News

The SOM Foundation and the MAK Center for Art and Architecture are now accepting applications for the 2026 Researcher-in-Residence. A fully funded summer residency program based in Los Angeles, the Researcher-in-Residence program provides an architect, artist, and/or researcher dedicated space and time for innovative work that addresses pressing issues related to the built environment. This year’s topic is “Exploring the Potential of Mobility Corridors,” which corresponds to the SOM Foundation’s 2025–2026 research topic. The Researcher-in-Residence will receive a $5,000 stipend and a four-to-six-week summer residency at R.M. Schindler’s Mackey Apartments in Los Angeles.

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the opening of the 2026 Structural Engineering Fellowship. The $20,000 fellowship will be awarded to a student currently enrolled in a master’s or PhD program or in the final year of their bachelor’s program based in the United States who specializes in structural engineering to conduct independent travel and research that contributes to this year’s topic, “Exploring the Potential of Mobility Corridors.” The Structural Engineering Fellowship was created in 1998 to support research that has the potential to influence the practice and teaching of how structures can positively impact our built environment.

Iker Gil, Executive Director of the SOM Foundation since 2019, announced today that he will step down from his position in August 2026 coinciding with the end of the current awards cycle.

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 Robert L. Wesley Award. Three fellows, Jenae Edwards (University of Southern California, School of Architecture), Israel Jimenez (Texas Tech University, Huckabee College of Architecture), and Nekelle Thomas (Pennsylvania State University, College of Arts and Architecture) will each receive a $10,000 award in addition to a yearlong mentorship program that connects the students with leading BIPOC practitioners and educators. Awardees will also be supported by Black Spectacles as they work toward becoming licensed architects.

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the winner of the 2025 European Research Prize. A team from the Politecnico di Milano will receive a €20,000 prize to conduct original research that contributes to this year’s topic, “Exploring the Potential of Mobility Corridors.” The European Research Prize was created in 2021 to cultivate new ideas and meaningful research that addresses the critical issues of our time.

It is with deep sadness that we announce that Robert L. Wesley has passed away at the age of 88. An architect who joined SOM in 1964 and became the firm’s first Black partner in 1984, Wesley made a lasting impact through both his built work and many years of committed civic leadership. In 2020 the SOM Foundation created the Robert L. Wesley Award to honor him and to support BIPOC undergraduate students enrolled in architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, urban design, and engineering programs in the United States.

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 Research Prize. Two teams—one from the University of Texas at Austin and one from the University of Virginia—have been awarded the 2025 Research Prize, and will each receive $30,000 to conduct original research that contributes to this year’s topic, “Exploring the Potential of Mobility Corridors.” The Research Prize was created in 2018 to cultivate new ideas and meaningful research that addresses the critical issues of our time.

The University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning and the SOM Foundation form new scholarship to support high school students and to honor Gordon Bunshaft.

The SOM Foundation is saddened by the passing of Robert A. M. Stern, founding partner of RAMSA (Robert A.M. Stern Architects), and Frank O. Gehry, founding partner of Gehry Partners, LLP. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Bob Stern and Frank Gehry were part of the board of the SOM Foundation.