Since 1981, the SOM Foundation has supported the work of more than 300 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.
An Ontological Study of Structures and Their Materiality
Luis Berg will explore the relationships among material, people, and nature through case studies of select structures to understand their connection to three core concepts: community impact, environmental sustainability, and engineering innovation. The aim is to motivate material use that, respecting culture and generating knowledge, builds for a better and more efficient tomorrow.
Luis Berg
University of California, Berkeley
“MycoKnit” aims to explore the interrelated behavior of mycelium-based composites and knitted textiles, where the knit is used as a growing base for mycelium materials, to offer a sustainable and biodegradable building material and structural system that is strong in both tension and compression.
Felecia Davis
Pennsylvania State University
Department of Architecture
Ali Ghazvinian
Pennsylvania State University
Department of Architecture
Benay Gürsoy
Pennsylvania State University
Department of Architecture
Farzaneh Oghazian
Pennsylvania State University
Department of Architecture
John Pecchia
Pennsylvania State University
Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology
Andre West
North Carolina State University
Wilson College of Textiles
Soil Sisters: An Intersectoral Material Design Framework for Soil Health
“Soil Sisters” aims to investigate a new paradigm for connecting agricultural waste to large-scale regional material supply chains, in which improving soil nutrition and soil resiliency underpins the design goal of providing cross-sectoral environmental performance through the provision of new biomaterial construction systems.
Anna Dyson
Yale University
School of Architecture
Mae-ling Lokko
Yale University
School of Architecture
“Constructive Land” proposes to examine the future of the British landscape in the context of the climate crisis. Our fertile landscape is constrained by pressures from farming, woodland, and housing, all of which need reimagining as we move into a postcarbon future. The research looks at the potential of agroforestry to develop arable farming alongside productive woodland and explores what materials and building systems can be drawn from a new model of regenerative land management.
Paloma Gormley
University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins
Spatial Practices Program
Summer Islam
University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins
Spatial Practices Program
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
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art School of Architecture
University of Oklahoma College of Architecture
Cornell University Department of Architecture
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art School of Architecture
Syracuse University School of Architecture
