Lavesstiftung

The Laves Foundation is a legal foundation under civil law headquartered in the Laveshaus in Hanover. It was established in 1998 by the Lower Saxony Chamber of Architects as a foundation to support young professionals and was transformed in 2007 into an institution with a social mandate. The foundation documents the Hanoverian building tradition of court master builder Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves and promotes projects in building culture through the awarding of the Laves Prize, discussion series ("Architecture in Dialogue"), support of exhibitions, the establishment of a Lower Saxony architectural archive, as well as the promotion of publications and research projects.

The Laves Foundation is committed to supporting young architects, interior designers, landscape architects, and urban planners in Lower Saxony and beyond, and to strengthening the public discourse on building culture. It understands building as a cultural process in which quality and sustainability arise through cooperation, education, and public engagement.

The funding programs of the Laves Foundation are primarily aimed at students, graduates, and young professionals in the fields of architecture, interior architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning. Furthermore, the foundation addresses the interested public to raise awareness of building culture and supports research institutions, cultural organizations, as well as initiatives that engage with issues related to building and thinking about the built environment.