The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 SOM Foundation China Fellowship. Hao Chang, Lu Ming, and Zhang Nan will each receive $5,000 to conduct independent travel and research that contributes to this year’s topic, “Advancing Toward a Water-Secure Future.”
Scene of the transformation of the space under the viaduct in the Discover Eco-corridors project. © Zhang Nan.
This year’s jury was led by Brian Lee (Consulting Partner at SOM, Chicago) and included Inho Rhee (Design Principal at SOM, Shanghai) and Huang Wenjing (Founding Partner at OPEN Architecture, Beijing). All proposals were evaluated independently by each of the jurors, who then submitted their individual recommendations. Shortlisted proposals were subsequently discussed as a group.
Reclaiming the Negative Space: A Civic Ecosystem for Kampung Melayu, Jakarta. Amid Jakarta’s escalating flood crises and shrinking public space, the project reimagines the underutilized void beneath railway viaducts along the Ciliwung River. The rendering envisions a vibrant civic ecosystem where modular architecture and ecological sensitivity converge—transforming a flood-prone threshold into a resilient urban commons centered on community care and environmental justice. © Hao Chang.
Hao Chang is a fourth-year Bachelor of Architecture student at Tsinghua University, with extensive academic and internship experience across Taipei, Beijing, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Motivated by the environmental challenges of his hometown, he believes architecture must respond to both tangible and intangible aspects of our surroundings. Dedicated to bridging cultural heritage and contemporary practice, Hao aspires to design environments that are not only functional and sustainable but also socially conscious. His work explores resilience in the face of climate change, offering innovative strategies that align ecological integrity with community wellbeing. Hao envisions an architectural approach that harmonizes sustainability, social impact, and cultural context, creating enduring value for both people and place. His proposal is titled “Rising Tides, Resilient Lives: Reimagining Vulnerable Communities in the River Deltas of Kampung Melayu, Jakarta.” Hao Chang will travel to Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, and Thailand to explore strategies to mitigate urbanization’s impacts in flood-prone areas, focusing on Kampung Melayu, Jakarta.
Lu Ming was born in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. As an undergraduate student majoring in architecture at Soochow University, he plans to pursue a master’s degree in Europe. His works mostly adopt the workflow of “Structure-Narrative-Detail,” and he is accustomed to deliberating on space through sketches and models. Advocating a human-oriented approach, he explores the core of the site, demonstrates the spirit of place, and continues urban memory. Committed to exploring the application of humanistic concepts and place spirit in architectural design, he hopes to propose a paradigm of architectural concepts where humans and the environment have equal rights. As part of his proposal “Reconstructing the Power Order of the ‘Human-Water Relationship‘ Along China’s Grand Canal,” Lu Ming will travel across China and The Netherlands to explore innovative paths to resolve the contradictions in water rights allocation and enhance the sustainable resilience of China's Grand Canal river basin.
Zhang Nan is a soon-to-be graduate in Landscape Architecture from Southeast University. She has consistently explored the multifaceted possibilities of landscape design through an interdisciplinary lens. Her research in historical context preservation, ecological resilience construction, and socio-spatial development has progressively shaped her holistic understanding of the field. Over the past few years, she has participated in competitions and research projects on habitat conservation, energy-efficient architecture, and outdoor lighting environments. Now, she is increasingly focusing on climate-adaptive landscape systems and sustainable design approaches. Upon completing her undergraduate studies, she plans to further her education in Europe, specializing in landscape architecture, where she hopes to refine her expertise and contribute to innovative solutions in the field. In her proposal, titled “Four Dimensions of Water Security: Availability, Accessibility, Resilience, and Sustainability,” Zhang Nan will travel to Australia, Indonesia, Japan, and Singapore to develop a cross-disciplinary evaluation toolkit for policymakers and designers.
Congratulations to the three recipients of the 2025 China Fellowship and we all look forward to seeing the results of their research in the near future.
Axonometric drawing of the inner part of the city wall in the waterfront area. © Lu Ming.
