Monuments through Social Psychology
“Public Space and Scrutiny” proposes a study of existing public spaces, monuments, and memorials through the lens of social psychology in order to establish a broader frame of reference for future design. It aims to examine strategies to bridge the gap between the architects and the general public, specifically when designing for urban spaces marked by racial injustice.
Tiffany Lin
Tulane University
School of Architecture
Lisa Molix
Tulane University
Department of Psychology
Emilie Taylor Welty
Tulane University
School of Architecture
“Wetland Frontier” aims to facilitate the regeneration of New Orleans's Lower Ninth Ward community and the adjacent Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle—both currently ghosts of their former selves after historical neglect and segregation.
Annabelle Tan
University College London
Bartlett School of Architecture
SEED of Havana: Dissolving Condensers
The thesis takes a theoretical approach to invigorate revolutionary aspirations and proposes integrated adaptive reuse as a sustainable alternative for urban regeneration.
Sun Yen Yee
University of Westminster, London
