SOM Foundation Announces 2003 Traveling Fellowship

Peter Halsey Sherwood -- Interior Design, 6/24/2003 12:00:00 AM

The Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) Foundation announced Kyle Reynolds as its 2003 Interior Architecture Traveling Fellowship recipient. Mr. Reynolds, a recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning, was awarded the $7,500 Fellowship earmarked for his excursion to Japan to study how cultural variables and limitations on available space influence interior architecture in there.

Jurors of this year’s competition included Cindy Coleman, Partner at Frankel + Coleman and Gary Wheeler, Principal Managing Director Chicago of Perkins + Will. Jaime Velez, Principal Interior Design Chicago of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLPP, was Jury Chair.

“Kyle's degree in architecture, combined with his double minor in urban planning and structural engineering will serve to make him a one-of-a-kind practitioner," said Coleman. She also noted that Kyle's ability to communicate his complex ideas combined with his seriousness about the subject of interior architecture and his ability to research design issues so thoroughly, make him a true standout in the field.

Wheeler continued, “He understands that people need to use space in multiple ways and embraces this notion of complexity to his designs. He said in his interview that if he won the fellowship and traveled to Japan that he didn’t want to insert himself into the culture, but instead wanted to observe it. That’s an important skill for a designer.”

“A great deal of learning will occur when he simply allows himself to observe how others live and use space,” Velez agreed.

The mission of the SOM Foundation Traveling Fellowship program is to assist young architects, engineers and urban planners in expanding their professional education through travel. Prior Fellows have traveled to China, India, Japan, the Philippines, and Russia, as well as through Europe and the United States.