Bimal Mendis and Joyce Hsiang of the Yale School of Architecture and Plan B Architecture & Urbanism, LLC have been awarded the $100,000 Latrobe Prize for their proposal, “Urban Sphere: The City of 7 Billion” by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) College of Fellows. Mendis and Hsiang will study the consumption of resources while viewing the world as one urban environment. Their research aims to reframe the view of urban environments as a single entity instead of the traditional model of the world as separate cities. Regarding the winning team, the AIA writes:
The project team is comprised of Bimal Mendis and Joyce Hsiang of the Yale School of Architecture and Plan B Architecture & Urbanism, LLC. The project’s nine-person advisory committee includes Robert A.M. Stern, FAIA, Dean, Yale School of Architecture, Thomas Fisher, Assoc AIA, Dean, College of Design, University of Minnesota, and Phil Bernstein, Vice President, Autodesk.
The grant is named for architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe. The Latrobe Prize is awarded biennially for research leading to innovations in architecture. The AIA College of Fellows describes the Latrobe Prize like this:
The AIA College of Fellows’ mission is to support the Institute and advance the profession of architecture. Toward that end, the College seeks to encourage research that broadens the perspective and scope of architecture to include cross-disciplinary fields and expertise through its biennial competition: the Latrobe Prize. research proposals for the Latrobe Prize may include, but are not limited to, building materials and delivery systems, digital design, computer simulation and modeling, energy, eco-design, or integrated design-construction practices and processes.
The AIA College of Fellows’ mission is to support the Institute and advance the profession of architecture. Toward that end, the College seeks to encourage research that broadens the perspective and scope of architecture to include cross-disciplinary fields and expertise through its biennial competition: the Latrobe Prize. research proposals for the Latrobe Prize may include, but are not limited to, building materials and delivery systems, digital design, computer simulation and modeling, energy, eco-design, or integrated design-construction practices and processes.
You can see videos and read more about the winning proposal’s data and methods on this Atlantic Cities write-up.
Featured image derived from Urban Population Growth 1990-2015 by Plan B Architecture & Urbanism.
