2014 RAMSA Travel Fellowship awarded to McGill University grad student

Robert A.M. Stern Architects recently announced Anna Antropova, a master's degree candidate at the McGill University School of Architecture, as the recipient of the 2014 RAMSA Travel Fellowship.

The $10,000 fellowship will fund Antropova's trip to Japan, where she will study ancient wood joinery techniques. Her research focuses on the potential transformation and reintroduction of applying ancient timber techniques to modern construction.

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"This elegant and efficient mode of construction could meaningfully inform our western building industry, an industry addicted to toxic adhesives and an indiscriminate application of metal fasteners. Wood stands to be for our generation what steel and concrete were for the previous two or three, and Japanese joinery offers us a sustainable mode of assembly for a sustainable material with far less embodied energy.” Ms. Antropova aims to reintroduce these techniques, ultimately uniting “old and new, east and west, tradition and modernity.” 

The jurors were impressed by the clarity and academic rigor of Ms. Antropova’s proposal, and its applications for contemporary building practices. Ms. Antropova’s proposal was very well researched and planned, and will produce a substantial continuation to the body of research on sustainable timber frame construction.

Ms. Antropova was selected from a field of 20 applicants preselected by their educational institutions.

The jury consisted of RAMSA partners Melissa DelVecchio, Dan Lobitz, and Grant F. Marani. Margaret Marsh facilitated the discussion and process.

The jury was also impressed by the variety of proposals and the range of topics including: The Tradition of Proportion in the Digital Age; The Architectural Legacy of Image-Making; Re-envisioning Cambodian Weaving Techniques; Traditional Silkworm Minka in Japan and the American Farmhouse; and Roman Water Cisterns in Ugandan Refugee Settlements