The Wheelwright Prize is a $100,000 travel-based research grant that is awarded annually to early-career architects who have demonstrated exceptional design talent, produced work of scholarly and professional merit, and who show promise for continued creative work.

Throughout its history, Harvard GSD has had a strong global outlook, attracting deans, faculty, and students from all over the world. Moreover, a mainstay of the GSD curriculum is its traveling studio, which emphasizes the acceptance of ideas and practices with a diversity of origins. The Wheelwright Prize extends the school’s ethos, encouraging a broad-minded approach to architecture that seeks inspiration from unexpected quarters.

The Wheelwright Prize is intended to spur innovative research during the early stage of an architect's professional career. Now open to applicants from all over the world—no affiliation to Harvard GSD required—the prize aims to foster new forms of research informed by cross-cultural engagement. "The idea is not just about travel—the act of going and seeing the world—but it is about binding the idea of geography to themes and issues that hold great potential relevance to contemporary practice," says Harvard GSD Dean Mohsen Mostafavi.

The winner will be selected via an open call for proposals and a rigorous review process. The winner of the Wheelwright Prize will receive:

• $100,000 cash prize to support travel and research-related costs
• invitation to lecture at Harvard GSD
• possibility to publish research in a Harvard GSD publication

The Wheelwright Prize organizing committee includes Harvard GSD Dean Mohsen Mostafavi, Professors K. Michael Hays and Jorge Silvetti, and Assistant Dean Benjamin Prosky.

Eligibility

• Applicant must have graduated from a professionally accredited architecture degree program in the past 15 years. Applicants need not be registered or licensed.
• Applicants may not have received the Arthur Wheelwright Traveling Fellowship previously.
• Winners of the Wheelwright Prize may not hold other fellowships concurrently.
• The Wheelwright Prize is available to individual entrants only; teams or firms will not be considered.
• Winners are expected to spend a minimum of 6 months (cumulative) outside of their countries of residence in order to conduct their proposed research. Additionally, proposed research itineraries must not include sites in the United States. Research and travel must commence within 12 months of receiving the Wheelwright Prize and must be completed within two years of receiving the prize.
• The Wheelwright Prize is intended for independent study and may not be applied to university tuition. However, the grant may be applied to fees for workshops and conferences.

Application

The application process will be entirely online. No submissions will be accepted by mail. The online application platform will begin receiving entries for 2014 Wheelwright Prize on January 20, 2014. Deadline for submissions is March 4, 2014. (Please note that the deadline has been extended from the previously announced deadline of February 28.)

For more information,please visit the website

> via wheelwrightprize.org