Expressions of interest open for design fellowship in Rome

Accommodation Bahrain introduces

Early and mid-career architects, landscape architects and design professionals from across Australia can now express their interest in a fellowship that could take them abroad to one of the oldest cities in the world: Rome.

Launched by the Alastair Swayn Foundation and RMIT University, the 2025-26 Alastair Swayn Foundation-RMIT Architecture Affiliated Fellowship is an eight-week residency that offers one successful applicant the opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary research, advance their practice and form international connections in Italy.

Fellows will be hosted by the American Academy, an American institution in Rome that accommodates independent studies and advanced research in fine arts and humanities. The campus features buildings designed by American architectural practices such as McKim, Mead and White and Michael Graves.

Over the eight weeks, the successful candidate will be provided accommodation, meals, a studio space, and access to the academy's resources, including library archives. They will also be permitted to attend various programs, such as lectures and site visits.

According to a communique released by the Alastair Swayn Foundation and RMIT University, "applicants are expected to be outstanding practitioners at a pivotal point in their careers, where the fellowship will significantly contribute to their professional growth."

Upon returning to Australia, the fellow will be required to share their experience through a public lecture and an illustrated report or relevant exhibits for publication in the Swayn Open Research repository on the Alastair Swayn Foundation website.

Simon Robinson, director of the not-for-profit design and research practice Office, was the inaugural recipient of the 2023-24 fellowship. During his residency at the American Academy in Rome, Robinson explored Learning from Corviale, a project documenting the refurbishment of one of Italy's largest post-war public housing estates. This work supported his Melbourne-based Retain, Repair, Reinvest initiative, which focuses on sustainable public housing renewal by retaining communities, improving comfort, and reducing carbon emissions. Robinson's fellowship concluded with a sold-out public lecture in August 2024.

Architect, artist and educator Stephanie Pahnis was awarded the 2024-25 Fellowship. During her upcoming residency, she will develop her project, Enduring Cultural Matter. The project will explore the relationships between materials, cultural memory and identity in architecture through the lens of adaptive reuse, maintenance practices and local material applications.

Expressions of interest for the next fellowship round can be submitted until 11 March 2025. The residency will occur between September 2025 and July 2026, with specific dates to be arranged in agreement with the successful applicant and the academy.

To apply or learn more about the selection criteria, visit the RMIT University website.