SOM Foundation announces the winner of the 2023 European Research Prize

Còssima Cornadó is an architect and Associate Professor and Serra Húnter professor at the Department of Architecture Technology at the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB), as well as a member of the REARQ group. She has led competitive research projects in the field of rehabilitating buildings and evaluating their safety and habitability.

She coordinates the undergraduate course “Construction IV” on building diagnosis and rehabilitation. She also coordinates the course “Techniques for the Rehabilitation of Safety Conditions” in the MBARCH-RRA master’s program and supervises master’s theses from MarqETSAB and MBARCH-RRA within the research seminar. Her research activity has provided useful contributions in assessing buildings and their possibilities for improvement.

She has directed and participated in technology transfer projects with the Barcelona City Council related to the pre-diagnosis of residential buildings in vulnerable neighborhoods, which have led to an advance in diagnostic methodologies for large built stocks. These projects have served as a starting point for the design and implementation of public preferential assistance programs for housing rehabilitation. Finally, she has served as a representative member of the UPC to the Barcelona Housing Consortium’s Social Housing Council since 2021.

Marta Domènech is an architect and lecturer and Serra Húnter professor at the Department of Architectural Projects at the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB), as well as a member of the REARQ research group at the UPC.

Previously, she was a researcher at the ETH Zurich and collaborated with UN-Habitat and various artistic institutions, conducting projects and prototypes that integrate traditional construction techniques and the study of the possibilities and limits of self-construction by incorporating new tools and contemporary technology. Her academic and professional work has received numerous national and international awards and grants.

She also coordinates the Contemporary Project track of the MBARCH focusing on new spatial strategies for the Architecture of collective living, and is the director of “Architecture and Re-invention,” an undergraduate course on architectural design that focuses on the intervention and rehabilitation of existing buildings as contemporary residential complexes.

Sara Vima-Grau is an architect, researcher in the REARQ group, trainee professor at the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB), as well as a PhD candidate having completed her doctoral studies with a scholarship from the Ministry of Science.

She specializes in analyzing the existing residential stock and designing public policies and architectural interventions for the urban rehabilitation of residential buildings in vulnerable areas. Her doctoral research has focused on analyzing living conditions, with specific applications in case studies of Barcelona’s Raval and Southwest Besòs neighborhoods. She has participated in competitive projects and agreements with the REARQ group, codirecting cooperation and technology transfer projects in Barcelona.

These projects have involved extensive participatory processes and fieldwork with local communities and associative networks. She teaches the course “Techniques for the Rehabilitation of Living Conditions” and “Rehabilitation of Large Residential Complexes” and participates in the research seminar. In the project, she will collaborate in analytical and project design tasks, coordinating teaching activities and the participation of different stakeholders, from doctoral students to neighborhood associations and experts from the public administration.

SOM Foundation. Founded in 1979, the SOM Foundation’s goal is to advance the design profession’s ability to address the key topics of our time by bringing together and supporting groups and individuals, each with the highest possible design aspirations.

The Foundation’s award programming was established in 1981 and currently offers five annual awards across the United States, Europe, and China. The awards support students and faculty of architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, urban design, and engineering to undertake rigorous interdisciplinary research that can help shape our future.

The Foundation was established in 1979 under the initiative of SOM Design Partner Bruce Graham who served as its first chair. The award program began with the ambition to improve architectural education by enabling recent graduates to expand their knowledge through travel. The generous fellowships provided an important platform for self-driven inquiry and an opportunity for recipients to advance their design thinking outside of an academic institution. Graham and the Board of the SOM Foundation were champions of the cause and fiercely believed in the importance of experiencing architecture in different ways and engaging with a multiplicity of thought.

Since 1981, over 2.8 million dollars have been awarded to support the work of individuals across the globe. The Foundation’s award program has grown over the years to include a wider field of design and engineering, and to recognize the work of recent graduates alongside leading educators and researchers. As we look toward the future, we plan to continue to strengthen that support and focus on research, advancing the design profession’s ability to address key topics of our time through interdisciplinary research and design exploration. We do so through redefining our awards program, expanding our network of fellows and partners, and building on past efforts.

Awards such as the SOM Foundation Research Prize, European Research Prize, Structural Engineering Fellowship, China Fellowship, and Robert L. Wesley Award are the backbone of the Foundation. The awards provide economic and institutional support to design leaders and students to advance their career and share their research with the public. This research is framed around topics identified each year, such as Humanizing High Density, Shrinking Our Agricultural Footprint, Examining Social Justice in Urban Contexts, and Envisioning Responsible Relationships with Materiality.