Berkeley Undergraduate Prize for Architectural Design Excellence 2019 Essay Competition & Travel Fellowship

The Berkeley Undergraduate Prize for Design Excellence endowment was established in the Department of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley College of Environmental Design to promote the investigation of architecture as a social art. Each year the PRIZE Committee selects a topic important to the understanding of the interaction of people and the built world that becomes the focus of the Essay Competition.

The Committee poses a Question on this website related to the topic. Students enrolled in any accredited undergraduate architecture program or diploma in architecture program throughout the world are invited to submit a 500-word essay proposal in English responding to the Question (see eligibility requirements).  Undergraduate architecture students may team up with undergraduates from allied arts and social sciences programs.

Essay Question

ARCHITECTURE AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE

What have architects done in the past and what can they do in the future to help reduce the negative effects of climate and climate change?

Requirements:

Stage 1: Enter

Steps to Enter

1. Meet the Eligibility Requirements.
2. Write a 500-word proposal for an essay on this year’s Essay Question, as posted.
3. Provide one photograph each of your chosen projects.
4. Submit the essay and photographs online.

Eligibility

1. The competition is open to all current full-time registered students in an undergraduate architecture degree program or undergraduates majoring in architecture in accredited schools of architecture worldwide. Diploma in Architecture students who have not yet completed their Diploma are also eligible.
2. Essays must be submitted in English.
3. Finalists will be required to provide proof of current registration in the form of copies of actual school transcripts. You are still eligible to compete if you were an undergraduate student on September 15, 2018, but graduate before the awards are scheduled to be given.

Team Up

Two students (maximum) who meet the eligibility requirements above may collaborate as authors. An architecture student may team up with another undergraduate in architecture, landscape architecture, urban studies, arts and humanities, the social sciences, or engineering. If two students collaborate, then both names must appear on their essay and if awarded a prize, the prize is to be equally shared.

Photograph Requirement

You are asked to include digital photographs of your two selected buildings with your essay. The photographs should be at a minimum 500 pixels wide, and in .jpg format. No more than two photographs will be accepted. You can use a digital camera, a film camera (and scan the printed image), or capture the image on a cell phone. The photographs should be as informative as possible in order to enable those reading the essays to determine how well you have described your subject matter.

Purse

• There is a total prize of 25,000USD, minimum 7,500USD first prize.
• The remaining purse is to be allocated at the discretion of the Jury.

The The Berkeley Undergraduate Prize for Design Excellence endowment 2019 Travel Fellowship Competition

BACKGROUND

Semifinalists who select to compete for a Travel Fellowship are invited to submit proposals demonstrating how they would use the opportunity to travel to an architecturally-significant destination, preferably to participate in a hands-on, service-oriented situation.  This is an exciting opportunity to explore a different part of the world and to participate in an organized project that will assist the winner in gaining a deeper understanding of the social art of architecture.

Travel Fellowship candidates are asked to submit a proposal for a specific plan of travel and study away from their academic institution during their Summer break for 2019. The Travel Fellowship provides a fixed stipend adequate to pay for a round-trip airfare from the city in which you are studying to the destination and back and to pay for lodging, food, and incidentals during your stay, normally enough for three weeks.

The requirements for the Travel Fellowship Proposals are open-ended. The BERKELEY PRIZE Committee looks for both an understanding of the opportunity that is offered and an understanding of the possible ways in which the student’s research into the current year’s PRIZE topic might be furthered by the travel opportunity.

The winning student(s) will be asked to write a Report on their travels that will be posted on the BERKELEY PRIZE website. Students are also asked to keep a photo diary of their time spent traveling, portions of which will also be posted on the website.

To Enter

Here are the ground rules:

1)  Your Proposal must be for participation in a program, conference, or specific project organized by an academic, institutional, or governmental or non-governmental social organization outside of your school.

2)  The purpose of your project is to further your understanding of the social art of architecture by allowing you to study first-hand some aspect of this year’s topic you have identified in this year’s BERKELEY PRIZE Essay submittal.

3)  U.S. CITIZENS NOTE: Proposals may not be made to visit or study in countries with adverse travel advisories as issued by the United States Department of State. For all students, the BERKELEY PRIZE will not fund travel to countries currently in armed conflict.

4)  You must be able to procure a visa for the selected destination.  This will need to be confirmed prior to submittal of funds.

5)  Travel must occur in the summer of 2019 during your academic institution’s summer break (Northern Hemisphere schools), or in the winter of 2019 (Southern Hemisphere schools).

Submission requirements:

1)  A 1250-word Proposal to include:

(a)  A description of the program and a persuasive argument why this program will benefit your education;

(b)  An itinerary for the entire period of travel; and

(c)  A budget covering all anticipated expenses, including any program fees.

2)  Reference to published material regarding the program, preferably a web site address that includes the name of a contact person.

3)  A letter of recommendation from a Faculty member in your academic institution who is familiar with your Proposal and who will confirm that your Proposal is suited to your abilities.

4)  Prior to receiving any funding, you will be asked to submit a travel Indemnification form provided by the BERKELEY PRIZE and a letter confirming that you are in adequate health to undertake the travel you propose.  (NOTE:  The BERKELEY PRIZE will pay for a one-time, health insurance policy for the length of your travel.)

Awards:

1)  The BERKELEY PRIZE will provide a fixed stipend of USD3700 for each Travel Fellowship that is awarded.  Winning students whose budgets exceed the prize limit will be asked to prove that they have the additional funds needed to fully complete their proposed itinerary.

2)  The award is provisional, based upon your ability to provide the BERKELEY PRIZE Committee with the required details and documents related to your Proposal for your travel and study program.

Submission:

SUBMIT YOUR TRAVEL FELLOWSHIP PROPOSAL NOW

Timeline: