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Rafael Viñoly Architects Awards Research Grants

The firm is giving the teams more than $160,000 in stipends, in addition to design and techinical support.

Nicholas Tamarin -- Interior Design, 3/12/2009 12:00:00 AM

Rendering of the NYPD Staten Island stationhouse.

While Rafael Viñoly Architects juggles simultaneous design duties for the expansion of the Brooklyn Children's Museum and the New York Police Department's first LEED-rated stationhouse, the Manhattan-based firm still has time to flex its philanthropic muscles, awarding over $160,000 in fellowship grants to four research teams from five continents.

The finalists were chosen from more than 180 proposals, culled from both the academic and professional realms in 39 countries. Their challenge: exploring the needs of communities that are undergoing social and environmental stress, including Bogotá, Shanghai, Mexico City and Indonesia. The researchers will draw upon their skills in architecture, urban planning, environmental psychology, anthropology and documentary photography in order to analyze buildings and urban projects -- and ultimately, to devise solutions to entrenched problems.

Rendering of the now-open Brooklyn Children's Museum.

"Research is the lifeblood of the profession," says principal Rafael Viñoly. "In these difficult times, it is especially important to reaffirm our commitment...not only to design and technique, but also to basic questions of human welfare."

In addition to the cash, RVA is also providing the teams with support in design, engineering, graphics and modeling services. The firm previously funded two rounds of research grants focused on environmental and scientific themes, including green roofs and carbon-fiber composites.