News

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the opening of the 2026 Research Prize. Two $30,000 prizes will be awarded to faculty-led interdisciplinary teams based in the United States to conduct original research on this year’s topic, “AI, the Built Environment, and Human Agency.” The Research Prize was created in 2018 to cultivate new ideas and meaningful research that addresses the critical issues of our time.

Applications are due Monday, December 7, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. CST. Winners will be notified no later than Monday, February 1, 2027. 

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce that the 2026–2027 awards cycle will focus on the framework ”AI, the Built Environment, and Human Agency.”

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Peter MacKeith to the position of Executive Director following a global search.

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the winner of the 2026 SOM Foundation China Fellowship. Fan Guo will receive $15,000 to conduct independent travel and research that contributes to this year’s topic, “Exploring the Potential of Mobility Corridors.”

Mae-ling Lokko (2021 Research Prize) is a recipient of Architectural Record’s 2026 Women in Architecture Award. She and the four other 2026 laureates will be honored at a ceremony held on September 23 on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

The MAK Center for Art and Architecture and the SOM Foundation are pleased to announce that Linda C. Samuels has been awarded the 2026 Researcher-in-Residence. Linda C. Samuels is Professor and Chair of urban design at the Sam Fox School at Washington University in St. Louis and the inaugural Director of Sustainable Design and Environmental Justice. Samuels will receive a $5,000 stipend and a five-week summer residency in Los Angeles at the MAK Center’s Mackey Apartments designed by R.M. Schindler for work related to her research proposal, “Sixth Street Viaduct as Next Generation Infrastructure.”

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the winner of the 2026 Structural Engineering Fellowship. Lili Boenigk, a graduate student in the Building Technology program in the Department of Architecture at MIT, will receive $20,000 to conduct original research related to her proposal, “Critical Connectors: Regenerating Structures and Community Through Short-span Bridges.” During her fellowship, Lili Boenigk will document understudied bridge-building practices, emphasizing the role of collective participation and culture in infrastructure siting, design, and maintenance.

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the opening of the 2026 China Fellowship. The $15,000 China Fellowship is awarded annually to one student in the last two years of either an undergraduate or graduate program in architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, or urban design in the People’s Republic of China to conduct independent travel and research that contributes to the SOM Foundation’s current topic, “Exploring the Potential of Mobility Corridors.” The China Fellowship was created in 2006 to support emerging design leaders to broaden their education and contribute to their future professional and academic careers.

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.

In collaboration with the Board of Directors, the Executive Director will provide strategic and visionary leadership and will be responsible for advancing the mission of the SOM Foundation. The Executive Director will set priorities to advance and amplify the impact of its core awards program, operations, and long-term financial security.