by scloonan
The Center for Architecture Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2013 Arnold W. Brunner Grant: Susannah Drake, AIA, ASLA, and Yutaka Sho. The two recipients were selected based on the timeliness of their projects, which use the tools of architecture in developing significant solutions to economic and ecologic challenges on both local and global scales. The Arnold W. Brunner grant is given to an advanced study in any area of architectural investigation that will effectively contribute to the knowledge, teaching, or practice of the art and science of architecture.
Drake’s project, “Mapping Urban Flow: A dynamic cartographic analysis of hydrologic cycles in New York City,” draws upon the creation of a three-dimensional computer model to better understand and predict the impact of micro-climatic storm water. The theoretical proposal aims to ameliorate the negative impacts of storm water flow through data collection and the creation of parametric models. Drake imagines a new “City Beautiful” – one that acknowledges the work of earlier urban visionaries Charles Robinson and David Burnham, recasting their story for today’s culture and climate using cartography as a means of reading the landscape. Drake, who was also awarded the 2013 AIA Young Architect Award, is the principal and founder of Brooklyn-based dlandstudio, an award-winning multi-disciplinary design firm.
Despite the lack of local resources and the harrowing effects of the 1994 genocide, Rwanda is rebuilding rapidly. Yutaka Sho’s proposal, “Sustainable Housing in Rwanda,” seeks to use simple, low-cost materials to construct homes in Masoro, a suburb of Kigali where a 600-member women’s association is committed to keeping their community and village together. The project underlines the real demand for sustainable housing that uses environmentally- and economically-friendly methods, such as excavated soil in polypropylene bags. The final prototype will be the first of its kind in Rwanda. Sho is a partner and founder of GA Collaborative, a non-profit architecture firm providing design and planning services to underrepresented communities.
The Arnold W. Brunner Grant was established in the 1950s by Brunner’s wife, Emma B. Brunner. Arnold W. Brunner was a co-founder of the Architectural League of New York, and designed many noted buildings, such as the Congregation Shearith Israel, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Mount Sinai Hospital, and Students’ Hall at Barnard College, which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Center for Architecture Foundation awards six grants and scholarships throughout the year for architectural students, architectural student journals, and practicing architects. Visit our website for more information here.
The next grant deadline is for the Haskell Award for Student Journals, created to encourage student journalism on architecture, planning, and related subjects, and to foster regard for intelligent criticism among future professionals. The application deadline is Wednesday, 05.01.13, 5:00 PM EST.