Student-led Architecture Student Research Grant program prepares graduates for successful careers.
From its modest beginning as a student proposal to fund extracurricular research, the Architecture Student Research Grant (ASRG) program has evolved over the past decade into an annual grant-award competition that encourages young researchers to explore new ideas and showcase their creative projects.
“What makes the program so unique is that it is a student opportunity created by the students themselves,” says John McMorrough, professor of architecture. “It arises from the ethos of research and collaboration here at Taubman College.”
McMorrough was the architecture program chair in 2013 when a group of entrepreneurial-minded students pitched their ambitious idea for establishing a grant award program to support student research projects. Many of the organizers had worked as graduate assistants with faculty on grant-funded research and wanted a similar opportunity to push the boundaries and possibilities of architecture.
“It was totally self-organized,” McMorrough says. “The students initiated the idea, organized the program, made the call for entries, invited faculty and students to judge the applications, and awarded the grants. My role was simply to cheer them on.”
A 2013 Master of Architecture class gift provided seed money for the initial round of grant awards. In subsequent years, the program has received funding through the architecture chair’s office and from private donors.
Every year the ASRG program awards up to $1,500 to each of three winning project proposals submitted by individual students or teams of students. The final installations and exhibitions are displayed at the Liberty Research Annex in Ann Arbor.
“The ASRG program gives students an opportunity to do research and realize something,” McMorrough says. “In the process, they also learn many valuable career skills, such as making a proposal, managing a project, dealing with budgets, and the difficulties in getting something built.”
Assistant Professor of Practice Lisa Sauvé, M.Arch ’11, MS ’14, and lecturer Adam Smith, M. Arch ’11, began donating to the ASRG program in 2016. The two are partners in the Ann Arbor architecture studio Synecdoche, which landed its first project with a budget of just $1,500.
“We felt the ASRG program resonated with our own story on a similar scale and budget,” Sauvé says. “We wanted to contribute to the program to ensure its funding is maintained. For us, this felt like a way to pay it forward and create a similar opportunity for other students.”
Managing all aspects of a creative design project — from the schedule and budget to the construction and realization — provides students with an experience similar to working at an architectural firm and gives them an independent, real-life project for their portfolio.
“The ASRG program serves as a bridge between coursework and professional work while still offering guidance and support from the university,” Sauvé says. “It’s a great way for students to build their entrepreneurial endurance and determine whether they want to continue down that path and start their own venture.”
Taubman College students credit the ASRG program for preparing them to launch successful careers in professional practice, teaching, or sometimes both.
“ASRG provided a moment for me to pursue several opportunities otherwise not offered to me in grad school,” observes Collin Garnett, M.Arch ’23, a design professional at Ply+ and an intermittent lecturer at Taubman College. “Of these, formulating a research project, writing a grant narrative, constructing a budget, executing design research, and planning an exhibition all rise to the top
as experiences I am extremely grateful for. These experiences have allowed me to carry the energy from my graduate education into the professional realm, post-degree.”
“The ASRG gave me valuable experience in pursuing independent research, grant writing, documentation, and teamwork,” adds Elizabeth Ervin, M.Arch ’23, an architectural designer at MSR Design and an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota. “Our team developed the ability to set goals and worked to overcome design challenges. I made lasting professional connections and have continued sartorial architecture explorations.”
The ASRG program not only deepens students’ experiences at Taubman College, but also enriches the overall college culture, which embraces the creative exploration of design’s capacity to propose and realize, says McMorrough.
“This program is a way for our students to shape and contribute to the culture of the institution,” he says. “It serves as an important part of the ecology of ideas, visions, and productions that make the school more than a curriculum. It enhances our educational mission to provide the grounds of possibility for our students.”
