The James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation

An Award to Honor the Life and Work of Richard Blinder

Richard Blinder, FAIA, a graduate of Harvard School of Architecture and the University of Cincinnati, was a founding partner of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners and past Chair of the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation. He died at the age of 71 on September 7, 2006 in China, where he was designing the Shanghai Cultural Plaza, including a new theater, restoration of existing buildings and a large urban park.

His work as an architect involved the intersection of old and new -- that is, preservation through restoration, combined with contemporary architecture, in order to adapt the old for ongoing use.  Much of his career was devoted to the design of cultural facilities – theaters, museums, art centers, schools, and libraries. Among his notable projects along these lines were his addition to the Montclair Art Museum, the renovating and combining of three existing buildings to form the Center for Jewish History and the transformation of Barney’s department store into the Rubin Museum for Himalayan Art.  At Beyer Blinder Belle his work was often done in collaboration with James Marston Fitch, who joined the firm in 1979 as a principal and Director of Historic Preservation.  In 1989 Richard Blinder was instrumental in setting up the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation (originally the Fitch Trust) and served as its president until 2001.

It is in the spirit of Richard Blinder's work and his collaboration with James Marston Fitch and in recognition of his extraordinary ability to integrate preservation and innovation in the creative process that the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation has created the Richard Blinder Award for studies that explore the architecture of cultural buildings which integrate historic preservation and new construction – past, present and future.  

The Award

The Richard Blinder Award will be presented bi-annually by the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation for the best proposal exploring the preservation of an existing structure, complex of buildings or genre of building type through addition, renovation or other means for use for a cultural purpose.  The subject of the submission may be a real project or a polemical exercise; in either case originality is highly valued.  The proposal must demonstrate that it fosters architectural preservation in the United States. 

The Award is for a sum not to exceed $15,000.  It will be granted to an architect holding a professional degree or a valid license to practice architecture.  Grants are awarded only to individuals, not organizations or university-sponsored research projects.  Grants are not awarded for professional fees.  The tangible end product is to be delivered within 12 months as a paper, lecture, presentation or similar effort suitable for dissemination in an architectural or preservation periodical, a recognized conference, an exhibition, etc.


Submission Requirements

Applicants are required to submit seven (7) copies of the following:

Cover page including the following: project title, name of applicant(s) including primary contact person, applicant address, phone, and email.  Please specify which grant you seek - Fitch Mid-Career or Richard Blinder Award.

Brief description of project including work product.  This description is not to exceed three (3) pages.
Applicants are encouraged to be succinct.  Please include drawings as appropriate, size not to exceed 11x17.

Detailed schedule of work and budget showing the amount requested and how the grant money will be spent.

Curriculum Vita, including professional and academic background and past and present grants received.

Two (2) letters of support for the project to be included with the application.  Please include seven (7) copies of each letter of support.

Applications should be stapled, clipped, or spiral-bound.  Please no three-ring binders or folders.

Please note that materials submitted for review with proposals will not be returned. To verify receipt, please send a stamped, self-addressed postcard.

The next application deadline is Friday, September 19, 2008 (postmark deadline).

Selection

Applications are reviewed by the Trustees of the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation. The criteria for selection are:

*    Background, qualifications and professional experience of the applicant, who must be an architect holding a professional degree in architecture or a valid license to practice architecture.
*    A demonstrated need for the proposed study and evidence of its value to advance the practice of architectural preservation in the United States.
*    Feasibility of the proposed research, work product, schedule and budget.
*    Complete submittal of all of the requirements.


Award and Completion

Recipients will be notified by mail in the following Spring. Awarding of the grant is at the discretion of the foundation. The award is divided into four equal payments, the first being presented upon award of the grant. Projects are required to be completed within twelve (12) months of the grant award, except where an extension is approved by the Trustees. Written progress reports are required for the 2nd and the 3rd payments. The final payment is awarded only after completion of the project and submission of 3 copies of the completion report.