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Thandi Loewenson honored with 2024 Wheelwright Prize for examining racial capitalism and Earth's resources

2024-06-27T10:00:00-04:00

The Harvard Graduate School of Design just announced this year's winning proposal for the coveted Wheelwright Prize, featuring an examination of colonial systems and racial capitalism from the UK-based Zimbabwe-born researcher Thandi Loewenson.

The $100,000 award is provided annually with the chance to give a lecture at the GSD and be published in one of five different school publications. Loewenson will have the chance to uncover "how we get free" through a series of what she calls "Black Papers," breaking down the "entanglement of Earth and Air" in the endemic landscape of seven different countries. The prize money supports her study of "Outer Space," which includes examining aerial land surveying techniques as well as the mining of precious metals used in smartphone devices and unwittingly underwriting a system of "digital dispossession" worldwide.

Loewenson, currently a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art, also holds a PhD from the UCL Bartlett School of Architecture.

Tha...

Marina Otero is announced as the 2022 Wheelwright Prize winner

2022-06-13T13:47:00-04:00

The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) has announced Design Academy Eindhoven program head Marina Otero as the winner of this year’s $100,000 Wheelwright Prize in support of her research proposal titled ‘Future Storage: Architectures to Host the Metaverse.’

Through the grant, Otero will look to explore the new architectural paradigms of data stores while considering the potential of digital infrastructure to combat some of society’s most pressing and immediate challenges. She has already begun fieldwork in France, the Netherlands and UK, and will further expand her research to include Singapore, Australia, Nigeria, the U.S., Iceland, Sweden, and Chile as a result of the prize's newly-gained backing.

"Data centers might not seem like an exciting place for an architectural project," the first-place winner explained. "However, the huge scale of the operations of the data industry and its pervasiveness and increasing importance in the contemporary world–coupled with its openness to...

Germane Barnes is Harvard GSD's 2021 Wheelwright Prize winner

2021-05-10T15:26:00-04:00

Harvard's Graduate School of Design announced the winner of the 2021 Wheelwright Prize: architect and Assistant Professor at the University of Miami School of Architecture Germane Barnes will receive the coveted $100,000 fellowship fund to support his two-year research project Anatomical Transformations in Classical Architecture. Barnes proposes to examine Roman and Italian architecture through the lens of non-white constructors, studying "how spaces have been transformed through the material contributions of the African Diaspora while creating new architectural possibilities that emerge within investigations of Blackness."

Germane Barnes' research proposal was selected from a field of finalists that also included Iulia Statica, Luis Berríos-Negrón, and Catty Dan Zhang.

Dark Mode. Photo: Blair Reid Jr.

"The past year has shown the world that marginalized communities offer more than a cursory look but a thorough excavation of their contributions and legacies," Barnes said. "As a Black...

Archinect chats with Daniel Fernández Pascual, the 2020 Wheelwright Prize Winner

2020-06-02T13:33:00-04:00

This year the Harvard University Graduate School of Design has awarded its coveted Wheelwright Prize to Daniel Fernández Pascual. The $100,000 fellowship funds travel-based research to support and investigate contemporary architecture and design.

The Wheelwright Prize was established in 1935 and originally intended for Harvard GSD alumni but has since become an open international competition supporting an emphasis on "globally-minded research."

Cooking Sections, CLIMAVVORE: On Tidal Zones, 2017 - ongoing. Isle of Skye, Scotland. Image courtesy of Cooking Sections

Fernández Pascual won the 2020 Prize for his research proposal: Being Shellfish: The Architecture of Intertidal Cohabitation. As the co-founder of Cooking Sections with Alon Schwabe, their research on architecture and changing ecosystems through food was previously featured in Archinect's print publication Ed, issue 2, "The Architecture of Disaster."

Archinect was able to connect with Fernández Pascual and learn more about ...

Aleksandra Jaeschke announced as recipient of 2019 Wheelwright Prize

2019-05-10T09:30:00-04:00

This morning, the Harvard University Graduate School of Design announced Polish architect Aleksandra Jaeschke as the winner of the 2019 Wheelwright Prize. Established in 1935, the coveted $100,000 architectural grant supports travel-based research and investigative approaches to contemporary design.

A Harvard GSD graduate, Jaeschke was selected by a seven person jury for her proposal UNDER WRAPS: Architecture and Culture of Greenhouses a project born from her long-term fascination with horticultural operations and the resulting relationships between plants and humans. Prior work of hers has explored sustainability as a building-scale issue; and looked at how building regulations and new technologies shape environmentally-driven design.

Aleksandra Jaeschke

Currently an Assistant Professor of Architecture and Sustainable Design at The University of Texas at Austin, Jaeschke will spend the next two years traveling to countries like Taiwan, Morocco, and Israel, looking at regions with a ...

Belgian Architect Aude-Line Dulière Wins Harvard GSD’s 2018 Wheelwright Prize

2018-04-03T13:33:00-04:00

The Harvard University Graduate School of Design has awarded its coveted $100,000 architectural research travel grant, the Wheelwright Prize, to Belgian architect Aude-Line Dulière. Established in 1935 and originally intended for Harvard GSD alumni, the fellowship has now become an open international competition supporting travel-based research and investigative approaches to contemporary design.

Dulière has won the 2018 Prize for her proposal Crafted Images: Material Flows, Techniques, and Uses in Set Design Construction—a project which aims "to examine construction methods and supply systems in the global film industry, engaging the space-making elements of film and set design as well as potential innovations around material use and reuse throughout architecture and construction generally."

Dulière holds a Master of Architecture degree from Harvard GSD and has worked as an architect and film-production design assistant since 2003. She was a designer at David Chipperfield Architect...

Samuel Bravo wins 2017 Wheelwright Prize

2017-06-02T15:35:00-04:00

The Harvard University Graduate School of Design awarded its coveted 2017 Wheelwright Prize to Chilean architect Samuel Bravo for his proposal “Projectless: Architecture of Informal Settlements”. Bravo will travel to dozens of sites in South America, Asia, and Africa to ultimately develop strategies that integrate vernacular, collective practices with the modern architectural project.

In his Wheelwright proposal, Samuel Bravo focuses on traditional architectures and informal settlements, revisiting the topic of “architecture without architects”, as described by Bernard Rudofsky in the 1964 Museum of Modern Art exhibition.

An alumnus of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Bravo leads his own practice and has realized multiple projects throughout South America. Here are a few of his previous collaborative works:

ANI NII SHÖBO, Acayali, Perú. 2009. Architects: Samuel Bravo and Sandra Iturriaga. Photo: Juan Balazs. Courtesy of Harvard GSD.

NII JUINTI SCHOOL, Ucayali, Perú. 2014. Architects: Sandra Iturriaga, Samuel Bravo. Photo credit: Samuel Bravo. Courtesy of Harvard GSD.

HOUSE IN CHILOE, Chiloe Island. Chile, 2016–2017. Architect and photo credit: Samuel Bravo. Courtesy of Harvard GSD.

After making it as a finalist in the 2016 cycle, Bravo was named the 2017 Wheelwright winner out of four finalists — the other three being Lucia Cella, Andjela Karabašević, and ...

2016 Wheelwright Prize awarded to MAIO's Anna Puigjaner for “Kitchenless City” proposal

2016-05-19T14:23:00-04:00

The coveted 2016 Wheelwright Prize went to Anna Puigjaner, cofounder of Barcelona-based MAIO Studios...[who] won for her proposal “Kitchenless City: Architectural Systems for Social Welfare”. Using shared domestic spaces as a starting point, Puigjaner will spend the next two years studying various collective housing models in China, Korea, India, Russia, Sweden, and Brazil aiming to find new design solutions that address persistent housing dilemmas worldwide.

Anna Puigjaner, MAIO Studios cofounder.

MAIO Studio, Barcelona, 2011-12. Photo credit: José Hevia.

Floating Columns, Chicago Architecture Biennial, 2015. Photo credit: David Schalliol.

The jury cited Puigjaner's proposal for its relevancy to the ongoing housing issues occurring throughout the world and the need for new housing models, as cities struggle to keep up with adequate housing due to rapid urbanization.

Find out more on Bustler.

Previously: Four 2016 Wheelwright finalists to compete for $100K travel grant

Four 2016 Wheelwright finalists to compete for $100K travel grant

2016-03-28T20:21:00-04:00

It's already that time of year when the Harvard Graduate School of Design will soon award their next Wheelwright Prize recipient. First established by the school in 1935, the prestigious prize is a $100,000 travel architectural research grant awarded to one lucky early-career architect. Out of nearly 200 applicants from 45 countries for 2016, the jury selected four finalists.

They are:

Samuel Bravo, Samuel Bravo Arquitecto | Santiago, Chile

Matilde Cassani | Milan, Italy

Anna Puigjaner, MAIO | Barcelona, Spain

Pier Paolo Tamburelli, baukuh architects | Milan and Genoa, Italy

Head over to Bustler to learn more about them.

Previous Wheelwright Prize coverage on Archinect:

2015 Wheelwright Prize awarded to Erik L’Heureux

Harvard GSD announces 2015 Wheelwright Prize finalists

Jose M. Ahedo wins the 2014 Wheelwright Prize

2015 Wheelwright Prize awarded to Erik L’Heureux

2015-04-28T21:50:00-04:00

Another year has gone by for the Harvard University Graduate School of Design's $100K 2015 Wheelwright Prize. Hosted by Harvard GSD since 1935 and previously open only to Harvard GSD alumni, the prestigious travel grant is in its third year as an international open competition for any individual early-career architect from anywhere on the globe.

Selected from three finalists, L'Heureux's winning proposal, "Hot and Wet: The Equatorial City and the Architectures of Atmosphere" examines the traditional and modern building strategies in five dense cities in the equatorial zone -- a timely topic when rapid urbanization and climate change are on the rise. The cities are: Jakarta, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Pondicherry, India; Lagos, Nigeria; and São Paulo, Brazil.

The prize will fund L’Heureux’s travel-based research over the next two years.

Read more about L'Heureux and some of his works below:

"Born in Jamestown, Rhode Island, Erik L’Heureux received his B.A. in Architecture from Wa...

Harvard GSD announces 2015 Wheelwright Prize finalists

2015-04-03T20:43:00-04:00

Three finalists have been announced for the 2015 Wheelwright Prize today: Erik L’Heureux — Pencil Office, Singapore Malkit Shoshan — FAST, Amsterdam Quynh Vantu — Studio Quynh Vantu, London The Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) — hosting the prestigious prize since 1935 — made the selection from a pool of nearly 200 applicants from 51 countries this year.

Jose M. Ahedo wins the 2014 Wheelwright Prize

2014-05-21T21:07:00-04:00

Architect Jose M. Ahedo of Studio Ahedo from Barcelona was named as the 2014 recipient of the Wheelwright Prize. The competition pool started with nearly 200 applications from 46 countries and then to seven finalists who were announced in April. For its second year as an open international competition, the Harvard Graduate School of Design awards the $100,000 travel fellowship to an early-career architect whose proposal best conveys original, scholarly, and professional design.

After a second stage of deliberation, the jury selected Ahedo and his proposal, "Domesticated Grounds: Design and Domesticity Within Animal Farming Systems", which focuses on the architectural and organizational models of animal farming.

"Noting that livestock is a significant cause of land degradation, greenhouse gas emissions, social friction, and problematic development worldwide, Ahedo proposes to research a wide range of practices, from industrial operations driven by 'techno-capitalist policies' to informal or vernacular farms that have grown out of traditions. 'These two distinct production modes coexist in both developed and developing countries,' Ahedo writes in his essay, observing that neither responds adequately to the innumerable environmental and social challenges related to animal farming today."

Wheelwright Prize 2014 finalists announced

2014-04-14T14:27:00-04:00

Seven finalists have been announced for the Wheelwright Prize 2014. Established by Harvard GSD in 1935, the prize awards a $100,000 travel-based research grant to an early-career architect worldwide whose proposal best conveys original, scholarly, and professional design. Since 2013, the prize is applicable to any architect who graduated within the last 15 years from a professionally accredited architecture degree program. Emphasizing international research, the winner must spend at least six months working outside of their home country and not in the U.S.

The 2014 competition received nearly 200 submissions from 46 countries. This year's jury featured GSD Dean Mohsen Mostafavi; GSD professors; and architects Jorge Silvetti, Iñaki Abalos, and Silvia Benedito; Museum of Modern Art architecture curator Pedro Gadanho; New York architect Linda Pollak of Marpillero Pollak; and Shohei Shigematsu, partner of OMA and its New York office director.

The jury selected the following finalists:

Jose...

$100,000 Wheelwright Prize details announced for 2014

2014-01-14T18:46:00-05:00

The Wheelwright Prize awards a $100,000 travel-based research grant to a recent architect whose proposal conveys a talented, scholarly and professional design sense. Originally established by Harvard's GSD in 1935 as the "Arthur Wheelwright Traveling Fellowship", the prize is meant to extend travel-research opportunities to alumni. As of 2013, eligibility has expanded to any architect who has graduated within the last 15 years from a professionally accredited architecture degree program. The focus is on international research, requiring the winner of the Prize spend at least 6 months working out of their home country, and not in the United States.

More information about the Wheelwright Prize and applying are on Bustler. The online-application opens January 20, 2014, and will close March 4, 2014.

Last year's Wheelwright winner was Brooklyn-based architect Gia Wolff, for her proposal "Floating City: The Community-Based Architecture of Parade Floats".

Gia Wolff wins $100,000 Wheelwright Prize

2013-05-17T18:46:00-04:00

Gia Wolff, Brooklyn-based architect, wins $100,000 travel grant for her proposal Floating City: The Community-Based Architecture of Parade Floats

Mohsen Mostafavi, Dean of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, is pleased to announce that Gia Wolff, an architect based in Brooklyn, New York, is the winner of the inaugural Wheelwright Prize, a $100,000 traveling fellowship dedicated to fostering new forms of architectural research informed by cross-cultural engagement.

The Wheelwright Prize jury—Mostafavi, Yung Ho Chang, Farès el-Dahdah, K. Michael Hays, Farshid Moussavi, Zoe Ryan, and Jorge Silvetti—selected Gia Wolff from among 231 applicants from 45 countries, including Afghanistan, Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, and Spain. Applicants were asked to submit portfolios along with a research proposal and travel itinerary, outlining an extended field investigation and its anticipated benefits for the field of architecture. “The positive response to the Wheelwright Prize has been extraordinary,” said Mostafavi. “It is inspiring to see so many talented architects with clear agendas...

Harvard University GSD announces the $100k annual Wheelwright Prize

2012-12-22T17:33:00-05:00

Harvard GSD Introduces the Wheelwright Prize $100,000 Annual Award Open to Architects Worldwide

Harvard Graduate School of Design announces the launch of the Wheelwright Prize, a $100,000 traveling fellowship awarded annually to talented early-career architects worldwide proposing exceptional itineraries for research and discovery. With an open application process (deadline February 28, 2013), the Wheelwright Prize recognizes the importance of field research to professional development, and reinforces Harvard GSD’s dedication to fostering investigative approaches to contemporary design.

Since 1935, Harvard GSD has awarded the annual Arthur W. Wheelwright Traveling Fellowship, established in memory of Wheelwright, Class of 1887. Intended to encourage the study of architecture outside the United States, the prize was formerly available only to GSD alumni; past fellows include Paul Rudolph, Eliot Noyes, William Wurster, Christopher Tunnard, I. M. Pei, John Haro, Klaus Herdeg, Farès el-Dahdah, Adele Santos, and Linda Pollak.

Under the leadership of Dean Mohsen Mostafavi, Harvard GSD...