2024 STUDENT TRAVEL FELLOWS AND RESEARCH GRANT RECIPIENTS

The School of Architecture congratulates the recipients of the 2024 Travel Fellowships and Research Grants for their pursuit of advanced scholarship in design and planning studies. These awards support independent research projects and include a total of approximately $45,000 in funding.  

BENJAMIN C. HOWLAND TRAVEL FELLOWS

Ari Bell, MLA '25 
Madhura Vaze, MLA '24
 

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The Howland Travel Fellowship supports focused research investigation and documentation of landscape or place, especially related to issues in the public realm. In 2024, the fellowship was awarded to two graduate landscape architecture students, Aril Bell and Madhura Vaze. 

Ari Bell will investigate three European amusement parks, Bakken, Efteling, and Tibidabo, respectively located in Denmark, the Netherlands, and Spain. Bell hypothesize that the siting and evolution of these three amusement parks on edges between city and nature arises from the ways their respective societies have conceived of the role of nature and pleasure in urban life. For his project, he will pair visual and audio documentation with written and archival analysis to conduct a detailed inventory of each landscape. The exercise will help broaden the contemporary discourse on the relationship between nature and culture.

Madhura Vaze's travel research aims to document the unstable glaciated landscape in the Garhwal Himalayas in India to understand how the dynamics of glacier retreat and processes of glacio-fluvial landscape erode the relational ethics of the public. The research will offer insights to expand the field of landscape architecture and translate it into the findings that eventually will be tied well to curating an immersive exhibit for the UVA community. "In an ever-changing environment, there is a need to look upstream instead of downstream to realize the complete reality of climate change," said Vaze.
 

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CARLO PELLICCIA TRAVEL FELLOW

BERNARDO DE MAGALHÃES E MENEZES, PHD IN THE CONSTRUCTED ENVIRONMENT candidate

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Bernardo de Magalhães e Menezes' doctoral research examines the role of beauty in landscape architecture discourse as it emerged as a field of studies in U.S. academia during the early decades of the twentieth century. Having been selected as a visiting scholar at the American Academy in Rome (AAR) in Spring 2024, Menezes will utilize the support of the Pelliccia Travel Fellowship to further his research in Florence and Rome. His work aims to provide a detailed insight into the materials in the American Academy’s library and archives, collecting evidence informing us of the establishment, developments, and outcomes of the AAR fellowship program and its contributions to shaping the early landscape architecture theoretical discourse.

The Pelliccia Travel Fellowship supports an independent study abroad, primarily located in Italy. 

SARAH MCARTHUR NIX TRAVEL FELLOW
josephine Blount, M ARCH '25

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The Nix fellowship supports the independent study of one architecture student over the course of a summer in France. For her research project, Josephine Blount will focus on adaptive reuse and building conversions as a response to the housing crisis, particularly exploring the differences between practices in France and the United States. Blount aims to analyze the operational dynamics, limitations, and techniques of such conversions, employing interdisciplinary methods including network analysis, systems diagramming, case study analysis, and interviews with various stakeholders. Her research seeks to contribute to discussions on architects' roles in supporting affordable housing and sustainable building practices, emphasizing the need for more inclusive and just approaches to urban development.

FANZONE TRAVEL AWARD
Nishat Tasnim maria, Muep '25

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The Fanzone Travel Award supports research travel to perform a summer independent study with a focus on the use of indigenous materials, local construction and fabrication practices. 

Nishat Tasnim Maria's research project aims to investigate the impacts of climate-induced challenges on marginalized coastal communities in Koyra, Bangladesh, focusing on social and structural deprivation and indigenous knowledge. By employing mapping techniques, interviews, serendipity walks, and visual documentation, the study seeks to understand community experiences and identify indigenous design solutions rooted in local practices. Ultimately, Maria's research intends to propose equitable and sustainable neighborhood designs that integrate indigenous wisdom to address climate impacts and promote community resilience in vulnerable coastal regions.

SUSAN NELSON FLEISS TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP
AUSTIN SMALL, BS ARCH '25

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The Fleiss Travel Scholarship supports travel domestically or internationally for the purpose of research, design or personal development. 2024 Fleiss Travel Scholar, Austin Small will travel to Croatia to study classical architecture and contemporary design, particularly exploring lesser-known Roman ruins along the Croatian coast. Small aims to document his experiences through observational drawing and photography, seeking to understand the relationship between architecture, landscape, and cultural development in response to historical occupations. By immersing himself in the local crafts and trades and reflecting on his experiences through visual and written documentation, Small hopes to enhance his skills as an artist and architect, with the intention of applying his insights to future architectural projects.