Arham Khan will use the £9,000 award to research the environmental and social impacts of AI data centres in the global south and United States
Arham Khan, of the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture and Environmental Studies in Mumbai, has won the 2025 RIBA Norman Foster travelling scholarship.
Khan’s proposal, titled Clouds Without Rain, seeks to investigate the environmental, architectural and ethical implications of artificial intelligence infrastructure. The research will focus on six major data centres located in Ashburn, Virginia, São Paulo, Nairobi, Manila, Chennai and Mumbai, using fieldwork, interviews, visual and spatial analysis, and local policy study.
The annual £9,000 scholarship, established in 2006, is open to architecture students worldwide and is intended to support original research into the sustainable future of cities.
Khan said: “I am honoured to have been selected as the winner of the 2025 RIBA Norman Foster travelling scholarship. I’d like to thank the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture and Environmental Studies for nominating me, and the judging panel of the scholarship for selecting me.
“This opportunity will allow me to carry out critical research into the global impact of data centres and how they shape our urban and environmental future.”
The 2025 judging panel comprised Norman Foster, David Jenkins, Muyiwa Oki, Sumita Singha, Richard Dilworth and Narinder Sagoo.
Foster said: “The judging panel was impressed by the range and quality of all 80 submissions. Our deliberations were rigorous – initially, we focused on the narrative of the entries but, on further interrogation, Clouds Without Rain emerged as a clear winner owing to its excellent visual clarity and clear descriptive text.”
Oki, the RIBA president, said: “The review panel received a high number of brilliant proposals on a range of topics such as the politics of waste, the transformation of cities affected by war and conflict, and the impact of sea-level rise. We were thoroughly impressed by the calibre of entries.
“After much careful consideration and debate, we are thrilled to award the scholarship to Arham Khan for Clouds Without Rain.”
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