Competition Info

Award

Single or multiple awards of up to $25,000.

Eligibility

Applicants must be US citizens with a professional degree in architecture. They must also be practicing architects, either licensed or unlicensed. Academics may apply, but must also be practicing architects.

Jury Guidelines

Proposed travel plans should focus on self-directed education through travel. Itineraries should be focused on a selected topic of interest to the individual, rather than a part of a larger humanitarian or institutional endeavor. Recent topics include the preservation and adaptive reuse strategies in Japan, the impact of COVID-19 on performing arts buildings in northern Europe, and a survey of nomadic housing practices, among many others. Proposals should be judged on the following criteria:

  • Need: The journey cannot be completed without funding
  • Focus: A clear and focused line of inquiry
  • Benefit: Valuable to the applicant’s professional practice

Application Requirements

A complete application requires the LeBrun web form, which asks applicants to provide the following items:

  • Project Abstract: 100 words max.
  • Statement of Purpose: Outline the proposed travel plans. Be sure to discuss the value of these plans to the individual applicant and describe their significance to the applicant’s professional development. 1,000 words max.
  • Resume: Include your academic background, degree in architecture and date, and a brief outline of professional experience with roles in projects and/or firms. 3 pages max.
  • Itinerary and budget: Include a detailed schedule of proposed travel plans, modes of transportation, and room and board, and the expenses associated with each, plus any visa and/or admission fees, etc. 250 words max.
  • Portfolio: Portfolios should demonstrate a range of the applicant’s design projects. Applicant’s portfolio should be no longer than 10 pages and no larger than 5MB. These samples are expected to be of professional quality and are very important factors in the evaluation process.

Two Letters of Recommendation
All letters of recommendation must be signed and on letterhead. Letters should be written in support of the proposed travel plans and attest to the applicant’s capability and professional promise. One letter must be written by a member of the American Institute for Architects (AIA).

Please Note:

  • Applicants may submit additional supporting documentation, preferably not exceeding five pages.
  • Recipients may be asked to present at the Center for Architecture upon return.
  • Your total application file uploads may not exceed 30 MB.

Application Instructions

Digital Submission

The application form and its required uploads must be submitted online using the LeBrun web form. PDF documents may not exceed 5 MB. JPGs and image files may not exceed 2 MB. Please save PDF documents in the following manner:

Resume
LeBrun Resume – Applicant’s Last Name
Example: LeBrun Resume – Smith

Letters of Recommendation
LeBrun Recommendation – Applicant’s Last Name
Example: LeBrun Recommendation – Smith


Portfolio

LeBrun Portfolio – Applicant’s Last Name
Example: LeBrun Portfolio – Smith

Supporting Material
LeBrun Supporting Material – Applicant’s Last Name
Example: LeBrun Supporting Material – Smith

Notification: Applicants will be notified in early November.

FAQs

Eligibility

1. Am I eligible if I live in Colorado?
Yes, applicants may be located anywhere within the United States.

2. Am I eligible if I am a working architect who received an M.Arch. two years ago?
Yes, the LeBrun Travel Grant is intended to support the development of early or mid-career architects through travel. Applicants who have only worked a few years in the field are encouraged to apply.

3. Are mid-career architects eligible?
Yes, mid-career architects are eligible.

4. Are graduate students eligible?
No, graduate students are not eligible.

5. Is investigation in the field of urban design eligible for a Travel Grant?
Yes, investigation in architecture and fields related to architecture are eligible. However, the applicant must be a professional architect with a B. Arch or M. Arch degree.

6. Are teams eligible to apply?
Yes. There are no restrictions pertaining to teams applying. The lead applicant must meet the eligibility requirements and should enter their name on the application cover sheet. In the application, make the case for why all members of the team must travel together, and how you will each benefit from the experience. Teams should submit additional resumes for all team members in the supplementary materials section. Teams still only need submit two letters of recommendation.

7. As an early to mid-career academic, who is also a licensed architect, am I eligible for this grant?
You are not disqualified as an academic, though you must be a practicing architect to be eligible. Full-time academics who do not also practice are not eligible.

Application Submission

1. Do applications need to be received by the deadline?
Your complete digital application must be received by 5:00pm ET on the due date in order to be considered. No exceptions. Refer to the Submission Instructions section for submission details.

2. Can I hand-deliver my application?
Hardcopy applications are not accepted.

3. Is it possible to extend the deadline based on personal extenuating circumstances?
All applications must be received by the due date in order to be reviewed. No exceptions.

4. Is there an application fee?
No.

5. What is the schedule of notification?
Applicants will be notified by early November.

General

1. Can I review past proposals?
No, past applications are not available for review.

2. What should I include in the supporting material section?
Applicants are not required to submit supporting materials. The option to submit supporting materials gives applicants the opportunity to include additional information that is not appropriate in other sections of the application. Supporting materials may consist of additional background information about the applicant, a travel destination, or topic of interest. Additional information is not limited to, but may be presented in, the following formats: magazine articles, videos, photographs.

3. What is an appropriate amount of time to plan to travel?
There are no maximum or minimum requirements for length of travel. Applications are judged on the focus of the proposed travel plans in terms of their relevance and importance to the applicant. The grant period may be extended or adjusted due to extenuating circumstances (ie. COVID-19 travel restrictions).

Past Recipients

2023

Rose Mary Florian Rodriguez (New York, NY)  – “Unearthed Structures: African Diaspora Contribution to the Caribbean Vernacular”

Deborah Lynn Polzin-Rosenberg (Boston, MA) – “Birth, Culture + the Built Environment”

 

2022

Tadd Heidgerken (Detroit, MI)  – “Social Practice: Collectivist Architecture in North America”

Zui Lig Ng (Houston, TX) – “Shophouses – Sustainable Vessels that Adapt to Environment, Economy, and Culture”

 

2021

Daisy Ames (New York, NY)  – “Designing Houses for a Changing Climate: Nomadic Living and Unseen Environmental
Elements”

Timothy Carey (Brooklyn, NY) – “Some Assembly Required: Performing Arts Architecture and the Idea of Audience”

Dennis Chiessa (Arlington, TX) – “The Maya and Garifuna Coast of Mexico and Central America”

Laura Greenberg (Pittsburgh, PA) – “School’s Out: District- and Building-scale Strategies for Equitable Public School Re-use”

Deona Swager (Boise, ID) – “The Intimacy of Place”

 

2019

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

 

2018

Amanda Aman, AIA, LEED AP BD+C  – Fragile Fields of the Arctic Circle Periphery
Eric Salitsky, AIA, LEED GA  – Exploring the Global Phenomenon of Multifaith Spaces
Sandra Vivanco, AIA, SEED – The Feminine and the Modern: Six Pioneer Architects in Latin America

2017

Mark Zlostky – Topiary Tango

 

2016

Tya Winn – Public Architecture for Public Good

 

2015

Jieun Yang — Unknown Territories: Imagining Post-Ruin Siberia and Rust Belt

 

2014

Jan Greben — Collaboration to Independence in the Work of Eileen Gray

Lauren Connell — De-Coding the Roads: Computational Tessellation of Central Asian Architecture

William Smith — Architecture and Radical Hydrology: Adaptation to Climate Change in the Indian Subcontinent

 

2013

Jobie Hill — The Slave House Database

John Paul Rysavy — Practices of Ornament in the Making of Public Space
2012

Margaret Arbanas — Post-Revolutionary Architecture in Havana

 

2011

Tarana Hafiz — The Industrial Imprint of the Buriganga
Matthew Schulte— A Comparative of Study of Windmills and Landscape Architecture of the Dutch Lowlands and the American Dustbowl

 

2010

Diane Davis-Sikora— Revisiting Pneumatic Architecture.
Fiyel Levent — Echoes of Dialogue: The Genealogy of Central Asian Architecture. Read Fiyel’s blog, Fiyel Levent: Observations on Interior Design and Architecturewhich chronicles her travels using the Stewardson Keefe LeBrun grant.
Stephanie Zurek — Exploring and Learning from Indonesian Kampungs

 

2009

Quynh Vantu — Learning the Timelessness of a Swiss Chapel Design: A Sanctuary and a Life

Richard William Hayes — Sir John Soane and the Idea of the Monk

 

2008

Leslie Jill Hanson — Research in Tanzania
Peter Rock — Sideways: Estonian Architecture and the Humor of Modernism

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