David Lewis Community Engagement Design Scholarship

Carnegie Mellon Architecture is currently accepting applications for the 2025 award. Applications are due on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at 11:59pm ET. Submit your application at the link below.

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The David Lewis Community Engagement Design Scholarship was established in 2020 in memory of David Lewis, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Urban Studies at Carnegie Mellon. The purpose of the award is to provide financial support to Carnegie Mellon Architecture students whose work demonstrates a commitment to working within diverse communities through participatory architectural design processes and who demonstrate commitments to social justice and community service.

During his life, Lewis profoundly influenced generations of students, architects, designers, urban planners and – most critically – the residents of the communities in which he dedicated his career. A native of South Africa, the outspoken Lewis openly fought against apartheid and was exiled from the country. He served in the South African Navy in World War II and then lived and studied in London before coming to Pittsburgh in 1963 as the Andrew Mellon Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at what was then Carnegie Institute of Technology. He started one of the first educational programs in urban design, in which students worked hands-on with elected officials, community development agency representatives and citizens. In 1964, Lewis founded Urban Design Associates (UDA) with Ray Gindroz and brought an unprecedented vision to building design practice that focused on solving social issues by keeping neighborhoods and their residents first in mind.

In the late ’60s and early ’70s, Lewis was a founding member of the American Institute of Architects' (AIA) Regional/Urban Design Assistance Teams (R/UDATs) and was chairman of the AIA's National Urban Design Committee. In 1976 he was a founder-member of the International Institute of Urban Design.

From 1968 to 1974, Lewis taught at Yale, where he was the William Henry Bishop Professor of Urban Design and formed the Urban Design Workshop. He was the Visiting Hyde Professor at the University of Nebraska in 1988-89 before returning to Carnegie Mellon in 1990 to launch The Urban Laboratory, which engaged leading faculty, community leaders and generations of students in visioning with the residents of dozens of Pittsburgh metropolitan communities, embedding participatory design at Carnegie Mellon to this day. In 2007, with support from the Heinz Foundation, Lewis co-founded the Remaking Cities Institute (RCI) at CMU, dedicated to research in place-making, citizen participation planning processes, and sustainable development.

Lewis was a Fellow of the AIA and received the prestigious AIA Kemper Award for Service to the Profession in 1988. That same year, he was also honored with the Pennsylvania Gold Medal for Architecture, and he chaired the International Remaking Cities Conference at which His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales was the honorary chair. In addition to authoring a number of books on art, architecture and urban design, Lewis was a painter and a sculptor featured in solo exhibitions and installations in the U.S. and overseas.

Known as “Uncle David” by hundreds of graduates, community leaders and professionals around the world, David Lewis transformed architectural education and practice through his unflagging commitment to empowering every resident to participate in the inclusive design of their communities.

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To be considered for the David Lewis Community Engagement Design Scholarship, applicants must submit a complete application that includes the following information:

• A 250-word statement of their approach to community engagement
• A reduced size portfolio (<10 MB) of their most relevant project showcasing community engagement, social justice and community service

Spring 2025 Jury: Diane Shaw (Chair), Vicky Achnani, Stefan Gruber, An Lewis

Spring 2025 Award Amount: $3,000 (first place) and $500 (runner-up) each (multiple awards available up to $3,500 per year)

The David Lewis Community Engagement Design Scholarship is open to all Carnegie Mellon Architecture students (undergraduate, master's and PhD).

Carnegie Mellon Architecture is currently accepting applications for the 2025 award. Applications are due on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at 11:59pm ET.

• 2024: Seyoung Choo (MUD ’24): Title: Continued Interest in Working with the Korean Community
• 2023: Priyanka Thakur (M.Arch ’24), Title: Engaging Voices
• 2022: Shanice Lam (B.Arch ’22)
• 2021: Ryu Kondrup (B.Arch ’21), Title: East Baltimore Care Access Initiative