New York University’s (NYU) Schack Institute of Real Estate launched a new fellowship, Building Better Cities Collaborative (BBCC). The deadline to submit to the fellowship program is July 29.
The BBCC seeks “high-potential” professionals working across the built environment—architecture, real estate, finance, community development, tech, policy—with between 7 and 15 years work experience.
BBCC connects fellows with one another and its network to generate proposals aimed at making cities more “sustainable, equitable, and profitable,” per a mission statement.
The program will offer fellows opportunities for research and design development, and to launch ideas into the open through leadership training and market positioning.
Marc Norman, NYU Schack associate dean, is collaborating with Will Hunter, London School of Architecture founder, on the fellowship. Hunter met Norman when he was a Loeb Fellow in 2021 at Harvard.
The industry network that comprises the BBCC also includes Roberto Bannura, a partner at Steven Holl Architects who participated in the pilot cohort last fall; RIBA Gold Medal–winner Niall McLaughlin; and leaders from KPF, SOM, Henning Larsen, Arup, and Kieran Timberlake, among other offices.
Hunter told AN part of the goal with the BBCC is “integrating architects and designers more with the development community” to generate “better outcomes for cities.”
“The ultimate thing we’re seeking, through this program,” Hunter continued, “is that we might help drive innovation within cities at a moment of major tech evolution.”
The cohort will be spread across London and New York.
For two days at the beginning of the fall semester, in 2026, the cohort will convene in New York City, where it will tour development sites in Gowanus. At the beginning of the spring semester, the cohort will meet in London for another two days, where McLaughlin will lead a charrette.
Fellows will work together on a collaborative group project and an individual fellowship studio project. Hunter anticipates projects that delve into the future of infrastructure, housing, healthcare, and other sectors. The outcomes will be published in white papers, and through other channels.
Hunter said BBCC will leverage NYU’s global campuses in the future, to plug fellows into the international arena.
