All posts by Vanesa Zelaya

Cheyenne Yamada

Meet Cheyenne Yamada, 2022 Yann Weymouth Graduate Scholar

Press, Scholars, Scholarships

Earlier this year, the Architects Foundation awarded the 2022 Yann Weymouth Graduate Scholarship to Cheyenne Yamada. Yamada, a student at the University of Pennsylvania, will receive a $5,000 scholarship towards tuition for demonstrating an exemplary work focus of design that includes sustainability, resilience, wellness, and beauty. The scholarship honors practicing architect Yann Weymouth, FAIA, who will also mentor Cheyenne.

“Cheyenne demonstrated in her student work a practical and imaginative focus on creating environments to support those in society with few resources. She made inventive use of available local materials to respond to local climate and conditions. Her strongest project combined hand-drawn and digital images with which she portrayed her vision of a safe and welcoming community for homeless persons camping in remote Oahu beaches. The unexpected combination of techniques demonstrated a sensitive empathy and mature presentation,” said Weymouth.

“Ms. Yamada’s talent is coupled with a sense of responsibility for how it should be applied to creatively address issues of equity and sustainability.”

Prior to studying at the University of Pennsylvania, Cheyenne graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Science in Pre-Professional Architecture in 2021.

Cheyenne is of Chamorro and Filipino descent, born in Saipan of the Northern Mariana Islands and raised in the mainland U.S. just outside of Washington D.C. Coming from these dual landscapes of a fourteen by five mile long island in the Pacific versus a metropolitan area, she has been exposed to incredibly diverse natural, built, and socioeconomic environments. It is her unique upbringing to which she attributes her continuing curiosity about how design influences people from different walks of life as well as how it affects the natural environment in which it intervenes. This curiosity has sustained throughout her architectural studies thus far as her studio projects have naturally gravitated towards sustainable design efforts to simultaneously promote both cultural and environmental resilience.

Applications for the 2023 Yann Weymouth Graduate Scholarship will open November 7. Sign up to receive notifications about the application opening.

Jada Cannon

Meet Jada Cannon, 2022 Payette Sho-Ping Chin Scholar

Press, Scholarships

Earlier this year, the Architects Foundation awarded the 2022 Payette Sho-Ping Chin Memorial Academic Scholarship to Jada Cannon, a student at Cornell University.

This award honors late architect Sho-Ping Chin, FAIA, a long-time principal at Payette and a healthcare practice leader who was instrumental in defining and elevating the national discourse for women in design. As part of the prize, Jada will receive a $10,000 scholarship and will be mentored by an architect at Payette for the scholarship year.

Jada has acted as a historian for the University of Colorado Denver National Organization of Minority Architecture Students and as a volunteer for Architexx, a feminist architecture collective. Jada is now pursuing a Master’s in Architecture at Cornell University, and serves on the Diversity and Inclusion Council. Jada plans to utilize their background to become an architect who considers an array of different, often underrepresented, perspectives, and represents communal values in an accessible form.

“We are thrilled with the selection of Jada Cannon as the recipient of the 2022 Payette Sho-Ping Chin Memorial Scholarship,” said Kevin Sullivan, CEO of Payette.

“Jada’s vision and passion for architecture to positively affect change in our environment and the communities and culture of the places that we live and work, is inspiring. Jada embodies all the characteristics of someone that Sho-Ping would have much admired and would have loved to have met.”

Applications for the 2023 Payette Sho-Ping Chin Memorial Academic Scholarship will open November 7. Sign up to receive news about the scholarship opening.

 

WLS grantees

AF announces 2022 Sho-Ping Chin Women’s Leadership Summit Grantees

Press, Scholars, Scholarships

The Architects Foundation is recognizing and supporting women in architecture with the Sho-Ping Chin Women’s Leadership Summit Grant.

The Sho-Ping Chin WLS Grant provides travel and registration to the AIA Women’s Leadership Summit, empowering women through leadership, knowledge, and community. This year, the grant will fund ten women to attend the summit, which is being held from September 28-Oct 1 in Silicon Valley. This year’s recipients are:

The grant was established in 2017 in memory of Sho-Ping Chin, FAIA, a Principal at Payette who founded the inaugural AIA Women’s Leadership Summit in 2009.

“The Architects Foundation is privileged to honor Sho-Ping Chin’s legacy through this grant program, which was established by her colleagues and is now entrusted with us,” said Architects Foundation Executive Director, Marci Reed. “We are thrilled to be gathering again in person to share one another’s passion and wisdom and to support and empower women in architecture.”

The Architects Foundation is seeking donations for the next class of recipients. Support women in architecture and donate today.

AF Announces recipients of 2022 AIA LFRT ARE Scholarship

Partners, Press, Scholars, Scholarships

The Architects Foundation today announced recipients for the AIA Large Firm Roundtable (LFRT) ARE Scholarship.

The Architects Foundation’s AIA LFRT ARE Scholarship helps fulfill the LFRT’s goal to double the number of licensed Black architects by 2030. The scholarship defrays the costs associated with the Architect Registration Examination (ARE), provides a one-year subscription to ArchiPrep and covers one year of Associate AIA or NOMA member dues.

“The future of our profession is bright. These scholarship winners will continue to build upon efforts to push our profession to be equitable, inclusive, and diverse,” said Jonathan Moody, AIA, chair of the review committee and co-chair of the LFRT Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) committee.

“I look through the list and see 34 steps on our continued journey of progress. The result will be better outcomes for all those we serve.”

The 2022 LFRT ARE Scholarship winners are:

Complete details on the LFRT ARE scholarship program are available on the Architects Foundation website.

 

2022 Architects Foundation Fireclay Tile Scholar Selected

Diversity, Partners, Press, Scholars, Scholarships

The Architects Foundation has announced the recipients of its Diversity Advancement Scholarship, including the scholarship sponsored by Fireclay Tile. Oni Thornell of Brooklyn, NY will receive $4,000 per year towards tuition for up to five years to attend Syracuse University.

“Fireclay Tile is thrilled to partner with the Architects Foundation to support talented, inquisitive, and compassionate future architects like Oni Thornell” said Lindsey Bourcier, Fireclay Tile Brand Manager.

“Oni’s dedication to making meaningful change, her desire to lean into sustainable practices, and most importantly, her advocacy for equal access to the rights inherent in architecture resonated strongly with our team at Fireclay and aligns with our ethos of continuous improvement in building an inclusive world.”

Embracing diverse viewpoints and cultures in architecture is an asset to the profession, and the Diversity Advancement Scholarship offers students with a passion for studying the discipline of architecture an opportunity to successfully complete their studies no matter their color or where they come from.

The Diversity Advancement Scholarship was created in 1970 with an initial grant from the Ford Foundation, after civil rights leader Whitney Young Jr. challenged architects in 1968 to create a more responsible and equitable field. The Architects Foundation has been managing the program since 2009 and has expanded the program size thanks to the support of sponsors like Fireclay Tile.