Climate change, COVID-19, the fight for social justice. In disruptive times, how can architecture help to chart new paths and implement far-reaching solutions?

That’s the question posed by “Disruption,” the 2021 James Harrison Steedman Fellowship in Architecture. The biennial research competition invites early-career architects from around the world to explore how architecture can help to address today’s most pressing global challenges.

The fellowship is organized by the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, in concert with the AIA St. Louis, a chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The winning proposal will receive $75,000 to support up to a year of international travel and research.

The 2021 competition jury is chaired by Mary Ann Lazarus (WashU alum, MArch 78), an internationally recognized leader in sustainable design who also developed this year’s theme. “Pivoting from current trajectories will require urgent disruption,” Lazarus observed. “Radical solutions are required at all scales and systems. How does architecture—in all its modalities—disrupt and drive change? How can architecture have a measurable impact? What are the disruptions to define the next decade and how will they redefine design?”

Proposals are due November 15. For more information about this year’s call and the jury, visit steedmanfellowship.wustl.edu.