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.
“Imaging Underground” will produce a Wastewater Design Manual for stakeholders and municipalities in the Black Belt. It will include three components: a history of regional wastewater practices, an explanation of cluster system functions, and suggested tools to give communities control over design decision-making during the economic development driven by new wastewater systems.
Aurélie Frolet
Auburn University
School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture
Emily McGlohn
Auburn University
School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture
Jillian Maxcy-Brown
Auburn University
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Soft-Urban Riverfront: A New Paradigm for Headwater Metropolises
Pig’s Eye Lake at the Mississippi River in St. Paul, a site of historical pollution with significant Indigenous heritage and ecological importance, will serve as a catalyst project of the “Soft-Urban Riverfront: A New Paradigm for Headwater Metropolises” studio. Through a cross-disciplinary and cross-scalar approach, the studio will work with ecologists, scientists, historians, policymakers, and community stakeholders to create design strategies that enhance biodiversity, public health, and cultural awareness.
Dingliang Yang
University of Minnesota
The Schools of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design (ALI)
Jennifer Yoos
University of Minnesota
The Schools of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design (ALI)
Maura Rockcastle
University of Minnesota
The Schools of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design (ALI)
Ross Altheimer
University of Minnesota
The Schools of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design (ALI)
Roger Cummings
University of Minnesota
The Schools of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design (ALI)
Daniel Carlson
University of Minnesota
The Schools of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design (ALI)
Changó Cummings
University of Minnesota
The Schools of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design (ALI)
Coastal Register: Research and Design of Nature-based Solutions for Wetland Water Security
“Coastal Register” aims to lay the foundation for efforts to protect and restore coastal wetlands along the western seaboard in County Mayo. This project asks the research question: How can architectural methods and interdisciplinary collaboration support the implementation of nature-based solutions for water security?
Steve Larkin
Technological University Dublin
School of Architecture Building and Environment
Helen McFadden
Technological University Dublin
School of Architecture Building and Environment
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
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
