Graham Foundation Awards Over $500,000 for Architectural Research and Publications

TITLE: Graham Foundation Awards Over $500,000 for Architectural Research and Publications
SLUG: graham-foundation-2026-grants
EXCERPT: The Graham Foundation has announced its 2026 Grants to Individuals, supporting 54 projects from 86 recipients worldwide with over $500,000 in funding.
CATEGORY: Architecture News
TAGS: Graham Foundation, Grants, Architecture, Research, Publications, Design
SEO_TITLE: Graham Foundation Distributes $500,000+ in Grants for Architectural Projects
SEO_DESCRIPTION: The Graham Foundation’s 2026 Grants to Individuals program has awarded over $500,000 to 86 recipients globally for diverse architectural research, publications, exhibitions, and films.
MEDIA_QUERY: Architectural research projects and publications
IMAGE_ALT: A montage of architectural sketches, book covers, and project renderings.

The Graham Foundation has announced its 2026 Grants to Individuals, distributing over $500,000 to 54 projects undertaken by 86 recipients. These grants aim to support a wide array of architectural endeavors, including publications, research initiatives, exhibitions, and films, fostering diverse perspectives and critical investigations within the field.

Por que importa

The selected projects represent a global cohort, with recipients hailing from cities such as Mexico City, Beijing, Berlin, and Lagos, alongside numerous other locations. The foundation received more than 600 submissions for this grant cycle, highlighting the significant demand and interest in supporting architectural scholarship and creative practice.

This year’s grants will fund projects addressing a broad spectrum of topics. These include critical examinations of advocacy and architecture, explorations of ecology within the Andean region, and a revisiting of the influential tabloid newspaper *Skyline*. The full list of grantees and their projects, detailed on the Graham Foundation’s website, showcases a commitment to supporting both established and emerging voices in architecture.

Contexto

Notable projects receiving support include Alex Martínez Suárez’s publication “Concrete under the Sun: Brutalism in the Dominican Republic,” which examines the architectural heritage of the Dominican Republic. Future Firm, Norman Teague, and Bernard Williams are among the local grant recipients based in Chicago, with their projects contributing to the diverse range of funded work.

The funded projects span various formats and subjects. For instance, Juan Carlos Espinosa, Carlos A. Segura, and Tania Tovar will explore “Procesos Salvajes,” while Lisa Gálvez will delve into “Earthen Comforts.” Gerard & Kelly are set to present “Saints at a Disco,” and Suzy Halajian and Noah Simblist will investigate “Cracks in the Edifice: The Fairground as Constellation.”

Further projects include Nikolas Hirsch and Jorge Otero-Pailos’ work on “Becoming Monument,” and Drawing Architecture Studio’s exploration of “The Death and Life of an Apartment Building.” MOS will present “A Stop,” and Sarah Oppenheimer will showcase “N-06.” Adriana Salazar Vélez’s project is titled “Weaving Nets for Water Worlds,” and David Taylor’s is “COMPLEX.” Norman Teague and Bernard Williams will present “If Architecture Could Dance.”

The breadth of supported research is evident in initiatives like Jay Cephas’s “Brick by Brick: Black Builders and the American Landscape,” Crystal Kayiza’s “The Gardeners,” and Adam James Smith’s “Nighthawk.” Jana Ndiaye Berankova will focus on “Karel Teige’s Theory and Criticism: Reflections on Architecture, Art, and Society.”

Projects with a strong research and publication component include those by Lori A. Brown and Sarah Rafson on “Now What?! A Call for Advocacy, Activism, and Alliances in US Architecture,” and Arthur J. Clement and Emily Makaš on “Philip G. Freelon: Artist, Architect and Griot.” Christina E. Crawford’s work will focus on “Model Housing: Atlanta and the Foundation of American Public Housing Architecture.”

Several projects delve into historical and theoretical aspects of architecture. Ilaria Di Carlo and Daria Ricchi will explore “Sympoietic Architecture. Making With,” while Alessandro Petti, Sandi Hilal, and Emilio Distretti are working on “Entity of Decolonization. The Afterlives of Colonial–Fascist Architecture.” Sonja Dümpelmann’s research is on “Knowing Trees: A History of Public Health.”

The grants also support investigations into contemporary urban and social issues. Matthew Gandy’s project is “Urban refugia,” and María González Pendás will explore “Holy Modern: Technocratic Fascism, Imperial Architectures, and Opus Dei.” Christopher Hawthorne’s project is titled “Punch List.”

Projects examining architectural practice and its relationship with the environment include Owen Hopkins, Kabage Karanja, Stella Mutegi, and Kathryn Yusoff’s “Architecture as an Earth practice.” Lynne Horiuchi will investigate “Dislocations: The Architecture, Planning and Building of Prison Cities for Japanese and Japanese Americans during World War II.” Kate Joyce’s project is “Watt or Fall.”

Creative and critical explorations of architectural representation and history are also funded. Hubert Pelletier, Simona Malvezzi, and Wilfried Kuehn will work on “Designing the Insectarium.” Ana María León’s project is “Spatial Solidarities: Architecture and Resistance in 1970s Chile.” Abigal Lucien’s work is titled “Blood of the Earth.”

Further international projects include Ciro Miguel’s “Brasília in 35mm: The New Capital through the Lens of Photojournalism, 1956–60,” and Guillaume Mojon and Veronika Spierenburg’s work on “Flora Ruchat-Roncati: The Mountain is the Wall.” Leandro Villalba will present “The Architecture of Punta del Este 1948–1987.”

Projects addressing cultural memory and displacement include Olorunfemi Adewuyi’s “Remembering Memory: (In)formal Architectures of Resistance” and Shane Ah-Siong’s “Military Architectures of Displacement: Documenting Spatial Erasure in the Indian Ocean.” Ibiye Camp will present “Layt De Kam.”

Re-examinations of historical narratives and urban development are also supported. Re’al Christian’s project is “A Study of Two Cities: Seville, Kansas City, and Social Aesthetics Across the African Atlantic.” Adrienne Economos-Miller and M. C. Overholt will work on “Trans Reconstruction: Roberta Dickinson’s Disobedient Archive.” Alexander Garduño and Veronika Kudriashova will explore “Assembling Wood in Mexico.”

The grants also support research into resource extraction and its architectural implications, such as Vanessa Grossman’s “Between the Rust Belt and the Amazon: Extraction, Empire, and the Architecture of Vila Serra do Navio.” José Ibarra will investigate “Andean Ecologies, Cosmologies, and Fictions across Chile, Bolivia, and Ecuador.”

Explorations of modernism and architectural theory include Duc Le’s “Vietnamese Protean Modernism and the Architecture of Thuận Tiến” and Nguyễn Le’Andra Laseur’s “As the Basic Repository of Inextinguishable Desires.” Jorge Francisco Liernur and Isabella Moretti will present “Towards the Third Foundation of Buenos Aires: Facsimile Edition of Le Corbusier’s Unpublished Plan (1929–1948).”

Projects focusing on marginalized histories and movements include Peter L’Official’s “Invisible Plan: W. Joseph Black’s Black Arts Movement,” and Alex Maymind, Lauren McQuistion, and David Turturo’s “Skyline: Rereading an Architectural Tabloid.” Jeremy Melvin will focus on “Jo Noero: South African Architecture, Politics and Spatial Justice.” Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts’ project is “The Proper Knowledge / The Proper Purpose.”

Key facts
| Grant Program | 2026 Grants to Individuals |
|—|—|
| Funding Awarded | Over $500,000 |
| Number of Grants | 54 |
| Number of Recipients | 86 |
| Submission Pool | Over 600 |

These grants are crucial for advancing architectural discourse by enabling in-depth research and the dissemination of findings through publications and exhibitions. For architects, researchers, and enthusiasts, this announcement signifies continued support for critical inquiry and the exploration of diverse architectural histories and futures.

Source: Graham Foundation announces 2026 Grants to Individuals – The Architect’s Newspaper (https://www.archpaper.com/2026/06/graham-foundation-2026-grants/)

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