SOM Foundation & MAK Center Researcher-in-Residence program

The SOM Foundation and the MAK Center for Art and Architecture announce a new Los Angeles-based residency program.

Chicago/Los Angeles—The MAK Center for Art and Architecture and the SOM Foundation are thrilled to announce the creation of a new, fully funded summer residency program based in Los Angeles. Applications for the inaugural residency will be accepted through March 8, 2024.

The residency program, titled Researcher-in-Residence, will provide a US-based architect, artist, and/or researcher dedicated space and time for innovative work that addresses pressing issues related to the built environment. 

The Researcher-in-Residence will receive a 5,000 USD stipend and a four-to-eight-week summer residency in the live/work space at R.M. Schindler’s Fitzpatrick-Leland House in Los Angeles, which is also home to the MAK Center’s Study Center.

Each year, the call for applications will feature an annual research topic. This year’s topic is “Adapting Housing Strategies to Respond to New Realities,” which corresponds to the SOM Foundation’s 2023–24 research topic. 

Residency recipients are encouraged to participate in the activities of the MAK Center and engage with the larger art, architecture, and design communities of Los Angeles. Each residency will culminate with a public talk or program related to the recipient’s research and interests. 

The Researcher-in-Residence program is proudly presented as a joint endeavor between the SOM Foundation and the MAK Center for Art and Architecture.  

This program is the newest addition to the MAK Center’s illustrious history of hosting residencies, including the Urban Futures Initiative (2008–11) and the Mackey Artist-and-Architects Residency. To date, the MAK Center has hosted 50+ groups of international residents in the Mackey Artist and Architects in Residence Program. 

The Researcher-in-Residence program also reflects the SOM Foundation’s 40+ year commitment to providing research support to innovative architects and designers as they shape the future of the built environment.

“The Researcher-in-Residency program by the SOM Foundation and the MAK Center provides a unique framework to research key aspects of our built environment. Building upon the ongoing work of each organization, this joint effort will allow researchers to use the space, time, and resources provided to bring important work to the public,” said Iker Gil, Executive Director of the SOM Foundation. “MAK Center’s Jia Yi Gu has been part of the SOM Foundation Robert L. Wesley Award mentorship program since it was established in 2020 so we are excited to work with her and the MAK Center team in this new program.”

“The joint Researcher-in-Residency program exemplifies MAK Center and SOM Foundation’s dedication to engaging interdisciplinary audiences and broadening architecture as a form of public culture. The residency framework supports an expanded definition of creative practice, allowing us to cultivate not only a network of artists and architects but also researchers, organizers, writers, scholars, activists, and theorists, in order to engage with the most pressing issues of our time,” said Jia Yi Gu, Director of the MAK Center.  

Applications are currently being accepted for the first residency cycle, which will take place in summer 2024. The deadline to apply is March 8, 2024. 

For more details about the residency, eligibility, and how to apply, please visit here.​