Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) has announced Maura Marinelli, co-founder of franzosomarinelli, as the winner of the 2025 Wheelwright Prize. The annual $100,000 grant supports emerging architects in pursuing investigative research that addresses contemporary architectural challenges with a global perspective. Marinelli's winning proposal, "Topographies of Resistance: Architecture and the Survival of Cultures," explores how architecture can sustain and revitalize rural, mountainous regions that confront climate change, infrastructure limitations, and cultural erosion. His research aims to develop design strategies that promote autonomy, sustainability, and local identity by comparing contexts in the Alps, Andes, and Himalayas. Through fieldwork and analysis, the project seeks to propose architectural approaches that empower communities and challenge urban-centric perspectives.
Marinelli co-founded franzosomarinelli in 2017, an architecture practice based in the Alps that focuses on contemporary design in fragile territories, with a strong emphasis on contextual sensitivity through material and spatial research. GSD Dean Sarah M. Whiting describes his project as fostering "responses that emphasize self-sufficiency, local identity, and approaches tailored to the vulnerabilities of mountainous communities worldwide." Over the next two years, the prize will support Marinelli's research and enable travel to the European Alps, the South American Andes, and the mountainous regions of China. "This support enables me to investigate how architecture can actively engage with the fragile cultural systems of high mountain communities," Marinelli noted. "I intend to contribute tangible insights to both the cultural vitality of mountain territories and architectural discourse."
The Wheelwright Prize supports design research that crosses disciplinary and cultural boundaries. Recent winning topics have examined subjects such as spatial and social relations in contemporary Africa, the environmental and social impacts of sand mining, and emerging paradigms for digital infrastructure. Marinelli was selected from a competitive international pool, with finalists Meriem Chabani, Mohamad Nahleh, and Alfredo Thiermann recognized for their proposals.
The 2025 jury included Sarah M. Whiting, Dean and Josep Lluís Sert Professor of Architecture at the GSD; Chris Cornelius, professor and chair of the Department of Architecture at the University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning; Grace La, professor of architecture and chair of the Department of Architecture at the GSD; Jennifer Newsom, co-founder of Dream the Combine and assistant professor at Cornell University's College of Architecture, Art, and Planning; Tosin Oshinowo, principal and founder of Oshinówò Studio; and Noura Al Sayeh, head of Architectural Affairs for the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities.
Architectural awards continue to highlight experimental approaches and critical engagement with contemporary challenges. In related news, HouseEurope!, a registered non-profit dedicated to the social and ecological transformation of Europe's built environment, has received the 2025 OBEL Award. The European AHI Award has recognized exemplary architectural heritage interventions across the continent, underscoring their potential as forward-looking models for 21st-century architecture with measurable social, environmental, and economic benefits. Meanwhile, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) has announced the 19 shortlisted projects for its 2025 cycle.
