Congratulations to Derek Russell, recipient of a 2025 Project Support Award Ecuador!

After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree in Architecture, Derek is undertaking architectural design research in Ecuador. His project, Cañ & Ara: Mending Climates with Vernacular Cosmovisions, aims to convene a 2-day Plurinational Craft Council that would include artisans and craftspeople from various indigenous nations to share architectural knowledge of indigenous construction.

Funding for this project by the Lois Roth Foundation will go towards covering the costs of artisan attendance and presentation of their work, event materials, as well as a donation of gratitude to the Seikoya community hosting the event. 

Through his research, Derek hopes to gain ancestral and community knowledge on sustainable building for disaster mitigation, integrating some of this knowledge into sustainable architectural design.