Announcing the 2019 Stewardson Keefe LeBrun Travel Grant Recipients

The Center for Architecture and AIA New York are proud to announce the 2019 recipients of the Stewardson Keefe LeBrun Travel Grant:

• Christopher Beck (Brooklyn, NY)  – “Tracing the Stranger: An Exploration of Albert Camus’ Literary Journey from Algeria to France”
• Shilpa Patel, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB (New York, NY) – “waste[LESS]: Study of Minimalist and Sustainable Architecture and Fashion”
• Kate Reggev, AIA (New York, NY) – “In Constant Transformation: Preservation & Adaptive Reuse Strategies in Japan”
• Bryony Roberts (Brooklyn, NY) – “Designing for Childcare: A Global Comparison of Experimental Models”

The purpose of the LeBrun Grant is to further the personal and professional development of early- and mid-career architects through travel. The Center for Architecture awarded a total of $25,000 during the 2019 grant cycle, distributed between four recipients, to allow them to complete their research and travels.

2019 LeBrun Recipients

Christopher Beck, “Tracing the Stranger: An Exploration of Albert Camus’ Literary Journey from Algeria to France” – $5,000
Christopher Beck’s itinerary will follow the footsteps of Albert Camus as he wrote his masterpiece, The Stranger. The project will document the built environment of formerly French-colonial Algeria and France that shaped the novel. The trip will afford Beck the opportunity to study and visualize significant sites in both countries through watercolors and hand drawing.

Beck is a Project Designer at Bernheimer Architecture and also maintains a regular painting, drawing, and writing practice. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Maryland, College Park and an M.Arch from the Rhode Island School of Design.

Shilpa Patel, “waste[LESS] – Study of Minimalist and Sustainable Architecture and Fashion” – $7,500
Shilpa Patel’s travel research will study textile and construction waste recyclability and opportunities for shared re-use between the architecture and fashion industries. Through global investigation of sustainable and minimalist architecture, fashion design, and recycling plants for textile and construction waste, Patel will analyze opportunities for material deconstruction, re-use, and innovation.

Patel is a Project Manager Associate at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). She holds a B.Arch from the University of Houston, an M.Arch II from UCLA, and a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from New York University.

Kate Reggev, “In Constant Transformation: Preservation & Adaptive Reuse Strategies in Japan” – $5,000
Kate Reggev’s travel grant will facilitate the study and documentation of adaptive reuse and renovation projects in Japan and analyze how alternate values and definitions of significance, age, authenticity, and restoration create opportunities for more open-ended and innovative preservation design solutions.

Reggev is an architect and architectural historian at Beyer Blinder Belle, where she is an Associate. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Barnard College and an M.Arch and Master of Science in Historic Preservation from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University.

Bryony Roberts, “Designing for Childcare: A Global Comparison of Experimental Models” – $7,500
Bryony Roberts’ travel itinerary will examine the design of childcare in relation to gender, labor, and land use. Her project is a comparative study of three regions, the U.K., Scandinavia, and Japan, each with unique lineages of experimentation in the socio-economic models and architectural designs of childcare. The project builds on Roberts’ previous work around social justice issues and structures of care. Roberts will analyze structures that could provide a foundation for future collaborations with urban designers, educators, and architects to build new contemporary models for childcare in the U.S.

Bryony Roberts is the Founder and Lead Designer of the Bryony Roberts Studio. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities and Studio Art from Yale University and an M.Arch from the Princeton University School of Architecture.

The Center for Architecture, in partnership with AIANY, awards scholarships and grant awards throughout the year, for incoming and current architectural students, architectural student journals, practicing architects and design professionals. For more information, please visit our Grants and Scholarships page.