2025 Gertrude Lempp Kerbis Prize
About
Honoring the Chicago Women in Architecture (CWA) founder, Gertrude Lempp Kerbis (1926–2016), this annual prize for female students in their final year of an accredited undergraduate or graduate architecture program is made possible by the Kerbis family with support from the Chicago Women in Architecture Foundation (CWAF). Each fall there is an open call for outstanding design studio projects and applications are reviewed by a jury including CWA Executive Committee members, officers from the CWAF Board of Directors, and other recognized architecture practitioners.
Two Gertrude Lempp Kerbis Prizes are given every year. Both the winner and honorable mention are announced at the CWA Spring Brunch where the winning awardees present their work. The awarded projects are also featured on the CWA website. Additionally, Kerbis Prize recipients receive a one-year membership to CWA and two complimentary tickets to the CWA Spring Brunch.
The Chicago Women in Architecture Foundation continues to grow the capacity of this scholarship program. To date, winners of the Gertrude Lempp Kerbis Prize are awarded $3,000 and honorable mention scholarships average $2,000. The awarded scholarship is unrestricted.
Eligibility
Applicants must be female architecture undergraduate or graduate students in their final year of study from a National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB)-accredited architecture program in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana:
- Illinois Institute of Technology
- Judson University
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Southern Illinois University Carbondale
- University of Illinois at Chicago
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee
- Ball State University
- University of Notre Dame
There is no limit of student submissions per school.
Schedule
The application is available in October and due in January. Winners will be notified in early February and celebrated in April.
2024
October 1st, 2024: GLK Registration opens
January 10th, 2025, 12pm CST: GLK Submission Deadline
February 6, 2024: Winners Notified
Winner Announcement: CWA Spring Brunch, April, 2025 *date TBD*
*Winners are expected to keep this date open in order to accept the award and exhibit their work
Please see the Submission Guidelines for detailed instructions regarding the submission requirements and our FAQ page for some answers to frequently asked questions. The Group Work Memorandum can be found here and the Project Summary template is located here.