Erwin-Ramsey Fellowship
overview
The 2024 submission period is closed.
New for 2024! Qualified candidates in the architecture schools at the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech are invited to apply.
About the Fellowship
The Erwin-Ramsey Fellowship, held annually each summer, is open to graduate and fourth-year undergraduate students in the School of Architecture. Our goal is to enhance architectural contributions to Charlottesville, where our firm has been active for nearly 40 years.
Architecture, Equity and Affordability
Affordability, accessibility, and equity are crucial factors in shaping our communities. The Erwin-Ramsey Fellowship is for students passionate about exploring the intersection between these factors and architectural practice, particularly in serving marginalized communities.
What to Expect
The Fellowship spans three to four weeks, during which the selected Fellow works on a designated project aimed at enhancing Charlottesville’s built environment and affordable housing supply. Throughout the program, the Fellow develops connections with residents, clients, and key stakeholders in Charlottesville’s housing market.
Applications are due by 5pm on April 12, 2024. Visit the link below for submission details and join us in making a difference in Charlottesville’s constructed environment.
2023 Erwin-Ramsey Fellow
Jo Blount, M. Arch UVa
Jo was raised in Charlottesville and has been involved in organizing efforts focusing on tenants’ associations, anti-gentrification, and community-led redevelopment in different regions. Currently, Jo is a part-time staff member at the Public Housing Association of Residents (PHAR) while pursuing her Master’s degree at UVA.
The 2023 Fellowship addressed a critical aspect of Charlottesville’s development: the commitment to racial equity and affordable housing goals in the Comprehensive Plan update and Rezoning process. Jo used her fellowship to create resources for the community engagement networks that had been established through the Cville Plans Together (CPT) Initiative.
What impressed us about Jo’s proposal is how firmly it’s rooted in existing community movements and resources. Like our resident-led design processes in Southwood and South First Street, Jo places community members at the forefront of her project, directly addressing the needs they have expressed.
Brandon Eley (B.Arch UVa ’22)
2022 Erwin-Ramsey Fellow
Extended to four weeks for the first time, the 2022 Fellowship Program developed strategies to engage underserved youth and teen populations through the built environment. Brandon spent a substantial part of his fellowship working directly with Charlottesville teens as well as as directors of teen programs in the area. The resulting project outlined small, medium, and large-scale strategies: everyday placemaking interventions, Charlottesville fellowship programs for teens, and site development strategies for architects and developers throughout the city.
Gabriel Andrade (B.Arch UVa ’21)
2021 Erwin-Ramsey Fellow
Gabriel explored the ways that we as a community feel ownership over public spaces. Focusing on common public spaces such as alleys, streets, or under trees, Gabriel assembled a ‘catalog’ of everyday/guerrilla interventions using common objects to create this sense of ownership. The Fellowship culminated in a walking tour through the Downtown Mall, using objects to remake the alleys and streets we normally overlook.
Taha Suhrawardy (M.Arch UVa ’20)
2020 Erwin-Ramsey Fellow
The 2020 Fellowship Program explored the ways that community agriculture can contribute to land-use strategies in order to reinforce the wellbeing and food security of resident-led redevelopment projects in Charlottesville. Working with our resident relationships and existing food justice initiatives, Taha applied his interest in community health and gardens and his Architecture background to Charlottesville’s development projects specifically.
Amanda Harlow (B. Arch UVa ‘20)
2019 Erwin-Ramsey Fellow
Amanda developed a Curriculum for faith congregations in Charlottesville whose missions align with affordable housing and caring for the homeless and aging populations. This immersive research project data-mapped potential sites for developing affordable housing and translated the City development process into an accessible tutorial. The resulting Curriculum assists communities of faith in identifying their opportunities and resources, becoming familiar with the development and design process, and implementing affordable housing as part of their mission.