Projects to Focus on Transformations in the Built Environment
Within Dynamically Changing Societies

This November, Rafael Viñoly Architects will award up to five grants of US$60,000 each for studies focused on transformations in the built environment within dynamically changing societies. Singular grants have been a vital component of the practice’s Training and Research Programs since their 2005 introduction. This year, to commemorate the firm’s twenty-fifth anniversary, multiple grants will be conferred.
Proposed projects should emphasize original research focused on any region of the world, though there is particular interest in studies addressing relevant issues in China, the Middle East, Russia, and South America. Study subjects might include new demands for housing and infrastructure due to urban immigration in China, South Asia, and Africa; the proliferation of new cities in sparsely populated regions of the Middle East; threats to historic resources posed by development or changing political climates in Russia, Eastern Europe, and former European colonies; and more. The firm seeks insights into how these and other transitions are reshaping the work of architects and others charged with managing our physical surroundings.

Studies may be framed in reference to aspects of architectural design, engineering, construction, planning, project delivery, and conservation; the techniques, technologies, practices, and materials associated with these; the governmental policies, economic, and social factors that shape them; or the trades, crafts, and professions with which they are involved.

Citizens of all countries are eligible to apply for the grants individually or as teams. In addition to receiving financial support to pursue their studies, Rafael Viñoly Architects Research Fellows may elect to spend a portion of their time in residence at the firm’s New York offices. In 2010, the firm intends to publish the Fellows’ final papers in book form and to sponsor a New York conference at which the Fellows will present and discuss their work.

The deadline for submitting grant proposals is August 1, 2008. Grant recipients will be notified in November. Visit www.rvatr.com for more information.

Click here for Calendar Listings Text: http://www.rvatr.com/pressrelease/april2008_EC.htm

Rafael Viñoly Architects PC is a critically acclaimed international practice providing comprehensive services in building design, urban planning, and interior design for new facilities and renovations. Rafael Viñoly, the firm’s principal, has practiced architecture for forty-five years in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. His work is regularly recognized in the world’s leading design publications and by numerous prestigious awards. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, an International Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and a member of the Japan Institute of Architects.