Submitted by Berrin Chatzi Chousein

SOM Foundation Awards $100,000 To Five Architecture And Engineering Graduates

United States Architecture News - Oct 28, 2015 - 10:50   6040 views

SOM Foundation Awards 0,000 To Five Architecture And Engineering Graduates

from left to right: Xiaoxi Chen Laurent- 2015 Travel Fellow, Nicholas Coates,- 2015 SOM Prize winner and Audrey Ryan-Structural Engineering Travel Fellow. images courtesy SOM Foundation and award recipients.

Nicholas Coates, Xiaoxi Chen Laurent, Audrey Ryan, Xin Ji, and Jinhui Wang receive the SOM Foundation’s 2015 Travel and Research Fellowships. 

The SOM Foundation is proud to announce the recipients of the 2015 SOM Foundation fellowships, which have been conferred annually since 1981 to over 200 graduating undergraduate and graduate students of architecture, design, urban design, and structural engineering. This year, Nicholas Coates, B.Arch., Virginia Polytechnic Institute, was selected to receive the $50,000 SOM Prize in Architecture, Design and Urban Design; Xiaoxi Chen Laurent, M.Arch., Columbia University, was selected to receive the $20,000 Travel Fellowship for Architecture, Design and Urban Design; Audrey Ryan, B.S. Architectural Engineering and M.S. Civil Engineering, Drexel University, was selected to receive the $20,000 Structural Engineering Travel Fellowship; and Xin Ji, M.Arch., Southeast University, Nanjing, and Jinhui Wang, B.Arch., Tianjin University, were each selected to receive a $ 5,000 China Prize.

Independent juries composed of prominent, multi-disciplinary professionals and SOM Foundation officers choose each year’s fellows. Funded through an endowment established by the partners of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, one of the leading architecture, interior design, engineering, and urban planning firms in the world, SOM Foundation’s annual awards are internationally recognized for their mission to nurture future leaders in design by giving them the opportunity to broaden their cultural and aesthetic horizons through travel outside of their countries. 

SOM Prize and Travel Fellowship

Administered as a single competition, the SOM Prize and Travel Fellowship are given annually to students and recent graduates of Architecture, Design (including interior design, landscape architecture, environmental graphics, or industrial design), and Urban Design. To be considered for either award, applicants submit a portfolio, research proposal, and travel itinerary.

The SOM Prize is a $50,000 research and travel fellowship that enables the winner to travel, meet with other professionals in the field, and to pursue study outside the realm of established patterns, while carrying out in-depth research on a subject of their choosing. The 2015 SOM Prize Fellow is Nicholas Coates. He will travel to Iceland, Scandinavia, and Japan to research the architecture of corners. As Coates explains in his submission, “When articulated carefully, a corner forms an introduction to a new set of conditions: it expresses the dynamic moment, initiating a shift in perspective. Both from

an urban spatial point of view and through the material of the building itself, an architect is always presented with an opportunity to direct a beautiful turn.”

Coates received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in May 2015. He is also the recipient of the Phi Kappa Phi Medallion for graduating at the top of his College of Architecture and Urban Studies class, the Henry Adams American Institute of Architects Medal and Certificate for his academic achievement, and the Alpha Rho Chi Medal for outstanding leadership.

The SOM Travel Fellowship is a $20,000 fellowship that offers the winner an opportunity to expand their professional education beyond the classroom through the observation of buildings, design, culture, and history that can only be achieved through travel. The 2015 SOM Travel Fellow is Xiaoxi Chen Laurent. She will visit four continents to study historic and contemporary examples of intergovernmental architecture, analyzing the buildings through the contemporary lenses of sustainability and security.

Chen Laurent received her Master of Architecture degree from the Columbia University in May 2015. She is also the recipient the Total Design Prize for her all-around outstanding performance in the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation’s design studio and seminar sequences. She previously studied at Georgia Institute of Technology and the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-La Villette.

In addition to the two award Recipients, the SOM Foundation recognized four shortlisted finalists, Eric Barr, M.Arch., University of Virginia; Gabriel Kozlowski Maia, M.S. in Architecture and Urbanism, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Lauren Nelson, M.Arch., University of Virginia; and Lily–Love Toppar, M.Arch., Cornell University.

The SOM Foundation received submissions from students representing 38 U.S. schools. Co-chaired by SOM Design Partner Leo Chow AIA and SOM Design Director Paul Danna FAIA, the distinguished jury was comprised of Los Angeles area practicing professionals Steven Ehrlich FAIA, RIBA of Steven Ehrlich Architects; Sharon Johnston FAIA of Johnston Marklee & Associates; and Alice Kimm FAIA of John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects. 

Structural Engineering Travel Fellowship

The Structural Engineering Travel Fellowship is a $20,000 award that aims to foster an appreciation of the aesthetic potential in the structural design of buildings and bridges by enabling a gifted graduate to experience works of architecture and engineering first hand. The 2015 Structural Engineering Travel Fellow is Audrey Ryan. She will travel extensively
in Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand to examine a variety of building and bridge structural systems from the perspective of how their designs function cohesively with nature.

Enrolled in Drexel University’s accelerated BS/MS degree program, Ryan graduated in June 2015 with Bachelor’s of Science in Architectural Engineering and a Master’s of Science in Civil Engineering, both with a structural concentration. Under the mentorship of Dr. James Mitchell, Dr. Ivan Bartoli, and Eugenia Ellis, she participated in a number of research projects, including finite element modeling for infrared non-destructive testing of structure and daylighting optimization for existing buildings.

Co-chaired by SOM Stuctural Engineering Director Charles Besjak, PE, SE, the distinguished jury was comprised of New York area practicing professionals Brian Falconer, PE, SE, Principal of Severud Associates, Saw Teen See, PE, Managing Director of Leslie E. Robertson Associates and Andrew Whalley, RIBA, AIA, Deputy Chairman of Grimshaw Architects PC. 

China Prize

The China Prize provides two $5,000 traveling fellowships to help Chinese students in the field of Architecture and Urban Design broaden their education and gain an understanding of society’s need to improve the built and natural environments. These awards also recognize the excellence of the schools in training the leading architects of the next generation. The 2015 China Prize Fellows are Xin Ji and Jinhui Wang.

Ji graduated from Southeast University in Nanjing with a Master’s in Architecture in June 2015. He plans to travel to Boston and New York in the United States to carry out his proposed research topic of “The Relationship Between Public Urban Spaces and Economic Urban Diversity.”

Wang graduated from Tianjin University with a Bachelor’s in Architecture in June 2015. He plans to travel to Japan and India to carry out his proposed research about “The Classical Spirit and Contemporary Architecture of Cities.”

Co-chaired by SOM Director of Urban Design and Planning Peter J. Kindel, AIA, ASLA, the distinguished jury was comprised of Chinese practicing professionals Zhang Lei of Atelier Zhang Lei Architects, Dong Gong of Vector Architects, and Zhu Wen Yi, Professor at Tsinghua University. 

> via SOM Foundation