Selected Topic Fellowship


The Selected Topic Fellowship, inaugurated in 2014, prompts teams of design practitioners to address a particular pressing urban issue in NYC by collaborating, sharing research, and proposing design solutions in an immersive collective studio setting.

Fellows have daytime access to workspace and shared amenities at the Block House and participate in panel discussions, research trips, and team meals. At the conclusion of the Fellowship, Fellow teams present their work with an exhibit and public presentation.

Fellowship opportunities are announced through an open call, with applications evaluated by an Independent Selection Committee.


Past Fellowships





2022 Fall Fellowship: Reconnecting Communities Across the BQE


Teams considered sections of the BQE that might be removed, reconceived as boulevards, or decked-over, with an opportunity for communities to decide which programs—housing, community space, urban farms, recreation, schools, green industries—might occupy this potential “land bank” along the BQE corridor.

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2020 Fall Fellowship:
To BE or not to BQE


Five teams of Fellows were asked to envision a future without the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway; considering strategies and a re-use of the land it currently occupies in “a broader vision for the future of the highway.”

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Institute for Public Architecture

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