Call for Submissions: The Deborah J. Norden Fund 2014
The Deborah J. Norden Fund is a program of The Architectural League of New York.

Submission Deadline
Thursday, April 17, 2014

Download a PDF of this Call for Submissions.

For details on an information session on how to apply for this grant, click here.

Call for Submissions
The Deborah J. Norden Fund, established in 1995 in memory of architect and arts administrator Deborah Norden, awards up to $5,000 annually in travel and study grants to students and recent graduates in the fields of architecture, architectural history, and urban studies. The Fund has supported a fascinating array of projects, from a study of the Cambodian modernist Vann Molyvann, to the social impact of new architecture and planning interventions in Medellin, Colombia, to the insertion of built form into fragile ecosystems in Australia, to the stereotomy of complex surfaces in French Baroque architecture.

Submission Requirements and Process
Applicants must submit a maximum three-page proposal, which succinctly describes the objectives of the grant request and how it will contribute to the applicant’s intellectual and creative development. The grant amount requested (up to $5,000), a maximum two-page résumé, and a projected schedule and budget for travel and other costs must also be included. An addendum of no more than four pages may be submitted in order to include images, maps, or other supporting material. Applicants must request two letters of recommendation from individuals who are knowledgeable about the applicant’s ability and project. Applicants must reside in, but need not be citizens of, the U.S., Canada, or Mexico.

The application process is extremely competitive. The intention of the fund is to support genuinely independent projects that require travel. Grant funds cannot be used for tuition, and grants will not be awarded to support participation in an organized program, such as a university’s summer abroad program. While requests for support of dissertation research will be considered, they are not a priority of the fund. Preference will be given to strong proposals from applicants who have not had this sort of opportunity before.

Application Format and Deadlines
Applicants must submit their proposals, résumés, schedules, budgets, and optional addenda digitally as letter-sized PDFs. The applicant’s name and project title must appear on the top of the first page of the PDF. The application PDF should be emailed to[email protected] with the subject line “Norden Application 2014” by 11:59 p.m. EST on April 17, 2014. Faxed, mailed, and late applications will not be accepted.

The two letters of recommendation must be sent directly by the recommenders to The Architectural League by mail or email PDF. Letters of recommendation must be received or postmarked by May 1, 2014.

Letters of recommendation should be mailed to:

The Deborah J. Norden Fund
The Architectural League of New York
594 Broadway, Suite 607
New York, NY 10012

PDF recommendations should be emailed to: [email protected], subject: “Norden Fund Recommendation – last name of applicant”

Awards will be announced in early June 2014.

Additional Information and Questions
For a complete list of past winners and funded projects, click here.

For a feature highlighting the work of past Norden grantees through their essays, photographs, and sketches from around the world, click here.

Travel Reports from The Deborah J. Norden Fund, a publication documenting the first ten years of Norden Fund grants, was published in January 2007. To order a copy of the publication, or to ask questions about application submission, call 212.753.1722 ext. 10, or email [email protected].

Image courtesy of Alice Colverd and Alexander McLean(Norden Fund winner 2013), Tokyo, Japan

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