December 18, 2023
We’re proud to share that, by the close of 2023, the Center for Architecture and AIA New York will have awarded $120,500 to students and early- and mid-career architects through its growing Grants and Scholarships program. In recent years, the program has expanded to provide more scholarships to a broader range of students interested in the study of architecture, and award more funding to professionals working on impactful projects that further the research and study of architecture.
The Grants and Scholarships program is a core tenet of the Center for Architecture’s mission. The funding helps to make architecture education available to all, diversify research in architecture, and connect students and emerging professionals to AIANY members and programs. Awardees frequently present the results of their research grants at the Center for Architecture for AIANY members and the interested public. We congratulate the following 2023 awardees and look forward to seeing their future work!
POST-PROFESSIONAL GRANTS
Arnold W. Brunner Grant ($40,000 total)
The Arnold W. Brunner Grant is awarded to mid-career architects for advanced study in any area of architectural investigation that will contribute to the knowledge, teaching, or practice of the art and science of architecture. Projects are judged based on their engagement with contemporary local and global architectural issues and the usefulness of the research’s end product. The 2023 recipients are:
- Cynthia Burgos López (San Juan, Puerto Rico), $15,000 for “Restoration and Conservation of Crash Boat Beach for the Villa del Ojo Fishermen’s Association”
- Emmanuel Oni (Brooklyn, NY), $10,000 for “Beyond Memorial”
- Danielle Willkens, Assoc. AIA, FRSA, LEED AP BD+C (Atlanta, GA), $15,000 for “Tools and Frameworks for Community-Based Preservation Technology on Atlanta’s Westside”
The Arnold W. Brunner Grant provides single or multiple awards of up to $15,000 each. Applications for the 2024 cycle are due December 18, 2023.
Stewardson Keefe LeBrun Travel Grant ($25,000 total)
The Stewardson Keefe LeBrun Travel Grant provides early or mid-career architects with the opportunity to explore unique travel research topics around the world. The 2023 recipients are:
- Rose Mary Florian Rodriguez (New York, NY), $10,000 for “Unearthed Structures: African Diaspora Contribution to the Caribbean Vernacular”
- Deborah Lynn Polzin-Rosenberg (Boston, MA), $15,000 for “Birth, Culture + the Built Environment”
The Stewardson Keefe LeBrun Travel Grant provides single or multiple awards of up to $25,000 in total each year. Applications for the 2024 cycle are due October 7, 2024.
STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS
Center for Architecture Design Scholarship ($5,000 total)
The Center for Architecture’s namesake scholarship is targeted at students seeking their first professional degree in architecture or a related design discipline from an accredited school within New York State. The dean or chair of the architectural school or accredited design program may invite up to two students from their respective college or university to apply, based on their academic performance and evidence of financial need. The 2023 recipients are:
- Jasper Townsend, $2,500, Bachelor of Architecture, Cooper Union School of Architecture
- Farzana Hossain, $2,500, Bachelor of Architecture, Cornell University
The Center for Architecture Design Scholarship offers single or multiple awards of up to $5,000. Applications for the 2024 cycle are due March 18, 2024.
Allwork Scholarship ($20,000 total)
The Allwork Scholarship supports architecture students with demonstrated financial need seeking their first professional degree in architecture or a related design discipline from an accredited school within New York State. In order to apply for this award, students must be nominated by the dean or chair of the school of architecture in which they are currently studying. 2023 recipients of this merit-based scholarship are:
- Ji Yong Chung, $5,000, Bachelor of Architecture, Cooper Union School of Architecture
- Catherine Chattergoon, $5,000, Bachelor of Architecture, Pratt Institute
- Geri Roa Kim, $5,000, Bachelor of Architecture, Pratt Institute
- Alex Harrigan, $5,000, Master of Architecture, University of Buffalo
The Allwork Scholarship offers multiple awards of up to $7,500 each, with the potential of an honors grant of up to $10,000. Applications for the 2024 cycle are due March 18, 2024.
Walter A. Hunt, Jr. Scholarship ($20,000 total)
Founded to promote and encourage the study of architecture by New York City public high school students, the Walter A. Hunt, Jr. Scholarship provides a two-year scholarship to supplement tuition and related costs during their freshman and sophomore years at a NAAB-accredited school of architecture in New York State. The scholarship honors Hunt’s dedication to the field of architecture and his wish to specifically support New York City public high school students. The 2023 recipients are:
- Vasily Chumakov, a graduate of the Manhattan High School of Art and Design, awarded $10,000 towards the Bachelor of Architecture program at Cooper Union
- Helena Uceda, a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science, awarded $10,000 towards the Bachelor of Architecture program at Cooper Union
The Walter A. Hunt, Jr. Scholarship awards two installments of $10,000, to be dispersed over the recipient’s freshman and sophomore years of college. Applications for the 2024 cycle are due May 13, 2024.
Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals ($3,000 total)
The Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals supports student journalism on architecture, planning, and related subjects, and fosters regard for intelligent criticism among future professionals. The award is not intended as a prize for individuals, but to support the ongoing publication of student-edited journals whose subject matter pertains to architectural design, history, and theory. The 2023 recipients are:
- Divergence in Architectural Research, Vol. 2, the student journal of the Georgia Institute of Technology, awarded $1,000
- Room One Thousand, Issue 11 ‘Sediment’, the student journal of the University of California, Berkeley, awarded $1,000
- URBAN Magazine, ‘Fluidity’, the graduate student journal of the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, awarded $1,000
The Douglas Haskell Award offers single or multiple awards of up to $3,000. Applications for the 2024 cycle are due June 14, 2024.
2030 Fund ($7,500 total)
In 2022, AIA New York launched the 2030 Fund, which seeks to build a more diverse and representative profession through student loan forgiveness. The fund, created by 2021 AIANY President Kenneth A. Lewis, AIA, in collaboration with the New York Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (nycoba|NOMA), seeks to support NOMA’s 2030 Challenge, which aims to double the number of licensed Black architects by the end of the decade.
In its second year, the 2030 Fund awarded $7,500 in loan forgiveness to six young BIPOC professionals.
Special thanks to:
2023 Scholarship Committee:
Andrea Lamberti, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Rafael Viñoly Architects
Jennifer Sage, FAIA, LEED AP, Sage and Coombe Architects
Nina Cooke John, AIA, Studio Cooke John
Sydney Maubert, Studio Maubert
Anthony Titus, Anthony Titus Studio
Dr. Sharon E. Sutton, FAIA, Parsons School of Design
Allison B. Tomlinson, Gensler
Richard Yancey, AIA, LEED AP, Building Energy Exchange, Inc.
Eunjeong Seong, LEED AP, Visible Weather; Bell-Seong, Pratt Institute
Peter Robinson, Cornell University and WorkUrban
Walter A. Hunt, Jr. Committee:
Judy Hunt, wife of Walter Hunt
Keith Frome Rosen, AIA, Gensler
Madeline Burke-Vigeland, AIA, Gensler
Joshua Katz, AIA, Gensler
Leslie Jabs, AIA, Gensler
Ambrose Aliaga-Kelly, AIA, Gensler
2030 Fund Selection Committee:
Andrea Lamberti, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Rafael Viñoly Architects
Matthew Bremer, AIA, Architecture in Formation
Jesse Lazar, AIA New York | Center for Architecture
Allison E. Lane, AIA, AECOM
Gregory T. Switzer, AIA, NOMA, NCARB, SWITZER Architecture
Kenneth Lewis, AIA, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Venesa Alicea-Chuqui, AIA, NOMA, LEED AP, WELL AP, NYVARCH Architecture, Kean University
ABOUT THE CENTER FOR ARCHITECTURE
The Center for Architecture is the premier cultural venue for architecture and the built environment in New York City, informed by the complexity of the City’s urban fabric and in dialogue with the global community. The Center shares a home with the AIA New York Chapter and has the unique advantage of drawing upon the ideas and experiences of practicing architects to produce thought-provoking exhibitions, informative public programs, and quality design education experiences for K-12 students. It also leads New York City’s annual month-long architecture and design festival, Archtober. The Center for Architecture’s aim is to further public knowledge about New York City architecture and architects, foster exchange and collaboration among members of the design, development, building, scholarly, and policy sectors, and inspire new ideas about the role of design in communities by presenting contemporary and practical issues in architecture and urbanism to a general audience. centerforarchitecture.org