LOM seeks applicants for student travel bursary in memory of Karla Roman

Shoreditch-based practice LOM is currently accepting entries for its annual travel scholarship valued at £2,500, with a deadline set for 3 May 2024.

Established in memory of Karla Roman, a colleague who tragically lost her life while cycling to work in February 2017, LOM initiated the annual travel bursary to honour her legacy.

Roman’s career spanned the UK, Italy, and her native Brazil. The Karla Roman Travel Bursary aims to provide architecture students with similar opportunities for educational travel.

The bursary is open to both UK and international students at any stage of their architecture or related studies, whether full-time or part-time undergraduates or postgraduates. Students can apply for up to £2,500 to support their travel endeavours, with the selection process prioritising creativity, compelling reasoning, and financial need.

Previous recipient of the bursary, Farid Abdulla, commented on his involvement, stating, “Experiencing a change of environment facilitated a cognitive shift and a clarity of thought, particularly regarding my career as a designer and urbanist.

“I discovered layers of imagination that I will continue to nurture, as well as an appreciation for where best to place myself when I finish my studies. The bursary allowed me to have a beautiful experience that has forever changed me.”

LOM director, Richard Hutchinson added that Karla Roman was “an extraordinarily talented colleague who rapidly became a key member of our team, set on course for a very promising career but was taken far too soon.

“It was therefore deeply important to us all at the practice to establish this bursary in 2018 in Karla’s name to help expand the minds and experiences of other aspiring designers.”

Another previous winner of the award, Eleanor Hyde, said that “The opportunity to travel to a country with a very different culture from the UK has proved to be an invaluable experience to my thinking as an architect, informing my design approach, broadening my knowledge and helping to shape my way of thinking in the future.”

Applicants interested in the 2024 bursary are encouraged to submit their applications by 3 May 2024, with travel expected to take place during the summer months, approximately between June and October 2024.