Karlson of Perkins + Will wins $37,000 Rotch Travelling Scholarship

Christopher Karlson of Cambridge has been named the 2011 Rotch Travelling Scholarship recipient. Karlson will receive a $37,000 stipend to spend eight months traveling and studying architecture around the world. As first runner-up, Young Seop Lee of New Jersey, is invited to compete in next year's final competition without re-entering the preliminary stage and is the 2011 alternate if Karlson declines the scholarship. Thirty-four competitors participated in the preliminary competition. They were asked to design an urban bicycle station in downtown Boston. Five finalists then moved forward into the second stage of the design competition, where they were charged with making the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway a vital and active public space through the introduction of an ecological gym and athletic fields. This year's Rotch jurors included Hansy Better Barraza AIA of Studio Luz and the Rhode Island School of Design; Steven Foote; Shauna Gillies-Smith of Ground Inc.; Patrice Todisco of Public Realm/GreenSpace; and Maia Small of Thurlow Small Architecture. Kate Gilbert of the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway Conservancy also participated in a portion of the jury. Karlson is a graduate of the University of Florida (2004) and Harvard Graduate School of Design (2008). He is currently employed at Perkins + Will. The Rotch Travelling Scholarship is administered by the Boston Society of Architects (BSA). A nonprofit, professional-service organization, the BSA is committed to advocacy on behalf of great design and sharing an appreciation for the built environment with the public at large. Learn more about the BSA at architects.org, and learn more about the Rotch Travelling Scholarship at rotch.org.