The SOM Foundation was founded in 1979 with the goal to advance the design profession’s ability to address the key topics of our time by bringing together and supporting groups and individuals, each with the highest possible design aspirations. The Foundation’s grant programming was established in 1981 and currently offers five annual awards across the United States, Europe, and China. The grants support students and faculty of architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, interior design, and engineering to undertake rigorous interdisciplinary research that can help shape our future. As of 2021, the SOM Foundation has awarded more than $2.7 million to over 281 fellows who have gone on to distinguish themselves in professional and academic careers. Some notable SOM Foundation award recipients include Marion Weiss (1982),

Werner Sobek Werner Sobek (born May 16, 1953) is a German architect and structural engineer. Life Werner Sobek was born 1953 in Aalen, Germany. From 1974 to 1980, he studied structural engineering and architecture at the University of Stuttgart. From 1980 t ...

(1983), Douglas Garofalo (1987),

Santiago Calatrava Santiago Calatrava Valls (born 28 July 1951) is a Spanish architect, structural engineer, sculptor and painter, particularly known for his bridges supported by single leaning pylons, and his railway stations, stadiums, and museums, whose sculpt ...

(1988), Joshua Ramus (1995), Ole Scheeren (2000), Catie Newell (2006), Brandon Clifford (2011), Biayna Bogosian and Kristine Mun (2018), 0and Clare Lyster (2019).

Awards

The SOM Foundation currently offers five awards: * Research Prize * European Research Prize *Structural Engineering Fellowship * China Fellowship * Robert L. Wesley Award

Research Prize

In 2018, the SOM Foundation introduced the Research Prize—an evolution of the former SOM Prize and SOM Travel Fellowship programs—to cultivate new ideas and meaningful research that addresses the critical issues of our time. Each year, two $40,000 prizes are awarded to faculty-led interdisciplinary teams based in the United States to conduct original research that contributes to the SOM Foundation’s current topic.

European Research Prize

In 2021, the SOM Foundation introduced the European Research Prize as an expansion of the US-based Research Prize to cultivate new ideas and meaningful research that addresses the critical issues of our time. The European Research Prize builds on the legacy of the UK Award that was established in 1996. Each year, one €20,000 prize is awarded to a faculty-led interdisciplinary team based in Europe to conduct original research that contributes to the SOM Foundation’s current topic.

Structural Engineering Fellowship

In 1998, the SOM Foundation created the Structural Engineering Traveling Fellowship, since renamed the Structural Engineering Fellowship, to support research that has the potential to influence the practice and teaching of how structures can positively impact our built environment. The $20,000 fellowship is awarded annually to a graduating student based in the United States who specializes in structural engineering to conduct independent travel and research that contributes to the SOM Foundation’s current topic.

China Fellowship

In 2006, the SOM Foundation established the China Prize, now the China Fellowship, to support emerging design leaders to broaden their education and contribute to their future professional and academic careers. The $5,000 China Fellowship is awarded annually to three students in the last two years of either an undergraduate or graduate program in architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, and urban design in the People’s Republic of China to conduct independent travel outside China and research that contributes to the SOM Foundation’s current topic.

Robert L. Wesley Award

In 2020, the SOM Foundation created the Robert L. Wesley Award—named in honor of the first Black partner at SOM—to support BIPOC undergraduate students enrolled in architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, urban design, or engineering programs in the United States. Each year, three students will receive a $10,000 award in addition to a yearlong mentorship program that connects the students with leading BIPOC practitioners and educators. The awards are unrestricted in their use to best support the needs of students. As part of the Robert L. Wesley Award, the SOM Foundation established a mentorship program to support the recipients of the annual award. The program is structured around a series of sessions led by a network of leading practitioners and educators. Mentors include Paola Aguirre, Germane Barnes, Danei Cesario, Leo Chow, Chris Cornelius, Iker Gil, Roberto Gonzalez, Jia Yi Gu, Joyce Hwang, Ojay Obinani, Quilian Riano, Maria Villalobos Hernandez, Robert L. Wesley, and Amanda Williams.

Topics

Each year, the SOM Foundation defines a topic to cultivate new ideas and meaningful research that address the critical issues of our time. The first topic, “Humanizing High Density,” was introduced in 2018 to complement the newly defined Research Prize, an evolution of the former SOM Prize and Travel Fellowship programs. Subsequent topics include “Shrinking Our Agricultural Footprint,” “Examining Social Justice in Urban Contexts,” and "Envisioning Responsible Relationships with Materiality.” Today, the topics unite the interdisciplinary work carried out for the Research Prize, European Research Prize, Structural Engineering Fellowship, and China Fellowship. An international jury of academics and practitioners, chosen for their expertise on the topic, is assembled for each award to select the recipients and contribute to the overall conversation.

Public programming

Throughout its history, the SOM Foundation has organized or sponsored multiple lectures and panel discussions. Notable architects, engineers, artists, and researchers who have lectured as part of SOM Foundation events include Aaron Betsky, Philippe Block, Jennifer Bloomer, James Carpenter,

Beatriz Colomina Beatriz Colomina (born 1952) is an architecture historian, theorist and curator. She is the founding director of the Program in Media and Modernity at Princeton University, the Howard Crosby Butler Professor of the History of Architecture and Direct ...

, Janet Echelman, Benjamin Gianni, Douglas Graf, K. Michael Hays,

Catherine Ingraham Catherine Ingraham is a professor of architecture in the graduate architecture program at Pratt Institute in New York City, a program for which she was chair from 1999 to 2005. Biography Ingraham was born to Gordon Ingraham and Elizabeth Wright Ing ...

, Jeffrey Kipnis, Mark Linder, Robert McAnulty, Mark Rakatansky, Robert Segrest, Charles Waldheim, John Whiteman, and

Mark Wigley Mark Antony Wigley (born 1956) is a New Zealand-born architect and author based in the United States. From 2004 to 2014, he was the Dean of Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. Career Wigley receive ...

Leadership

The SOM Foundation is led by the Executive Director along with the appointed Officers and Directors, who represent all current SOM Partners. * Iker Gil – Executive Director * Leo Chow – Cochair * Scott Duncan – Cochair * Laura Ettelman – Treasurer * Kent Jackson – Secretary

Juries

Since 1981, every award has been evaluated by a prestigious set of jurors that include SOM Partners and invited outside members. Some of the past industry professionals who participated in juries for the SOM Foundation awards include:

Henry N. Cobb Henry Nichols Cobb (April 8, 1926 – March 2, 2020) was an American architect and founding partner with I.M. Pei and Eason H. Leonard of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, an international architectural firm based in New York City. Early life Henry N. ...

, Chris Cornelius,

Jeanne Gang Jeanne Gang (born March 19, 1964) is an American architect and the founder and leader of Studio Gang (established in 1997), an architecture and urban design practice with offices in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. Gang was first widely re ...

, Justin Garrett Moore,

Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions. His works are considered ...

, Toni L. Griffin,

Charles Gwathmey Charles Gwathmey (June 19, 1938 – August 3, 2009) was an American architect. He was a principal at Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, as well as one of the five architects identified as The New York Five in 1969. Gwathmey was perhaps bes ...

Hugh Hardy Hugh Hardy (July 26, 1932 – March 17, 2017) was an American architect, known for designing and revitalizing theaters, performing arts venues, public spaces, and cultural facilities across the United States. ''The New Yorker'' writer Brendan ...

Thom Mayne Thom Mayne (born January 19, 1944) is an American architect. He is based in Los Angeles. In 1972, Mayne helped found the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), where he is a trustee and the coordinator of the Design of Cities po ...

, Charles Willard Moore, Marina Otero Verzier,

Cesar Pelli Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * C ...

Mónica Ponce de León Mónica Ponce de León is an architect, educator, and dean of the Princeton University School of Architecture. A National Design Award winner, Ponce de León has focused on the application of robotic technology to building fabrication and arc ...

Charles Renfro Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

Leslie Robertson Leslie Earl Robertson (February 12, 1928 – February 11, 2021) was an American engineer. He was the lead structural engineer of the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center in New York City, and served as structural engineer on numerous o ...

, Zoë Ryan, Martha Schwartz, Allan Temko,

Stanley Tigerman Stanley Tigerman (September 20, 1930 – June 3, 2019) was an American architect, theorist and designer. Biography Early years Tigerman was born into a Jewish family, the only child of Emma (Stern), a typist for the federal government, and Sa ...

Billie Tsien Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (also known as Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects , Partners) are a husband-and-wife architectural firm founded in 1986, based in New York. Williams and Tsien began working together in 1977. Their studio focu ...

, Sumayya Vally,

Massimo Vignelli Massimo Vignelli (; January 10, 1931 – May 27, 2014) was an Italian designer who worked in a number of areas including packaging, houseware, furniture, public signage, and showroom design. He was the co-founder of Vignelli Associates, with his ...

, Amanda Williams, and Tod Williams.

Chicago Institute for Architecture and Urbanism

In 1986, the SOM Foundation purchased and restored the Charnley House (1891–1892) for its offices. The historic building, located on the north side of Chicago’s Gold Coast, was designed by Louis Sullivan with assistance from his junior draftsman, Frank Lloyd Wright. The same year, coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of SOM’s founding, the Foundation announced its intention to create an institute devoted to architectural research. Leon Krier was appointed to a three-year term in August 1986, however, he abruptly resigned in January 1987. A new search was started and John Whiteman, then at Harvard University, was appointed as the director. During Whiteman’s term the Institute brought in a number of established and emerging scholars to pursue projects. Fellows included Ann Bergren, Jennifer Bloomer, Alan Colquhoun,

Elizabeth Diller Elizabeth Diller, also known as Liz Diller, is an American architect and partner in Diller Scofidio + Renfro, which she co-founded in 1979. She is also an architecture professor at Princeton University. Life Elizabeth Diller was born in 1954 in ...

, Mario Gandelsonas, Benjamin Gianni, K. Michael Hays,

John Hejduk John Quentin Hejduk (July 19, 1929 – July 3, 2000) was an American architect, artist and educator of Czech origin who spent much of his life in New York City. Hejduk is noted for having had a profound interest in the fundamental issues of shap ...

, Jeffrey Kipnis, Ben Nicholson, Mark Rakatansky,

Saskia Sassen Saskia Sassen (born January 5, 1947) is a Dutch-American sociologist noted for her analyses of globalization and international human migration. She is Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology at Columbia University in New York City, and Centennial ...

, and

Richard Sennett Richard Sennett (born 1 January 1943) is the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and former University Professor of the Humanities at New York University. He is currently a Senior Fellow of the Center on Capitalis ...

. British architectural critic and editor Janet Abrams succeeded John Whiteman and was the second director of the Institute between 1991 and her resignation in 1992. During Abrams’s term, the CIAU developed its public programming and served a wider audience. Speakers during that time included Eva Jiricna, Mike Davis,

Jean-Louis Cohen Jean-Louis Cohen (born 20 July 1949) is a French architect and architectural historian specializing in modern architecture and city planning. Since 1994 he has been the Sheldon H. Solow Professor in the History of Architecture at New York Universi ...

Wes Jones Wesley Jones (b. Santa Monica, California January 27, 1958) is an American architect, educator and author. Founding partner of Holt Hinshaw Pfau Jones, in 1987 and then Jones, Partners: Architecture in 1993, Jones is a leading architectural voice ...

, Andrea Kahn, and

Keller Easterling Keller Easterling is an American architect, urbanist, writer, and professor. She is Enid Storm Dwyer Professor and Director of the MED Program at Yale University. Biography She earned both her B.A. and M.Arch from Princeton University School of ...

. The Chicago Institute for Architecture and Urbanism closed down in July 1994 and the Charnley House was sold in April 1995.

References

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External links

Official SOM Foundation site
Educational foundations in the United States Organizations based in Chicago Skidmore, Owings & Merrill