Three prizes of $3,000* each are awarded to students at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation whose fall semester architectural design (MArch & AAD) studio projects most successfully comply with, interpret, and/or critically extend the terms and spirit of the 2015 Paris Agreement. Special consideration is given to work that combines the social, technical, political, and symbolic implications of the climate accord in an architecturally specific fashion, at multiple scales.

Applicants must submit the following in PDF format by Friday, December 13, 2019: a 400-word description of one studio project, with complete visual documentation, as well as a carbon footprint estimate and other technical specifications, on no more than six letter-sized pages in landscape orientation; curriculum vitae with contact information; and the name and e-mail address of the project’s studio critic. Group submissions from team studio projects are accepted. Applications are typically submitted at the end of the fall semester, and winners are announced at the start of the spring semester. A jury will select one winner from each of the first-, second-, and third-year fall semester studios. In their consideration, the jury places special emphasis on the written component, as it offers applicants the clearest opportunity to articulate the designs’ details to the driving ideas behind them.

This prize forms a part of the Buell Center’s ongoing research project, “Power: Infrastructure in America.” Examples of winning submissions from 2017 are available here, and may be consulted by appointment in the Buell Center office. For more information, please visit arch.columbia.edu or write to buellcenter@columbia.edu.

*In accordance with University and Federal policy, prizes and awards are taxable and are reported to Financial Aid to be included in the student’s financial aid package, and may reduce other financial aid the student may receive.