Envision Resilience Announces Second Year of National Design Studio Grants
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 11, 2026
CONTACT
Kate Deans
communications@envisionresilience.org
Envision Resilience Announces Second Year of National Design Studio Grants
Funding available to graduate and undergraduate architecture, planning and landscape architecture studio courses focused on adaptive climate design
BOSTON—Building on the success of the inaugural National Design Studio Grants, Envision Resilience announced today a second year of funding available to schools running design studios focused on community-centered approaches to the challenges of climate change.
Faculty running fall 2026 or spring 2027 design studios that explore adaptive solutions to climate change in their rural, urban or mid-sized communities are invited to apply on behalf of their university. Grants will prioritize studios focused on developing short- and long-term interventions that approach the intersecting issues of housing, infrastructure, stormwater management, materiality and transportation exacerbated by flooding, heat, storms and environmental changes.
The National Design Studio Grants expand on the Envision Resilience Challenge, the signature program of Envision Resilience, which convenes interdisciplinary student teams with communities throughout the Northeast to produce designs for adapting neighborhoods, parks, businesses and waterfronts in the face of climate change.
Last year’s National Design Studio Grants collectively supported more than 200 students from eight universities across the country including Mississippi State University, University of Arizona, University of Houston, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Washington, Wentworth Institute of Technology and Yale University.
“The impact these faculty are stewarding in their university communities is transformative,” said Claire Martin, executive director of Envision Resilience. “These studios are advancing student learning objectives by providing hands-on, community-centered experiences that prepare students to think, design and lead in an increasingly complex climate landscape. We are proud to support such important design work nationwide that continues to inform and inspire us.”
This spring, grantees have been leading work in places like Turkey Creek Community Historic District in Gulfport, Mississippi, a historic African American community that was one of the first freedmen’s settlements during Reconstruction but has since faced long-term disinvestment, flooding and land contamination. Faculty and students have worked in Samish Island, Washington where landscape architecture interventions focused on ecological restoration and protection will increase resilience, public access and cultural connections, as well as in the West End and North End neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. A product of urban renewal that displaced thousands, the West End is now the site of high rises and numerous rail lines, highways and ferry lines increasingly impacted by flooding and rising sea levels.
“The Envision Resilience National Design Studio Grant allowed our landscape architecture studio the opportunity for deeper engagement with community partners than would have been otherwise possible,” said Celina Balderas Guzmán, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Washington. “This included multiple site visits, more transfer of knowledge about the site, and access to areas that we would not have had access to without local connections. As a result, the students gained tremendous insights into the complex reality of coastal adaptation and the technical and social challenges involved, which is invaluable experience for emerging professionals in climate adaptation design and planning. Meanwhile, partners had the opportunity to have broad-ranging conversations about the future of their region that could inspire different approaches for adaptation.”
Successful applications will focus on studios engaging and collaborating with community members to imagine innovative and resilient climate futures, particularly building on prior or existing partnership and research. Graduate and undergraduate studio courses in departments of architecture, regional and urban planning, landscape architecture and environmental design are eligible.
The deadline for National Design Studio Grant applications is Friday, June 19, 2026. Interested faculty can learn more at https://www.envisionresilience.org/design-studio-grants. Recipients will be announced by late August 2026. All questions can be sent to communications@envisionresilience.org.
About Envision ResilienceEnvision Resilience works to advance innovative planning and design in the face of climate change through student and community partnerships. By connecting current and future professionals working across disciplines, the organization creates opportunities for communities to reimagine climate challenges and inspire resilient solutions. Envision Resilience, originally developed by Remain, is part of the philanthropic organizations and initiatives created and funded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt to work toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. To learn more, visit envisionresilience.org.
