2026 Independent Project Residency at the Block House

About the Open Call

The Institute for Public Architecture (IPA) welcomes applications for the 2026 Independent Project Residency based at the historic Block House on Governors Island. The IPA Independent Project Residency program invites emerging and mid-career practitioners – whose work focuses on the public realm – to live and work during an eleven-week live-in Residency at the IPA Block House on Governors Island. The Residency seeks to create new interdisciplinary opportunities for collective thinking by providing communal space for architects, urbanists, landscape architects, designers, artists, and researchers to live, work, and develop independent projects within the community of the residency. Applicants will bring their own interests to the program and will have opportunities to engage with the public, interact with the context of Governors Island, and develop an activation to be displayed during a final culminating public event at the Block House. IPA Fellows are among the first civilian residents to live on the Island since the Coast Guard’s exit in 1996, enjoying unparalleled historic, natural, and urban resources with direct access to downtown Manhattan and waterfront Brooklyn neighborhoods via ferry. The program is designed for applicants with research and design projects at any stage of development who would benefit from sharing their work in the collective, interdisciplinary context of the Residency. Fellows’ work can be presented in any format: academic papers, articles, and/or book chapters, film, sound, installations, drawings, models, and other media. The program will culminate in an exhibition at the Block House, and Fellows’ work will be published on the IPA’s digital channels and website. Programming includes Open [Block] House events, Open Library access, IPA TEST KITCHEN dinner series, and other public programs. An Independent Selection Committee composed of experts within the fields of architecture and design will review applications. Preference will be given to project proposals that clearly benefit from being based at the Block House on Governors Island and its connections to New York City. The Residency centers on the values of communal living and shared creative development.

What is Offered

Eleven-week live-in residency at the historic Block House; communal living environment; access to studio and library; opportunities for public engagement and interaction with Governors Island and NYC context; final culminating public event/exhibition; publication of work on IPA’s digital channels and website; curated Dinner series; occasional communal meals; high-speed internet; private bedroom with climate control; shared bathrooms and laundry; fully-equipped shared kitchen; common workspaces and living areas; outdoor areas; 24-hour Island security; unlimited ferry rides between Governors Island and Manhattan.

Requirements

Open to local and global emerging and mid-career practitioners working across disciplines with an emphasis on the public realm. Not open to current students. Applicants should have a clearly developed focus and/or approach. Fellows are expected to live and work collectively, regularly engaging in communal cohort activities, purchase their own groceries and personal items (except occasional catered events), keep private and communal areas tidy, participate in public presentations of work, and submit work completed to the IPA before conclusion of the program. Collaborators may apply individually.

How to Apply

Applicants should submit the following documentation through the online form: Statement of interest (max 500 words) describing how they would use their time, the relevance of the location, and benefits; Research/Design proposal (max 500 words); Two references with full name and current email addresses; Curriculum vitae (PDF, max 5MB); Work samples or portfolio (PDF, max 10MB). Links to outside websites or files are not accepted. Apply via the provided Airtable link.