2026 Architecture Student Research Grant projects explore fabrication, materials, representation, mapping
Four projects representing nine Taubman College students have been selected to receive the 2026 Architecture Student Research Grant (ASRG). Established by the Class of 2013, ASRG awards provide $3,000 to three student research projects that push the boundaries and possibilities of architecture. This year, a fourth grant was awarded with support from Climate Futures.
Applications were evaluated anonymously by a blind jury of Taubman College faculty, including Jen Maigret, director of Climate Futures; Kathy Velikov, associate dean of research and creative practice; and Antje Steinmuller, chair of architecture. This year’s grant winners are Faezeh Choobkar, Ph.D. Arch; Shahin Ghaemian, M.Arch ’26; Charlotte Lee, M.Arch ’27; Chloe Erickson, M.Arch ’27; Nick Grosh, M.Arch ’27; Ryan Britain, M.Arch ’27; Jozef Meyers, M.Arch ’27; Yongmin Chen, M.Arch ’28; and Hilary Huckins-Weidner, Ph.D. Arch.
Project proposals can take a variety of forms, including built objects, experiments, written work, or models for alternative practice. This year’s projects ranged from digital fabrication methods for architecture to material proposals, architectural representation, and large-scale global map and network diagrams. More on the winning projects is below.
Designing Lightweight Shell Structures through Algorithmic Tessellation: A Computational Optimization and Fabrication Experiment
Faezeh Choobkar and Shahin Ghaemian
This project proposes the development of a computational method for generating adaptive tessellation patterns for lightweight grid shell structures. Instead of relying on predefined regular grids, the proposed method will generate patterns that respond to the specific needs of the shell. By considering factors such as stress distribution and surface curvature, the system can guide the subdivision of the surface in a more informed way.
Material Agency
Charlotte Lee, Chloe Erickson, and Nick Grosh
This project will engage soil as an underexplored building material, capable not only of carbon neutrality but also of liberatory labor possibilities relating to self- construction. The research will include tests of various in situ methods of rammed earth and soil-based construction using prefabricated molds, and aims to identify a method for rammed earth construction that is both easily made by non-experts and affordable.
All, At Once
Ryan Britain, Jozef Meyers, and Yongmin Chen
This project asks what becomes available when the rich multiplicity of architectural representations is held together. The research proposes to bring multiple independent representations of the same building into a shared coordinate space, where their agreements, conflicts, and divergences become simultaneously legible. Working from a select range of well-documented buildings drawn from distinct periods, geographies, and cultures, the project aims to compile every available representation of each into a registered field.
Mapping Architectures of Planetary Knowing
Hilary Huckins-Weidner
This project maps the buildings that claim ownership to knowing Earth. Through a large-scale global map and network diagrams, the research will visualize relationships between institutions, data flows, and sensing infrastructures, while also analyzing regions that are extensively monitored along with those that remain suspiciously unobserved. By situating these facilities within a global network, the project will reveal how individual buildings connect to form larger architectures of planetary power, information, and observation — systems that together work to architecturalize Earth itself.
The projects will be presented at an exhibition and gallery talk in November.
Main Image: Nick Grosh, M.Arch ’27, presents “A New American Housing” during the 2025 Architecture Student Research Grant exhibition last fall.
