Grant Launched in Memory of Architect Richard Blinder

Blinder is a founding partner of architecture firm Beyer Blinder Belle.

by Ayesha J. Gallion -- Interior Design, 8/31/2007

The Richard Blinder Award for architectural studies, a new bi-annual grant program, was recently introduced in the name of architect Richard Blinder, a founding partner of the architecture firm Beyer Blinder Belle. The graduate of the Harvard School of Architecture and the University of Cincinnati died at the age of 71 in 2006 in China, while designing the Shanghai Cultural Plaza.

Conceived by the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation, the award highlights studies addressing buildings that integrate preservation and new construction and is inspired by Blinder's ability to preserve architecture through restoration.

Recipients can receive a maximum sum of $15,000 for a proposal (based on a real or hypothetical project) that explores an existing structure or series of structure's preservation for a cultural purpose in the Unites States. Judges will focus on originality within the proposals, which must be turned in as a paper, lecture, or presentation within a 12-month time span. Entries for the first program are due September 14 and recipients will be notified via mail in Spring 2008.

The award is open to individual architects with a professional degree or valid architect license. Organizations or university-sponsored projects are ineligible.