arch+black

Moody/Nolan, Inc.

2010-05-24T10:52:00.003-04:00

Morehouse College 1996 Olympic Basketball Arena & Site Venue

Moody•Nolan, Inc. served as the Architect-of-Record for the Olympic Basketball Venue Arena which housed the preliminary rounds of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games men’s and women’s basketball tournament. To meet the aggressive 20 month design and construction schedule, Moody•Nolan developed a project management system that constantly kept the owner abreast of the project, working closely with the consultants and pre-selected general contractor. Following the games, the facility was given to Morehouse College. The 6,000 seat (2,000 retractable) basketball arena, used for international broadcast, was an addition to an existing gymnasium and pool facility and designed for multi-event use by student recreation and athletics.

Black Architect Gave Form to Duke Campus

2010-05-24T10:48:00.001-04:00

NY Times Letter to the Editor by Joyce Mendelsohn
New York, Sept. 22, 1993

http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/04/opinion/l-black-architect-gave-form-to-duke-campus-504893.html

No mention is made in the controversy over Duke University's efforts to add black faculty members (front page, Sept. 19) that much of the Duke campus was designed by a black architect, Julian Francis Abele.

Born in Philadelphia in 1881, Abele received a degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. With financial support from Horace Trumbauer, the architect, he went on to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and became its first American black graduate. Abele returned to Philadelphia to join Trumbauer's firm, where he was chief designer from 1909 to 1938, the date of Trumbauer's death, after which he was a partner until his own death in 1950.

Freelon Adjaye Bond/ SmithGroup project

2009-04-14T22:20:00.004-04:00

The Smithsonian Newsdesk posts photos from the design competition

http://newsdesk.si.edu/images_full/images/museums/nmaahc/nmaahc/Models/Freelon_Adjaye_Bond/FAB_SG_pressimage_view_from_monument_grounds.jpg

http://newsdesk.si.edu/images_full/images/museums/nmaahc/nmaahc/Models/Freelon_Adjaye_Bond/FAB_SG_pressimage_view_of_centralhall.jpg

http://newsdesk.si.edu/images_full/images/museums/nmaahc/nmaahc/Selected_model/fb5.jpg

http://newsdesk.si.edu/images_full/images/museums/nmaahc/nmaahc/Selected_model/fb2.jpg

http://newsdesk.si.edu/images_full/images/museums/nmaahc/nmaahc/Selected_model/fb1.jpg

http://newsdesk.si.edu/images_full/images/museums/nmaahc/nmaahc/Selected_model/nmaahc%20models_0076.jpg

Adam Fagen's flickr photos

2009-04-05T23:49:00.012-04:00

The models from the six finalists to design the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture were on display at the Smithsonian Institution Building (Smithsonian Castle), Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Adam Fagen of Arlington, VA has posted some personal photos of the Smithsonian exhibit models on his flickr site.

Foster + Partners/URS Group
Moody/Nolan in association with Antoine Predock Architect PC
Freelon Group, Adjaye Associates and Davis Brody Bond, in association with SmithGroup
Devrouax + Purnell Architects and Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects
Design from Moshe Safdie and Associates in association with Sulton Campbell Britt & Associates
Diller Scofidio + Renfro in association w/ KlingStubbins

Thanks Adam

Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Stanley Beaman & Sears Design : Center for Civil & Human Rights, Altanta, GA

2009-04-02T03:37:00.004-04:00

Moody Nolan, Predock, Goode Van Slyke Design : Center for Civil & Human Rights, Altanta, GA

2009-04-02T03:31:00.004-04:00

Freelon/HOK : Center for Civil & Human Rights, Altanta, GA

2009-04-01T03:19:00.000-04:00

Doug Shipman, the Executive Director of Atlanta's new Center for Civil and Human Rights posted the following information to his blog
"It's been a great process-- 700+ people at the public presentations, thousands reading the blog and many posting comments. The jury and the Board of CCHR agreed that Freelon/HOK was the team for the Center. We are thrilled to have them as architectural designers for the project. As you can see-- they provided an iconic design, but as we know designs evolve and improve. "

William Sidney Pittman : Knights of Pythias

2009-02-05T23:25:00.000-05:00

Justin Terveen is a photographer that has a flickr page called "about the urban fabric". One of his images highlights the work of William Sidney Pittman.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninjatune/3060256687/

KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS
Location: 2551 Elm Street

The Knights of Pythias, also known as the Union Bankers Building, is Deep Ellum’s most significant historic building. Designed in 1916 by William Sidney Pittman, Dallas’ first African-American architect, the Knights of Pythias was an important social and commercial center for the African-American community in Dallas. The building is a City of Dallas historic landmark, which affords it protection from demolition as well as potential historic preservation tax incentives. Still, the Knights of Pythias sits vacant and unused. While the owners have recently taken steps to better secure the building, this cultural landmark should be put back into use. We urge the owners to either sell the building or take steps to sensitively restore this exceptionally significant landmark.

Harvey N. Johnson

2009-01-05T23:37:00.000-05:00

A flickr page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/earthangel_images/2170710030/) presents the Attucks Theater in Norfolk and states that "Harvey N. Johnson, a noted African-American architect, was selected to design this facility. " Additional information about the theatre can be found on http://www.attuckstheatre.org/

The page states the following
"The Attucks Theatre during its heyday was the focal point of entertainment, business, and racial pride in Norfolk’s African American community because it was strategically located on Church Street, one of the most important and oldest thoroughfares in the city. Church street can be traced back at least to 1637 in Norfolk County’s Deed Books. It was originally known as the “road leading out of town,” because it was the only land route by which travelers could enter or leave the town."

Paul R. Williams (flickr group)

2009-01-05T23:22:00.002-05:00

A flickr group is dedicated to the work of Paul R. Williams. Please carefully read their copyright requirements.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/paulrwilliams/pool/

Clarence W. Wigington

2008-11-04T22:39:00.002-05:00

Clarence Wesley "Cap" Wigington (1883-1967) was an African-American architect who grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. After winning three first prizes in charcoal, pencil, and pen and ink at an art competition during the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in 1899, Wigington went on to become a renowned architect across the Midwestern United States. It was a time when there were few African-American architects in the entire United States. Wigington was the nation's first black municipal architect, serving as senior designer for the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota's architectural office for 34 years when the city had an ambitious building program. Sixty of his buildings still stand in Saint Paul, with several recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. His architectural legacy constitutes one of the most significant bodies of work by an African-American architect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_W._Wigington

Diversity Matters

2008-11-03T22:11:00.000-05:00

Diversity in architecture can be achieved, Sharon Sutton, PhD, FAIA, told 2006 Grassroots Leadership and Legislative Conference attendees in her February 9 keynote address. But despite many steps forward, she said it is clear that the profession and the society that it serves have not realized that potential. “Only through a candid and honest examination of the structural inequities embedded in our past and present can we move toward a brighter and more inclusive future,” Sutton said. “Our 150-year celebration demands no less than a fundamental metamorphosis.”

Culling evidence from four recent research studies, Sutton said, “In a nutshell, the field has made insufficient progress on diversity, has a white macho culture framed by educational experiences, engages in discriminatory employment practices, suffers from a glass-ceiling phenomenon and attrition, and socially isolates underrepresented individuals.” Sutton challenged the audience: “What is the relevance of these findings? Why should you as leaders in architecture who have spent your day hobnobbing with important politicians worry about these problems?”

Sutton had a ready answer: “Diversity in architecture is not only an ethical imperative, it is vital to the continued creativity, competitiveness, and survival of the field.”

http://www.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek06/0224/0224sutton.cfm

Philip G. Freelon, FAIA, The Freelon Group

2008-11-01T23:15:00.000-04:00

While some African-American architects feel that they are straddling the fault line of the racial divide, Philip Freelon, founding partner of The Freelon Group, embraces the notion of working and competing within the mainstream architecture profession. He believes that the vocabulary and palette of contemporary American architecture is rich enough to allow for the appropriate interpretation of most building programs. Freelon chooses to address his client’s desires for “appropriate” solutions as he applies Modern design principles.

Freelon’s parents and grandparents were well-educated and gave him a deep appreciation of Modern design. His own education was at Hampton, N.C. State, MIT, and the Harvard GSD, where he was a Loeb Fellow.

In his first 12 years in practice, he was an associate at 3D/I and, at O’Brien/Atkins Associates in Research Triangle Park, N.C. vice president of architecture and the youngest shareholder. With his own firm, he has received 23 AIA design awards at the regional, state and local levels.

When clients visit his offices in the Research Triangle Park, NC, they see the diversity. He presently has a combined staff of 51; 30 percent are people of color. While Freelon concedes he has been more fortunate than many African-American architects regarding commissions from corporate clients, much of the firm’s work still comes from the public sector, and that trying to do innovative work on a limited budget is a challenge.

Freelon incorporates African images or symbolism on buildings, only where appropriate, he says: “My roots are in Africa and the branches and leaves grew in America.” He uses jazz as a comparison, where the use of instruments was reconceived to express freedom and creativity.

Richard Lewis Brown (1854 - 1948)

2008-10-05T22:01:00.000-04:00

Jacksonville's first known black architect, R. L. Brown, was born in poverty in 1854 in South Carolina. By the close of the Civil War, he had moved with his family to Florida, settling first in Lake City and then in Jacksonville. He learned to read and write at an early age, and his first job was at a printing company. After his marriage in 1875, this thrifty and talented man worked at several additional occupations, including carpenter, farmer, and minister. Brown was able to purchase several acres of land in East Jacksonville, including the site of the school that now bears his name. He served two terms in the Florida House of Representatives from 1881 to 1884. Employed for many years by the Duval County School Board to repair and construct schools, he became quite proficient at the building trade. One of his notable achievements was serving as contractor for Centennial Hall at Edward Waters College. Although he had no formal architectural training, by 1920 he was designing as well as constructing buildings and listing himself as an architect.

AIA National Associates Committee (NAC)

2008-10-02T23:05:00.000-04:00

The May 6, 2004 report by the AIA National Associates Committee (NAC) on "Diversity in the Architecture Profession."

The AIA National Associates Committee (NAC), representing the associate members of the Institute, believes that diversity in the field of architecture is a topic that must be seriously addressed at all levels of the profession. To this end, we encourage discussion, thought, and action in the schools of architecture, in architecture firms, at all levels of the AIA, and among individual architects, both in traditional and nontraditional roles, to help move us forward in an increasingly diverse direction.

For the full report see http://www.aia.org/SiteObjects/files/NACDiversityWhitePaper.pdf

Walter T. Bailey

2008-10-01T23:22:00.000-04:00

Walter T. Bailey (1882-1941) became the first African-American to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering at UIUC in 1904 (Fig. 3). In 1910 he received an honorary Master’s Degree in architecture from UIUC. Bailey hailed from Kewanee, Illinois, where he attended Kewanee High School. He arrived on campus in 1900. Following his graduation, he worked briefly for Harry Eckland, an architect in Kewanee, and for Spencer & Temple, an architectural firm in Champaign. During that time he assisted in planning Colonel Wolfe School in Champaign (1905). That same year, he was appointed Head of the Mechanical Industries Department at Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama, where he also supervised the planning, design, and construction supervision of all new campus buildings. While at Tuskegee he designed White Hall (1908), a girls’ dormitory, as well as two churches in Montgomery, Alabama (1910, 1912). He remained at Tuskegee until 1916 when he opened an office on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, a street nicknamed “a main street of Negro America.”

The Knights of Pythian, a large national fraternal order of African-Americans formed in the post-Civil War era, comprised a significant clientele for Bailey. It provided programs for recreation, racial and social advancement, life insurance, and death benefits; as well as aid to the sick, persons with disabilities, elderly, orphans, and widows. During Bailey’s career in Memphis, he designed the Mosaic State Temple Building (1922) and the Pythian Theater Building (1922-23), both in Little Rock, Arkansas. He also designed the Pythian Bath House and Sanitarium in Hot Springs, Arkansas (1923), a recreational facility exclusively for African-Americans (Figs. 4-5). Ironically, although many African-Americans served as laborers in Hot Springs’ elaborate bath houses, they were prohibited from using them. The Pythian Bath House provided a respite from the oppressive world of Jim Crowe.

In 1924 Bailey moved his practice to Chicago, site of two of his major projects: The National Pythian Temple (1927), and the First Church of Deliverance (1939). Both served as icons of African-American achievement and power on Chicago’s South Side, a region then commonly referred to as Bronzeville or Black Metropolis and a destination for those escaping the South during the Great Migration. When it was completed, the National Pythian Temple, an eight-story building with a steel frame, yellow brick facing, and decorative terra cotta reliefs, was one of the tallest buildings in the area. It provided an auditorium for large gatherings, commercial and office space for African-American businesses, as well as residential apartment units. Bailey’s design for the First Church of Deliverance expansion, also on Chicago’s South Side, became an Art Moderne landmark. The church was known for its gospel music and radio broadcast ministries, and its architectural style was a reflection of these new religious mediums. In response to its radio broadcasts, the congregation swelled and needed expansion.

Bailey died of pneumonia in 1941. Although his work was overlooked for decades, he was rediscovered as the subject of a 2002 Masters’ thesis as well as one of two UIUC African-American architecture alumni featured in the 2004 publication, African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary 1865-1945 .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bey, Lee, “Black Designer All But Forgotten,” Chicago Sun-Times (February 9, 1998), p. D13.

Kriz, Mikael David. Walter T. Bailey and the African American Patron. Master’s Thesis, Art History Program, School of Art and Design, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2002.

Lee, George Washington. “Poetic Memories of Beale Street,” West Tennessee Historical Society Papers 28 (1969), p. 65.

Building a Legacy : John Chase

2008-09-30T14:24:00.005-04:00

In a sea of white faces, John Saunders Chase waited patiently amid the stares and glares of the swarm of humanity surrounding him. Cameras flashed as reporters hurled questions at him and jotted down his responses.

It was June 7, 1950. Chase, an African American, was smartly dressed in a double-breasted coat and tie, as he stood in line in Gregory Gym at The University of Texas at Austin. Only vaguely aware of the name Heman Marion Sweatt, Chase wasn’t standing in line with the intention of making history. Nor was he purposefully making a statement about social injustice. He, like the thousands of other students in the gym, waited in line for a basic rite of passage on a university campus. He was waiting to enroll.

Just two days prior, the United States Supreme Court had ruled in favor of desegregation in three separate civil rights cases. Two of the cases, McLaurin v. Oklahoma State and Henderson v. United States, focused on banning separate facilities at a university and prohibiting segregated seating arrangements on railroad cars, respectively.

The third case, Sweatt v. Painter, concerned equal education opportunities—specifically, the right of African Americans to enroll in the School of Law at The University of Texas at Austin. The court voted in favor of desegregation of graduate and professional schools (the undergraduate level did not desegregate until the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954) and The University of Texas at Austin became the first major public university in the south to open its doors to African Americans.

Chase, born in Annapolis, Md., was 25 years old at the time. Although nervous, he recalls being befuddled at the fanfare that greeted his arrival.

“I remember, specifically, a photographer who talked non-stop to me about making history and getting the ‘right moment’ on film,” Chase said. “He told me that I wasn’t officially accepted into the university until it became a ‘contract’—in other words, until the university took my money. He was right there next to me at that moment to snap a photo.”

http://www.utexas.edu/features/2008/chase/

Black Boxes: Enigmas of Space and Race

2008-09-29T14:19:00.000-04:00

Black Boxes: Enigmas of Space and Race was a two-day symposium on race and its role in the built environment that will be held Jan. 16 and 17 at the Yale School of Architecture in New Haven, Connecticut. The event was organized by Ms. Newsom, a second-year graduate student at the School.

An article by Jennifer Newsom is posted at http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/story.php?artid=63
The article closes with the following
The goal of Black Boxes is not to validate one opinion or put forth an ideological stance: it is simply to speak, reveal, and contribute verbally and openly. After all, we must acknowledge that what we make is not neutral. We must demystify the other and render difference commonplace rather than exotic. We must move beyond binaries, into a sort of enmeshed existence.
In order for us to fill the silence and surpass a cursory tokenism, we need to communicate. Black Boxes will provide the stage for this discussion. And it will continue to be an important discussion, for, as the scholar Cornel West notes, “the struggle with difference is what is and will be taking place in cultural architectural practices for the next 10, 20, 30 years.”

Twisted: African-American Architects and Signature Commissions

2008-09-28T14:17:00.000-04:00

Craig Wilkins, PhD
University of Michigan College of Architecture + Urban Planning

Recently several choice, culturally specific museum commissions were awarded to equally choice, culturally specific architects. In and of itself, this is not unusual or even particularly noteworthy. Although choice commissions are not the most frequent of commissions awarded to architects, they come regularly enough to keep several professional magazines, critics, authors, and even a cultural institutions or two turning a profit. However, the recent commissions for the Museum of African American Music in Newark; the National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg, Va.; and the Museum for African Art in New York City are indeed noteworthy, primarily for two reasons. The first is that the material culture that authorizes these institutions is quintessentially African American, which as a raison d’etre for architecture is still rare, and the second is that the authors chosen to shape those culturally specific elements are still neither rare nor African American.

Despite the exchanges—or more accurately, lack thereof—emerging in architectural and African-American communities surrounding the recent awarding of the Museum of African American Music to the Hillier Group, the National Slavery Museum to Chien Chung Pei, and the Museum for African Art to Robert A.M. Stern, with the development of similar projects on the horizon, it is not unreasonable to expect at least the African-American community to grow concerned about these choices. It is also not unreasonable to expect the architectural community to remain unconcerned about the same. So, situated as I am in both the architectural and African American communities, I feel somewhat compelled to address the selection of architects charged with communicating African-American history, particularly since I see the awarding of these commissions going beyond a concern about a particular edifice and indicative of one much broader. That broader concern—which by the way, isn’t only a cultural one, but also a professional one as well—is centered on the fact that African-American architects, historically and presently, are routinely denied serious consideration for commissions of substantial size, scope, and symbolic importance.

Given this state of affairs, in the context of current and future projects designated to represent aspects of African-American life, art, history, and culture, I think it a worthwhile project not only to make visible this transparent condition, but also to examine reasons why these omissions persist. I submit they persist primary due to archaic conflations of race and ability and thus, I will take the opportunity presented by these commissions to look closer into the ways in which race subtly shapes the study and practice of architecture. For brevity’s sake, I’ll specifically concentrate on three of the most frequently provided and commonly accepted reasons for the dearth of African-American architects invited to compete for high profile projects: existence, experience, and aesthetics.

the full essay can be seen at
http://blog.aia.org/aiarchitect/2007/10/twisted_africanamerican_archit.html#more

The Dresser Trunk Project

2008-09-26T13:49:00.000-04:00

The Dresser Trunk Project is the recovery of lost stories, memories, and places of refuge for travelling black musicians playing in the Chitlinâ€™ Circuit during segregation. Inspired by the Cornell boxes, 11 participants designed trunks that each tells the story of a place of refuge in an era of segregation. This place may be a hotel, a residence, a club, a section of a train station or even a Negro League baseball park. The stories will include who passed through and how their experiences at that location may have influenced culture and music. All places are located in a city served by the Southern Crescent Line.

Eleven cities have been identified from New York to New Orleans. For each city, a dresser trunk was designed similar to those used by musicians on their travels. The trunks contain stories, photographs, maps, hotel registers, and images of the way places looked during their travels and speculations on their future. The trunks are planned to tour each of the eleven sites by train, as well as be exhibited in an Amtrak train car. Before the exhibition gets on its trail, it will be exhibited in Extension.

The Dresser Trunk Project is significant in its preservation of a unique cultural heritage that is being lost to the ravages of time and the pressures of development. It strives to link isolated places together in a chain that gives each their rightful place in architectural, music and cultural history.

Participants include Felecia Davis, Yolande Daniels, William Daryl Williams, Lisa Henry-Benham, Mabel Wilson, Mario Gooden, David Brown, Craig Barton, Scott Ruff, Nat Belcher and Walter Hood. The exhibit has traveled to the Extension Gallery for Architecture in Chicago, and the UVa Art Museum in Charlottesville. The DTP will be on display at Howard University during the annual NOMA convention, and at the University of Pennsylvania, November 10th-21st.

http://www.williamdarylwilliams.com/Site/DTP_Gallery.html

Diversity: What the Numbers Tell Us

2008-09-04T23:08:00.000-04:00

In June 2004, AIA Convention delegates resolved to strengthen the demographic diversity of the design profession, including “access to the profession and career advancement for minorities, women, and other groups.” Honoring that resolution, AIArchitect offers a series by renowned architecture author Stephen A. Kliment, FAIA. In this first installment, Kliment sets the stage for his upcoming examinations of trail-blazing African-American architects and their work.

http://www.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek06/1013/1013rc_face.cfm

PodCast : YAF150at150: Jack Travis, FAIA

2008-08-04T23:52:00.000-04:00

Jack Travis, FAIA discusses personal experiences and influences while answering the YAF 150 at 150 Project questions. 1) How did you become the architect you are today? Jack relates his upbringing in Las Vegas, the impact of private school early on in his life, and how his experiences let him to architecture. 2) Who was your mentor? Jack lists his mentors and the phases of his career they fit into. He then challenges listeners to seek out mentors who are right for them. “Be bold and humble.” 3) What was your greatest challenge? Drawing. Jack explains his struggle with drawing and how he has worked to overcome it. It is clear that Jack Travis has committed himself to the development of youth and young architects.

http://soloso.aia.org/stellent/groups/ek_public/documents/audio/AIAP037268.mp3

Office/MA: Black Urbanism

2008-07-27T14:10:00.000-04:00

Rarely do we allow much thought to seemingly generic labels such as "urban." Outside the cloistered world of architecture, "urban" has become a synonym for "Black and Latino" where it is used to describe things from fashion to music. Facing this reality is the explicit purview of The Office for Metropolitan Alternatives (Office/MA), a group founded by Paul Goodwin and John Oduroe to investigate how the aesthetics of Black Diasporic culture could influence and inspire architectural form making.

As the director of the Re-Visioning Black Urbanism at the Centre for Urban and Community Research (CUCR) at Goldsmiths College in London, Paul Goodwin explores how multiple modes of 'blackness' engage with the dynamics of contemporary urbanism in the UK. At one of his seminars, Paul met John Oduroe, a young architect in London on a Fulbright Scholarship.

It may appear that their project shares much in common with Teddy Cruz, who draws from the spatial strategies of border communities and shantytowns in order to build a more adaptive architecture. But then - Cruz doesn't exactly brand his research as "Latin urbanism." So is "Black urbanism" just a provocation, or do the spatial resistance strategies of urban black communities differ from other immigrant and diasporic communities?

http://archinect.com/features/article.php?id=79983_0_23_0_M

Diversity Within the AIA

2008-07-04T23:16:00.000-04:00

A Snapshot of AIA Members (as of September 16, 2008)

Architects
14% licensed female architects
1% licensed African-American architects
4% licensed Asian architects
3% licensed Hispanic architects
Associates
33% of Associate AIA members are women
3% of Associate AIA members identify as African-American
8% of Associate AIA members identify as Asian
8% of Associate AIA members identify as Hispanic

2006 AIA Firm Survey
Women accounted for 16% of firm principals and partners, up from 12% in the 1999 AIA Firm Survey.
Racial and ethnic minorities accounted for 8% of firm principals and partners, up from 6% in 1999.
Of licensed architects in firms, women accounted for 20%, up from 13% in 1999; racial and ethnic minorities accounted for over 11%, up from 8% in 1999.

http://www.aia.org/div_facts

20 on 20/20 Vision: Perspectives on Diversity and Design

2008-06-07T23:21:00.000-04:00

A collection of 10 peer-reviewed and 10 invited essays on diversity in the design profession by interns, educators, senior practitioners and international designers.

http://www.aia.org/SiteObjects/files/20%20on%2020%2020%20Vision%20PDF.pdf

Jack Travis, FAIA

2008-06-04T23:45:00.000-04:00

Jack Travis, FAIA, is owner and principal of Jack Travis Architects, a firm that works to effect urban and environmental design concepts from a black perspective. Among his firm’s clients are Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes, and John Saunders of ABC Sports. In 1992, Travis edited African American Architects: In Current Practice, the first publication to profile the work of black architects practicing in the U.S. In 1994, he founded the Studio for Afri-Culturalism in Architecture and Design, a nonprofit organization that collects, documents, and disseminates information on African Americans and African-American culture. Travis is a professor at Pratt Institute and the Fashion Institute of Technology.

http://www.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek08/0125/0125dp.cfm
http://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/40under40/profiles/1992/1691
http://jacktravis.com/

Emanuel Kelly, FAIA

2007-08-08T06:25:00.002-04:00

Emanuel Kelly, FAIA, was raised in West Philadelphia and has been managing the design, documentation, and construction of architectural, urban design, and planning projects for thirty-six years. He graduated with a degree in architecture from Drexel University in 1971 and received his master’s degree in city planning and urban design from Harvard University in 1974. He returned to Philadelphia in 1976 and, along with Vincent Maiello, AIA, established the architectural and planning firm Kelly/Maiello, Inc. Over the course of his many years in the city his firm has worked on a number of significant projects including the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the Philadelphia Criminal Justice Center, the renovation and preservation of Philadelphia City Hall and many others for local and state government, educational entities, and social service organizations. In addition, his firm has taken a special interest in community revitalization and designing affordable housing for all residents. Mr. Kelly is the father of two grown sons and currently resides in West Philadelphia with his wife.

The Drexel University Libraries presents this online exhibit to honor the work of Drexel graduate Emanuel Kelly. This exhibit highlights just a few of the many projects completed by the Kelly/Maiello firm.

Projects from Kelly/Maiello, Inc.
Church of the Advocate, Philadelphia, PA (The Paul and Christine Washington Family and Community Center, Philadelphia PA)
City Hall, Philadelphia, PA (Interior Restorations and Exterior Envelope Restorations)
Emanuel Recreation Center, Philadelphia, PA
Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA
Pennsylvania School for the Deaf: Early Childhood Center, Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Museum of Art: Perelman Building, Philadelphia, PA

Upcoming Project: Philadelphia National Monument: "a memorial to [George Washington's] slaves and to the presidential house they lived in"Selected from five finalists by city and National Park Service officials, the design of Kelly/Maiello, Inc., a $5.2 million project, will begin to come to life this summer. As the designer of the first national memorial for slaves, Kelly/Maiello has been intimately involved in this important American cultural ground breaking. The project grew out of public outcry in 2002 following the planning for the new Liberty Bell Center, the entrance of which "would compel visitors to walk directly over the unmarked spot where Washington's human chattel labored and slept." Despite the placement of the entrance, there were no plans to make any mention of Washington's slaves in the context of the Liberty Bell exhibit. The 5 years of passionate debate between citizenry and public officials that has followed this debacle will be concluded with the unveiling of the Kelly/Maiello monument. From inception, to design, to construction and opening day, this important monument will prove to be a very public and democratic symbol for Americans and citizens of the world. For more information, see Stephan Salisbury's article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, referenced below.

Salisbury, Stephan. 28 February 2007. "Designer chosen for national monument: A memorial here to slaves, two presidents." The Philadelphia Inquirer. Accessed 23 March 2007 at http://www.philly.com/inquirer/entertainment/20070228_Designer_chosen_for_national_monument.html

http://www.library.drexel.edu/archives/exhibits/emanuelkellyexhibit.html

Mario Gooden, Huff + Gooden Architects

2007-08-01T06:18:00.001-04:00

Mario Gooden received his undergraduate architecture degree from Clemson University where he graduated Magna cum Laude in 1987 and his professional architecture degree from Columbia University in 1990 where he was the recipient of the prestigious McKim Prize. He is a licensed architect in South Carolina, New York, and NCARB certified. His professional experience includes working in the distinguished offices of Zaha Hadid Architect in London in 1989 and Steven Holl Architects in New York from 1992 to 1993.

From 1993 to 2001 Mr. Gooden was an Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Florida where he was recognized as Teacher of the Year in 1996. In 1996 he was also invited to the International Forum of Young Architects. In 1998-1999 he served as a Thesis advisor at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and in 1999 he was a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson. In the fall of 2001 he returned to Columbia University as a Visiting Assistant Professor.

Mr. Gooden has presented papers at numerous Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) conferences and has lectured extensively at various schools of architecture and design conferences. His work has been featured in Architecture Magazine, Architectural Record Magazine, Metropolis, The New York Times, and many other journals and publications. In addition his work has been exhibited at the Netherlands Architecture Institute, National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Architectural League in New York. In 2001 Ray Huff and Mario Gooden were recognized by the Architectural League of New York with the distinguished honor of "Emerging Voices." Huff + Gooden Architects was simultaneously recognized by Architectural Record Magazine as one of six leading firms practicing exceptional architecture outside the "...Centers of Fashion." Recently Mr. Gooden was a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Syracuse University and the Louis I. Kahn Distinguished Professor at Yale University.

http://www.huffgooden.com/
http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/archives/0102HuffGooden.asp
http://archinect.com/links/detail.php?id=42958_0_26_0_M56

Vertner Woodson Tandy

2007-07-30T00:27:00.001-04:00

Vertner Woodson Tandy (b. May 17, 1885, d. November 7, 1949) was one of the seven founders (commonly referred to as The Seven Jewels) of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity at Cornell University in 1906. Before transfering to Cornell, Vertner studied architecture at Tuskegee University. He was first treasurer of the Alpha chapter and the designer of the fraternity pin. The Fraternity became incorporated under his auspices.
As a graduate of Cornell with a degree in architecture, he would become the State of New York’s first registered black architect, with offices on Broadway in New York City. Tandy's most famous commission was probably Villa Lewaro, the mansion of Harlem millionairess Madam C.J. Walker, in Irvington on Hudson, New York.
Among his other extant work are the Ivey Delph Apartments, and St. Philip's Episcopal Church at 204 West 134th Street in Harlem.
Tandy also holds the distinction of being the first African-American to pass the military commissioning examination and was commissioned First Lieutenant in the 15th Infantry of the New York State National Guard.
Vertner W. Tandy died in 1949, at age 64.

http://fratsoror.wikia.com/wiki/Vertner_Tandy

William Sidney Pittman

2007-07-23T00:02:00.000-04:00

William Sidney Pittman, Tuskegee Institute graduate and protégé of Booker T. Washington, arrived at the Drexel Institute in early November 1897. Pittman entered Drexel prepared to use the opportunity given to him financially by Washington and the Tuskegee board of directors, who had provided the “loan” to further pursue his education. Pittman graduated from the Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry in 1900.

After a dispute over his salary, he moved to Washington D.C. in 1905 where he worked for African American architect, John Lankford. Just a few months later he established his own office. In the fall of 1906, he entered and won the competition to design the Negro Building at the Jamestown Ter-Centennial Exposition.

His dispute with Washington over his salary at Tuskegee apparently did not harm their relationship. Pittman married Washington’s daughter, Portia, in 1907 assuring him a permanent connection with his mentor. A profile written on the young architect stated simply: “Mr. Pittman is considered the leading architect of his race.” Over the course of a relatively short career, Pittman is credited with forty designs or additions mainly in the vicinity of Washington D.C. and the state of Texas.

list of projects - http://www.library.drexel.edu/archives/pdf/pittmanbuildinglist.pdf
article - http://www.library.drexel.edu/archives/pdf/BookerT.WashingtonandDrexel.ARTICLE.FINAL.pdf
source - http://www.library.drexel.edu/archives/exhibits/pittmanintro.html

Morehouse College 1996 Olympic Basketball Arena & Site Venue : Moody/Nolan, Inc.

2007-07-18T21:28:00.001-04:00

Moody•Nolan, Inc. served as the Architect-of-Record for the Olympic Basketball Venue Arena which housed the preliminary rounds of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games men’s and women’s basketball tournament. To meet the aggressive 20 month design and construction schedule, Moody•Nolan developed a project management system that constantly kept the owner abreast of the project, working closely with the consultants and pre-selected general contractor. Following the games, the facility was given to Morehouse College. The 6,000 seat (2,000 retractable) basketball arena, used for international broadcast, was an addition to an existing gymnasium and pool facility and designed for multi-event use by student recreation and athletics.

http://www.moodynolan.com/project_info.asp?id=134&type=as#

New Performing Arts Center, Tennessee State University : Moody/Nolan, Inc.

2007-07-17T21:20:00.001-04:00

Moody•Nolan, in a joint venture with Tuck Hinton Architects, designed the New Performing Arts Center for Tennessee State University. It is located adjacent to the east side of the existing Strange Music Building. The facility houses the Theater, Television, Radio and Music Departments and includes a complete renovation of Strange Music Building. A performance theater seating for 400 was constructed as part of the new building. Theater department spaces include classrooms, support spaces and offices. Rehearsal and production facilities are provided for television and radio departments, as well as offices and support areas. The music department has new laboratory facilities, practice rooms, classrooms and offices and an expanded band practice room and support facilities.

This project includes approximately 30,400 sq. ft. of renovated space (the Strange Music Building) and 43,000 sq. ft. of new construction.

http://www.moodynolan.com/project_info.asp?id=77&type=as

Tom Muehlenbeck Center, Plano, Texas : Moody/Nolan, Inc.

2007-07-16T21:02:00.001-04:00

The $18 million recreation and aquatic center in the City of Plano, Texas, (population 240,000) includes a gymnasium, multi-purpose rooms, arts and crafts studio, pre-school program area, fitness center with dedicated children’s fitness space, elevated track, group exercise studio, an eight lane 25 yard competition pool and both indoor and outdoor leisure pools. The Center is located in a city park with a creek bisecting the site which influenced the design. The architecture incorporates native limestone and heavy timbers to reflect a contemporary Texas ranch style. Moody•Nolan serves as the recreation planner and designer with Brinkley Sargent as the Architect of Record.

http://www.moodynolan.com/project_info.asp?id=206&type=as

Curtis J. Moody, FAIA

2007-07-15T15:56:00.001-04:00

Curtis J. Moody is president and CEO of Moody/Nolan Ltd., Inc., a Columbus-based architectural and engineering firm with offices in Cincinnati and Nashville. He is a registered architect in 25 states.

Moody received his B.S. degree in architecture in 1973 from what is now the Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture at The Ohio State University. After apprenticing for several Columbus design firms, he formed his own firm in 1982, joining with engineer Howard Nolan two years later. Serving as principal-in-charge for more than $1 billion in construction, Mr. Moody has led the firm to becoming the largest minority-owned architectural firm in the nation.

Moody’s commitment to excellence in the design of higher education facilities is clearly evident on Ohio State’s campus. He has served as principal architect for the Jerome Schottenstein Center, the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, the Dreese Laboratory addition, the Library Book Depository, and the Marion Campus Library and Classroom Building. He is currently working on the Larkins Hall Student Recreation Center replacement project. He continues as a strong supporter of his alma mater, helping to sponsor and mentor architecture students. In 1989 Moody used his design fees for Ohio State’s Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center to establish an endowed scholarship for an outstanding minority student enrolled in architecture. He has served on the Knowlton School’s Alumni Board of Governors, the Athletic Council, and the National Major Gift Committee for Columbus.

His many other projects in Columbus include The Martin Luther King Jr. Complex for Cultural & Performing Arts, the Mall at Tuttle Crossing, the Smith Brothers Hardware renovation, and expansion of facilities at Port Columbus International Airport. In addition, he has worked as principal or associate architect on numerous projects for universities and communities throughout Ohio and the nation.

Moody’s expertise has been recognized on the local and national levels with numerous design awards from the Columbus and Ohio chapters of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the National Organization of Minority Architects. In 1997, he received one of the profession’s highest honors by being named to the College of Fellows of the national AIA. He is also the recipient of the AIA’s 1992 Whitney M. Young Jr. Award to an outstanding minority architect.

http://www.osu.edu/news/newsitem203

Louis E. Fry Jr.

2007-07-08T21:36:00.001-04:00

Louis Edwin Fry Jr. (1928-2006), an architect who designed many buildings on the campuses of historically black colleges and universities, died from cancer earlier this month. He was 77 years old. Fry was a native of Prairie View, Texas. His father also was an architect who served as chair of the architecture departments at Tuskegee Institute and Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. The elder Fry designed the Founders Library and Douglas Hall at Howard University. Louis Fry Jr. was a 1947 graduate of Howard University and six years later earned a second bachelor’s degree at Harvard. After graduating from Harvard he studied architecture in the Netherlands on a Fulbright scholarship. In 1962 Fry earned a master’s degree in urban design at Harvard.

http://www.jbhe.com/latest/index033006_p.html

Robert T. Coles

2007-07-01T16:18:00.001-04:00

Robert T. Coles, who received his Master’s Degree from MIT in 1955, is President of the firm Robert Traynham Coles, Architect, established in 1963. It is the oldest African-American owned architectural firm in New York State and the Northeast. Coles received his Bachelor from the University of Minnesota. He received the AIA’s Whitney M. Young Jr. Citation in 1981 for his contributions to the cause of social justice. He has received numerous other awards including the AIA New York State Chapter in 2004 to recognize a lifetime of notable contributions by an architect to the profession. The work of the firm includes such major commissions as the Frank Reeves Municipal Center in Washington DC, the Ambulatory Care Project for Harlem Hospital, and the Frank Sedita Middle School in Buffalo. Coles is also an educator. He was the Langston Hughes Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Kansas in 1989 and between 1990 and 1995 an Associate Professor of Architecture at the Carnegie Mellon University.

http://architecture.mit.edu/ara/

Sharon E. Sutton, Ph. D., FAIA

2007-06-29T23:08:00.000-04:00

Professor Sutton has been an architecture educator since 1975, having held positions at Pratt Institute, Columbia University, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Michigan where she became the first African American woman in the United States to be promoted to full professor of architecture.

Sutton teaches an undergraduate design studio in architecture (ARCH 400), offers graduate seminars on the ethics of professional practice (ARCH 577) and community leadership practices (ARCH 576), and advises doctoral students in social work and education. She convenes an annual interdisciplinary design charrette at the beginning of spring quarter that involves 50-60 practitioners, faculty, and students in developing alternatives for a local urban design problem.

Sutton's research focuses on youth, culture, and the environment. Her book, Weaving a Tapestry of Resistance: The Places, Power, and Poetry of a Sustainable Society, is based on a three-year evaluation of the Urban Network, a K-12 urban design program she founded while at the University of Michigan. Her research has been funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Tukwila School District, the University of Michigan, and the University of Washington. Sutton is a frequent distinguished lecturer at colleges and universities, and has keynoted professional conferences in art education, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, planning, and psychology.

Melvin Mitchell, FAIA

2007-06-08T07:35:00.000-04:00

Melvin Mitchell, FAIA was born in New Orleans, La. and educated in the public schools of the Watts section of South Central Los Angeles. Melvin entered Howard University in 1962. Upon graduation in 1967, Melvin worked as a community planner in the "War on Poverty" program during the era of black consciousness and urban rebellions in DC.

In 1969, Melvin entered the Master of Architecture program at Harvard and returned to DC in 1970 as an assistant professor at Howard. After seven years Melvin left Howard to concentrate on his growing housing practice. In 1987, Melvin resumed full-time teaching at the University of the District of Columbia. In 1997, Melvin became the head of the fledgling architecture school at Morgan State University in Baltimore. Melvin became increasingly alarmed by several things which led to his writing this book.

As an architect during the 1970-1998 Marion Barry-Black Power era in Washington, DC, Melvin saw riot torn black neighborhoods partially rebuilt but with minimal gains for the "black economy" or black cultural re-integration across class lines. A few black architects, Melvin included, received lucrative professional contracts from Barry to design isolated low-income public housing projects and public schools but nearly all of the hundreds of millions of municipal and federal dollars spent for black community redevelopment and construction flowed immediately out of black communities.

Mitchell is the author of "The Crisis of the African-American Architect: Conflicting Cultures of Architecture and (Black) Power". it is an opening attempt to find what role trained black architects played (or failed to play), the role of the HBCU (historical black colleges universities) architecture programs, and what changes of course are required in the 21st century.

Walter Blackburn, FAIA

2007-06-01T15:01:00.000-04:00

Walter Blackburn (1938 - 2000) developed over the span of his career a dynamic firm, which has consistently garnered praise and awards for the quality of its designs. Blackburn, a prominent civic leader, devoted his entire career effectively combining sensitivity, social consciousness, and professionalism to preserving neighborhoods, rebuilding the Inner City, and creating beauty where there was blight.

Blackburn created a succession of critically acclaimed , award-winning buildings and developments that permeate the fabric of the city of Indianapolis. Blackburn's commitment to quality education led him to serve as a visiting professor at Ball State University and member of the board of Managers for Rose Hulman Institute of Technology.

Blackburn's exceptional and consistent leadership, earned him a U.S. Presidential appointment to the General Services Administration Review Board, a U.S. Presidential appointment to the National Institute of Building Sciences, and twice accorded the highest civilian honor in the State by the Governors of Indiana. His national recognition for extraordinary service and his humanistic approach to architecture as a social responsibility have made an indelible impression on the public.

Centennial Hall : R.L. Brown

2007-05-30T22:14:00.000-04:00

Centennial Hall, 1750 Kings Road, The historic black college was founded in 1866 and was Florida's first independent institution of higher learning for African-Americans. Centennial Hall was built by Rev. R.L. Brown in 1916 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The building originally housed the college's high school department, printing plant and cafeteria. The renovated building is now the site of the college library and houses a unique collection of African art. The college was accredited in 1979 by the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges and is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites.

M. David Lee, FAIA

2007-05-22T06:06:00.000-04:00

David Lee, one of the most original of today’s black designers, has found, as he goes about seeking new business for the firm, how exposed he is to the trials of owning and running a black firm in our time. He looks with longing, but without resentment, at the cutting-edge design breaks afforded majority firms thanks to the power, independence, and big budgets of their patrons. He has found that most private clients still gravitate to majority design firms, and without many of the constraints on budgets and innovation of the typical public client, give their architects a freer hand in stretching the design envelope.

Poorer communities generally rely on public sources for funding. “Often the agencies that underwrite these projects impose design requirements that are inflexible and not suited to reinterpretation to fit a particular ethnic culture,” argues Lee. “The HUD requirements we often worked within did not vary whether one was building on a Hopi reservation or in Harlem.”

On private-sector work and typically on public work, too, black-owned firms have to prove themselves every time. Lee remembers in earlier years how frustrated he and partner Donald L. Stull, FAIA, were when they would show a past project to a client prospect, only to have the client ask: “OK, now what part of that project did you do?” He said: "No, we were the architects of record. The whole thing was ours."

Lee concedes that with his track record he often gets an easy bye in the first round of selection. Having served as president of the Boston Society of Architects, taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and, along with Stull, having judged a host of design award programs—all this has raised the firm’s profile and made things a little easier.

Nonetheless, he points out: “Are we where, perhaps, we should be, given our track record? I'm not certain that we are. If you really look hard, even where we have had breakthroughs—and some of our clients are majority clients—it has been in those places where there was a minority angle in some way, shape, or form.” Work in the majority private sector is still the exception.

Wendell Campbell, FAIA

2007-05-15T16:39:00.000-04:00

Wendell Campbell was born on April 27, 1927, in East Chicago, Indiana. Three months after he graduated from high school as a National Honor Society scholar, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. Campbell eventually received his B.A. in architecture and city planning from the Illinois Institute of Technology, where he was offered a full-tuition scholarship from Commonwealth Edison, in 1957.

He worked as an architect from 1956 until 1966, when he became president of Campbell & Mascai, an architectural and urban planning firm. In 1966, he became the CEO of Wendell Campbell Associates, which since changed its name to Campbell Tiu Campbell to reflect the contributions of partners Domingo Tiu and Campbell's daughter, Susan. Noted projects for the firm include the DuSable Museum of African American History, the McCormick Place expansion, the King Drive Gateway, redevelopment plans for the city of New Orleans and the new Bronzeville Military Academy.

Campbell was a founder and the first president of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), established in 1971. He has served on the board of the Illinois Chapter of NOMA, the Cosmopolitan Chamber of Commerce, Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, the Black Ensemble Theater, the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Chicago Architectural Assistance Center and the South Side YMCA. He is also a member of the Chicago's Capital Improvement Advisory Council and the city's Committee on Standards and Tests.

Campbell is dedicated to improving the quality of affordable housing in metropolitan centers through the design of "smart homes," housing that brings twenty-first-century technology to the varied needs of today's urban families.

Campbell married June Crusor Campbell in 1954. They live in Chicago and have two daughters, Susan Campbell Smith and Leslie Campbell.

John A. Lankford

2007-05-09T00:19:00.000-04:00

John A. Lankford, architect, and designer of the True Reformer Hall 1200 U Street, NW, lived and worked at this location on Q Street.

The subject of this sketch was born in Potosi, Washington County, Mo., December 4, 1874. His parents were poor, but his father, Andrew Lankford, was known throughout Washington County as an excellent farmer and miner, and a man of high integrity. His mother, Nancy Lankford, was of some of the best blood of the State, and a woman who was known in the community to possess refinement, culture and exceptional natural ability. She was a devout Christian and temperance worker.

Young Lankford spent his early life in the mines and on the farm, except when he was in the public schools of his native town, which were very meager at that time. After finishing the public schools, he left his home and went to Crystal City, Mo., to work in a plate glass factory in order to obtain enough money to pay his way to Jefferson, where he was to enter Lincoln Institute, the State College, and School of Mechanical Arts, for the Negroes in the State of Missouri. He had only been there a short time, before he received a letter from Prof. I. E. Page, President of Lincoln Institute at that time, stating that he would give him work on the school campus as one of the assistant janitors, which job would give him sufficient money to pay his board. Young Lankford had scarcely made enough money to buy his school books and comfortable clothing for a school year, but being full of energy and will power, he set out to find a way to fill his new position. He went to St. Louis and was lucky enough to meet a porter, who was running from St. Louis through Jefferson City. When he arrived at the Institution, Prof. I. E. Page gave him work as promised as the assistant janitor. Under these circumstances he began his college career; working as assistant janitor to pay his board; as an agent of the Plymouth Rock Pant Co., to procure his clothing, and a solictor for a steam laundry to get his laundry done.

In the College and Industrial work he had little difficulty in out-stripping his fellow students as his mind was ever on the alert to seek out the little, yet the important facts that distinguish the extraordinary from the ordinary personages, and at the end of six years he had finished a course in mechanical drawing; as a machinist, blacksmithing, woodturning, carpentry, engineering and a course in natural and chemical science with an enviable record. Ever anxious to be his own master, young Lankford opened a blacksmith shop after leaving college. Although his shop was in an excellent part of St. Louis, he saw that he did not have the opportunity to demonstrate the great knowledge that he had worked so hard for in college, so he decided to look for other fields.

At this time he received a letter from Dr. Booker T. Washington of Tuskegee, making him an offer. Ever ready to grasp an opportunity, Mr. Lankford accepted. He finished two trades at Tuskegee Industrial School, Tuskegee, Ala., 1896, also took a special course in Physics and Chemistry. He took a course in Architectural and Mechanical Drawing at Scranton, Pa., 1897. Mr. Lankford received a degree of Bachelor of Science at Shaw University, Raleigh, N. C., in 1898, Master of Science, Morris Brown College, Atlanta, Ga., Master of Science, Wilberforce College, 1902, Wilberforce, Ohio. He was at one time superintendent of the blacksmith department of the Foulton Cotton Mills, Atlanta, Ga. He was the head engineer of the National Ice Co., which made all the ice for the National Exposition. He was elected superintendent of the machine department and instructor of architectural and mechanical drawing of the Agricultural and Mechanical College, Normal, Ala., and was master mechanic of the Coleman Cotton Mills, Concord, N. C., in which he put over $80,000.00 worth of cotton mill machinery. He was elected superintendent of the industrial department of Shaw University, Raleigh, N. C., also instructor of natural and chemical science, Shaw, Raleigh, N. C., 1900. In 1902 The Grand United Order of True Reformers of Richmond, Va., employed him as a designer and supervising architect for the construction of True Reformers' Hall, located in Washington, D. C., which building is said to be the largest in the country designed, owned and built by Negroes.

He established an architectural and builders office on one of the principal business streets in the city of Washington some six years ago and to-day he has branch offices in thirteen different states, and at present has under construction the largest, finest, and most expensive churches, office buildings and dwellings owned by Negroes. In the State of Virginia alone, he has more than three hundred thousand dollars worth of work under way. Some of his best work in Virginia is the St. Johns A. M. E. Church parsonage, Norfolk, Va., and the overhauling and beautifying and decorating of the large St. Johns Church, where the great General Conference will be held in 1908. It is said that this parsonage is the most artistic, costly and largest in the connection. At Portsmouth, Va., he is overhauling and decorating Emanuel A. M. E. Church; in Richmond, he has under construction three, three-story flats and a twenty-six room residence, belonging to Dr. W. L. Taylor, Grand Master and President of The True Reformers bank and order. This is the largest and most costly Negro residence in the United States. He also has in Richmond, Va., the office and business building for the Southern Aid Insurance Company, and many other buildings in Virginia and throughout the country.

Mr. Lankford stands to-day as the most known and famous Negro architect and builder of the race. He is not only an architect andbuilder of National reputation, but a public spirited business man. He organized the Local Negro Business League of the District of Columbia and has been its president for the past three years. He is a life member of the National Negro Business League and at the last meeting of the League which was held at Topeka, Kan., in 1907, Mr. Lankford was elected one of the vice presidents of that great National organization. He is a past officer and prominently connected with the True Reformers, and St. Luke's organizations; the largest stock-holder and treasurer of the Columbia Benefit Association of Washington, and a director of the Colored Y. M. C. A., also a business man who has accumulated quite a deal of property, having designed and built several houses and flats in the District of Columbia for himself. He is a man of great energy, ability and personality. In 1901 he married the refined and cultured grand-daughter of Bishop H. M. Turner, in this union one daughter was born, Miss Nancy Josephine Turner Lankford.

The firm of J. A. Lankford & Bro., is located at 317 Sixth street, N. W., Washington, D. C. Mr. A. E. Lankford, his brother, is connected with the firm and is a mechanical engineer and an excellent architect.

Sources:
Paul Kelsey Williams, “John Anderson Lankford (1874-1946)” in Dreck Spurlock Wilson, ed., African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1845-1965 (New York: Routledge, 2004), 253-255.
Sandra Fitzpatrick and Maria R. Goodwin, The Guide to Black Washington, rev. ed. (New York: Hippocrene Books, 1999), 168-169.
http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/butt/butt.html

Albert Irvin Cassell

2007-05-01T21:23:00.000-04:00

Albert Irvin Cassell was born in Towson, Maryland on June 25, 1895, the third child of Albert Truman Cassell and Charlotte Cassell. Albert Cassell began his education in the segregated Baltimore public school system, but moved to New York in 1909 where he began attending Douglas High School. At Douglas High, Cassell studied drafting under Ralph Victor Cook. With Cook's assistance, Cassell was admitted to the Cornell University architecture program in 1915. After completing two years at Cornell, Cassell's studies were interrupted by service in the US Army in World War I. He served in France, but not in combat, and was honorably discharged in 1919 as a second lieutenant in the 351st Heavy Field Artillery Regiment. In 1919 Cassell was awarded his degree from Cornell University, and began his career working with architect William A. Hazel. In 1920, Mr. Cassell joined in the Architecture Department of Howard University as assistant professor. Just two years later, in 1922, Cassell had become University Architect and head of the Architecture Department at Howard.

Campbell Ave Church, Washington, DC, 1917
Carver War Public Housing, Arlington, VA, 1942
Catholic Diocese, Washington, DC
Corinthian Baptist Church, Washington, DC
Crownsville Hospital Housing & Recreation Center, Crownsville, MD, 1950
Glenarden City Hall, Glenarden, MD
Howard University Armory, Washington, DC, 1925
Howard University Baldwin Hall, Washington, DC, 1951
Howard University Chemistry Building, Washington, DC, 1936
Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC, 1927
Howard University Crandall Women's Dormitory, Washington, DC, 1931
Howard University Dining Hall, Washington, DC, 1922
Howard University Douglas Men's Dormitory, Washington, DC, 1936
Howard University Founders Library, Washington, DC, 1937
Howard University Frazier Women's Dormitory, Washington, DC
Howard University Greene Stadium and Football Field, Washington, DC, 1926
Howard University President's Home, Washington, DC
Howard University Truth Women's Dormitory, Washington, DC
Howard University Wheatley Hall, Washington, DC
Howard University Women's Gym, Washington, DC
James Creek Public Housing, Washington, DC
Mayfair Garden, Washington, DC
Morgan State College (various buildings), Baltomore, MD
Odd Fellows Temple, Washington, DC and Baltmore, MD, 1932
Provident Hospital, Baltimore, MD, 1928
Seaton Elementary School, Washington, DC
Soller's Point War Housing, Dundalk, MD
St. Paul's Baptist Church, Baltimore, MD
Tuskegee Institute Trade Buildings, Tuskegee, AL
Virginia Union Hartshorn Dormitory, Richmond, VA, 1928
Wheatley YMCA, Washington, DC

"Albert Cassell," Roper Library, Morgan State University Archives, manuscript collection.
http://www.howard.edu/library/Development/Cassell/Founders.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Cassell

Julian Francis Abele

2007-04-30T00:38:00.000-04:00

Julian Abele was born on April 29 in 1881. From South Philadelphia, Julian Francis Abele was the son of Charles R. and Mary A. Abele. He was educated at the Institute for Colored Youth before entering the University of Pennsylvania in 1898. He was the first African-American to graduate from the Pennsylvania School of Fine Arts and Architecture in 1902. That year he was asked by Horace Trumbauer to join his firm, which had been exclusively white up to that point. Trumbauer sent Abele to Paris to study at L'Ecole des Beaux Arts.

By 1908, Abele was the chief designer in the firm of Horace Trumbauer & Associates and owns a list of buildings that is impressive. In addition to Widener Library, he designed Philadelphia’s Free Library and Museum of Art, the chapel and many other buildings of Trinity College in Durham, N.C. (which was later renamed Duke University) and the James B. Duke mansion on Fifth Avenue and 78th Street in New York City (now NYU’s Graduate Institute of Fine Arts). Abele's role in the firm of Horace Trumbauer was neither a well-kept secret nor a well-publicized fact.

The histories of Widener Library to date only mention the firm of Horace Trumbauer and never make mention of Abele himself. It was Mrs. Widener’s choice of this Philadelphia firm to design the library that would bear the name of her son, and it is unclear whether she knew Abele or just Trumbauer. In any case, his work stands and society and scholarship are catching up in order to give him the proper credit he deserves. Julian Abele died on April 23, 1950, after designing the Allen Administration Building at Duke University. He is considered the first major African-American architect in the United States.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/issues/2005/february/shadow.php
http://www.lib.duke.edu/archives/history/julian_abele.html

Wallace A. Rayfield

2007-04-22T23:43:00.000-04:00

Wallace A. Rayfield (born Macon, Georgia around May 10, 1874—1941) was the second formally educated practicing African American architect in the United States.
Rayfield graduated from Pratt Institute, Columbia University in 1899 with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. Upon graduation, he was recruited by Booker T. Washington to the Directorship of the Architectural and Mechanical Drawing Department at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. In 1907, Rayfield opened a professional office in Tuskegee from which he sold mail-order plans nationwide. He also advertised "branch offices" in Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile and Talladega, Alabama and Atlanta, Savannah, Macon and Augusta, Georgia.
He left Tuskegee Institute and moved to Birmingham in 1908 to focus on his young practice. He was elected as Superintending Architect for the Freedman's Aid Society and Connectional Architect of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.

One notable example of his work is the 16th Street Baptist Church - a large, predominantly African American Baptist church in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. It was the target of the racially-motivated 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four girls in the midst of the American Civil Rights Movement. The present building, a "modified Romanesque and Byzantine design" by the prominent black architect Wallace Rayfield was constructed by the local black contractor T.C. Windham in 1911. The cost of construction was $26,000. In addition to the main sanctuary, the building houses a basement auditorium, used for meetings and lectures, and several ancillary rooms used for Sunday school and smaller groups.

Notable works
16th Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama, 1911
32nd Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, 1924
6th Avenue Baptist Church, Birmingham
Trinity Baptist Church, Birmingham
Metropolitan A.M.E. Zion Church, Birmingham
Ebenezer Baptist Church, Chicago, Illinois
St Paul's Episcopal Church, Batesville, Arkansas
Trinity Building, South Africa
Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Pensacola, Florida
Morning Star Baptist Church, Demopolis, Alabama
Marlinton Methodist Church, Marlinton, West Virginia
Marlinton Presbyterian Church, Marlinton, West Virginia
Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church, Milton, Florida
Madame Clisby Residence, Birmingham
Dr A. M. Brown Residence, Birmingham
R. A. Blount Residence, Birmingham

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Rayfield

Robert Robinson Taylor

2007-04-15T02:38:00.000-04:00

Robert Robinson Taylor, born in Wilmington Virginia, was the son of a white slave-owner and black mother, and as such had been allowed enough freedom before the Civil War to go into business for himself. He developed a prosperous career as a contractor and builder, constructing cargo ships that plied trade routes between the United States and South America via the Caribbean. Also active in building construction, he erected a number of commercial and residential edifices in the Wilmington area and elsewhere. He went to Boston in 1888 to study and MIT, receiving his degree in 1892. During that period, Taylor met Booker T. Washington, the prominent black educator and race leader from Tuskegee, Alabama, who in 1881, had founded Tuskegee Institute--a black school that started as a normal (teacher training) school, but that within a couple of decades became one of the best-known African-American schools in the nation. Taylor arrived at Tuskegee in the fall or winter of 1892 and with the exception of a brief period from 1899-1902, when he returned to Cleveland to work on his own and as a draughtsman for the architectural firm of Charles W. Hopkinson, his entire career was spent at Tuskegee. There he served as instructor in architectural drawing and as architect to the institution and eventually as the director of "mechanical industries" (sometimes referred to simply as "industries" or as "industrial training") until his retirement in the mid-1930s. He built several buildings on campus and elsewhere and was noted as a strong promoter of other African-American architects.

From 'Tech' to Tuskegee: The Life of Robert Robinson Taylor, 1868-1942
Clarence G. Williams
http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/mithistory/blacks-at-mit/img/rrt-002.gif

Ray Huff, Huff + Gooden Architects

2007-04-08T02:09:00.000-04:00

Ray Huff has successfully combined teaching and practice to engage questions of architecture and design. This symbiotic relationship has been critical to his work and study for over twenty years. Prior to his founding the firm with partner Mario Gooden, he conducted design studios for twenty-five years in South Carolina and was the founding director of the Clemson Architecture Center (CAC) in Charleston. He continues to hold the position of Assistant Professor of Architecture at the CAC. His professional experience included a mentorship with noted Florida architect Donald Singer.

In addition to teaching at the CAC, Mr. Huff held the distinguished Bishop Chair at Yale University's Graduate School of Architecture and he has lectured at numerous educational institutions. He has also been a keynote speaker at AIA conventions in Minneapolis, Minnesota, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Nashville, Tennessee. He was also the keynote speaker for the design symposium at Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus, Germany hosted by the German Theorists Cloud-Cuckoo-Land.

Publications regarding Mr. Huff’s work include Architecture Record, Architecture, Progressive Architecture, A+U, Cree, Hauser, Metropolis, New York Times, and other periodicals and newspapers. His work is also featured in Beach Houses, Archispeak, South Carolina Architecture 1970-2000, and numerous other books. In 2001 Ray Huff and Mario Gooden were recognized by the Architectural League of New York with the distinguished honor of "Emerging Voices." Huff + Gooden Architects was simultaneously recognized by Architectural Record Magazine as one of six leading firms practicing exceptional architecture outside the "...Centers of Fashion." Awards have included numerous American Institute of Architects awards the most recent having been firm honor and merit awards for Mary Ford Elementary and the Herbert Hasell Aquatic Facility. He presently serves as a PEER professional with the GSA’s Design Excellence Program.

Ivenue Love-Stanley, FAIA, NOMA

2007-04-01T02:03:00.000-04:00

Ivenue Love-Stanley, FAIA is the first African American female to graduate from the Georgia Institute of Technology College of Architecture as well as the first African-American licensed female architect in the Southeastern United States. Ivenue also is the second female in the State of Georgia to be elevated to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects.

She currently serves on the following boards: City of Atlanta - Urban Design Commission, the State of Georgia Board of Architects and Interior Desinger, the Ebenezer Charitable Fund, the Midtown Improvement District, The Robert Ferst Center for the Arts at Georgia Tech and the Community Housing Research Center.

She is an active member of the Metropolitan Atlanta Coalition of 100 Black Women, The Junior League of Atlanta, the NAACP, the Urban League, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), The Links, Inc., Leadership Atlanta's Alumni Association, the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) and St. Paul AME Church, where she is the president of the Board of Trustees.

Twenty-seven years ago, she and her husband, William J. Stanley, III, FAIA, NOMA started their architectural practice, Stanley, Love Stanley, P.C. Their firm is one of the largest African American architectural practices in the country.

http://gtalumni.org/news/magazine/fall95/lovestan.html
http://www.stanleylove-stanleypc.com/ivenue.cfm

William J. Stanley, III, FAIA, NOMA

2007-03-29T02:02:00.000-04:00

William "Bill" J. Stanley, III, FAIA, NOMA was the first black graduate of Georgia Tech's College of Architecture! Bill and his wife, Ivenue Love-Stanley, FAIA, NOMA have developed an award-winning architectural practice, which began in 1977. He is Principal for Design and Business Development while Ms. Love-Stanley is Managing Principal is responsible for programming, contract administration and production. Stanley, Love-Stanley, P.C. is one of the largest African-American design practices in the country concentrating in architecture, planning, program management and interior design throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Bill is a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects (FAIA), the President of AIA Georgia and the 1995 recipient of the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Citation given as one of the Institute's highest honors to the country's most socially conscious architect. For the years 2006 - 2009, he will represent the State of Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina as the South Atlantic Regional Director to the National Board of AIA. Bill was one of the founders of Georgia Tech's Dual Degree Engineering program with the Atlanta University Center (AUC) and taught in that program for seventeen years.

In 1999, AIA Georgia bestowed upon him the Bernard Rothschild medal - State's highest award. He also is the past National President of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA); past President of the 100 Black Men of Atlanta; Architectural Record Magazine's Advisory Board; Georgia Institute of Technology's National Advisory Board and its Alumni Association Board of Trustees; the National Board of Planned Parenthood Federation of America; Secretary of the Morris Brown College Board of Trustees; Southwest YMCA Board; St. Paul A.M.E. Church Trustee and Steward Boards; Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity Kappa Boulé; Chairman of the Herndon Foundation Board; Atlanta Life Financial group Board; and numerous other affiliations.

http://www.stanleylove-stanleypc.com/william.cfm

Rod Knox, Architect

2007-03-22T01:53:00.000-04:00

Professor Knox received his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Architecture degrees from The Cooper Union (1970, 1975) and his Masters of Architecture from Harvard University (1976). Professor Knox is a registered architect and has taught in the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture since 1977, as a Visiting Critic at City College (1980 to present), and was a visiting Professor at SUNY Purchase in 1982.

Professor Knox teaches ARCH 205 Advanced Concepts, ARCH 185 Crossings, and ARCH 190 Structures Elective, and has taught ARCH 151 Thesis Design Studio, ARCH 141 Fourth Year Design Studio, ARCH 131 Third Year Design Studio, ARCH 121 Second Year Design Studio, ARCH 111 Architectonics and ARCH 114 Freehand Drawing. His recent work includes: Proposal for Rebuilding WTC (2002); Moorish Influences in Gothic Architecture (2000); Vesica Pisces and the Pointed Arch (1999); Caravaggio (1998); UN-City: 600 Acre East River Project (1997).

http://www.rodknox.com/

Architecture Race Academe: MIT Conference

2007-03-16T16:28:00.000-04:00

This conference-workshop will touch on a range of significant issues about race, ethnicity, blackness and professionalism, but with architectural academe as its central focus. The conference does not aim for a comprehensive overview on the subject, but rather hopes to ask how we can bring the issue more into the mainstream of architectural discussions. Understanding why and how the black architect is seen, especially through their educational and professional journey, from all vantages - student, client, designer, and critic - will allow us to appreciate what we have taken for granted and nurture what is unique. It will also allow us to discuss how to be more proactive in the face of this problem. The conference brings together a group of noted educators and practitioners as catalyst for the discussion, and is organized around the topics of "work," "education," and "profession."

March 16, 2007 5:30p–7:00p

http://architecture.mit.edu/ara/

Roberta Washington, FAIA

2007-03-15T01:44:00.000-04:00

(l–r): Roberta Washington, Carlton Brown, and J. Max Bond

Washington is owner of the 10-person New York firm Roberta Washington Architects PC, which opened in 1983. It is the largest continuously operated female-owned, African-American architecture firm in the country. Washington is used to "firsts." She is the first American to work for the postindependence government of Mozambique, for example. And she and/or her firm have worked on countless major projects - from the Jazz and Negro Baseball Hall of Fame in Kansas City to renovating 50 abandoned townhouses and apartment buildings in Harlem to designing a new eight-story, 128-unit condo unit in Central Harlem to a new subway station in Brooklyn. Many of the firm's earliest projects were conceived for populations with special needs, including housing for adults with AIDS and a project to help unite former female prison inmates with their children.

Washington, who earned a bachelor's degree in architecture from Howard University and a master's in the same subject (with emphasis on hospital and health-facility design) from Columbia University, tries to live by the words of Calvin Coolidge: "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

Harry G. Robinson, III, FAIA, AICP, NOMA

2007-03-08T00:34:00.000-05:00

Harry G. Robinson, III is a design professional educated in architecture, city planning and urban design. His career in these disciplines spans practice/consultation, teaching, management/leadership and research/publication. Currently, he is Professor of Urban Design and Dean Emeritus and advisor to the president Howard University and principal of TRGConsulting, an international design firm.

During the period 1979-95 he served as Dean and Professor of Urban Design, School of Architecture and Planning, Howard University and subsequently, 1995-1999 served as interim Vice President of Academic Affairs and Vice President for University Administration, Howard University. Prior to the decanal appointment at Howard University in 1979, he was director of the Center for Built Environment Studies that he founded at Morgan State University. This set of programs – architecture, city planning, landscape architecture and urban design – established that university’s first professional interdisciplinary curricula.

He is a twice presidentially appointed Commissioner and elected Chairman, United States Commission of Fine Arts and was elected president of two national architectural organizations - National Architectural Accrediting Board, 1996, and National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, 1992. He chaired the UNESCO International Commission on the Goree Memorial and Museum that was established to guide the development of this project in Dakar, Senegal. He has served on major boards and commissions, including the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Committee for the Preservation of the White House, White House Historical Association and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Mr. Robinson is author of the award winning third history of Howard University, THE LONG WALK: The Placemaking Legacy of Howard University and producer of the TELLY recognized documentary by the same name.

He is the recipient of the Tau Sigma Delta Architectural Honor Society Silver Medal, elected membership in the American Institute of Architects' College of Fellows, honorary membership in the Colegio de Arquitectos de Mexico, Sociedad de Arquitectos Mexicanos and in the Trinidad and Tobago Institute of Architects. In 1999 he was awarded the Richard T. Ely Distinguished International Educator Award by the Lambda Alpha International Honorary Land Economics Society. In 1991, he had a partial Fulbright Fellowship at the Cooperbelt University, Kitwe, Zambia. Awards from the National Organization of Minority Architects include an honor award in 1991 and a special award in 1992. In 1993 Hampton University awarded him its 125th Anniversary Citation for Leadership In Architecture.

In 2003 he was awarded the highest honor bestowed by the Washington Chapter of the AIA, the Centennial Medal. In 2004 he was awarded the District of Columbia Council of Engineering and Architecture Societies Architect of the Year award.

During the period 1966-1968 he served in the Army of the United States that included a tour of duty in the Republic of Vietnam for which he was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals.

He holds professional degrees in architecture and city planning, B Arch with design honors, and MCP, Howard University, and an advanced degree in urban design, MCP in Urban Design, Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

http://www.howard.edu/newsroom/experts/HarryRobinson-Bio.htm

Charles F. McAfee, FAIA

2007-03-01T00:26:00.000-05:00

Considered one of the most important African American architect in the United States, Charles McAfee of Wichita, Kansas, has used architecture to create opportunities for African Americans and make social commentary about racial inequality. Born in Los Angeles to Arthur and Willie Anna McAfee on December 25, 1932, McAfee received his B.S. from the University of Nebraska. Beginning his career in the early 1960s, McAfee has developed and sustained Charles F. McAfee Architects and Planners, with offices in Wichita, Atlanta, Dallas and Oklahoma City.

The diversity and breadth of McAfee's career distinguishes him in his field. Throughout his career, he has been affiliated with countless architectural and urban planning projects, many receiving national recognition. McAfee's projects range from institutional facilities (renovation of Oklahoma City School District 89) to transportation structures (Atlanta's North Line Midtown Station), religious structures (Wichita's Calvary Baptist Church) to recreational facilities (McAdams Park), in addition to housing and commercial facilities. The significance of a regional structure, like Kansas's first national black historical society, is as striking as McAfee's national projects. His firm's projects have included the design and construction of FAA/NADIN computer facilities as well as design consultation and construction management of facilities for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

In recognition of his distinguished career, McAfee has been the recipient of countless awards and distinctions, including the American Institute of Architects Kansas Chapter Excellence in Architecture Award and the Federal Housing Administration's First Honor Award. He serves on numerous professional and civic boards of directors, including the Catholic Social Services and the National Business League. McAfee has also served as the president of the National Organization of Minority Architects and Midwestern president of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

McAfee maintains his commitment by providing mentorship to minority architects and planners, including his daughters, Cheryl McAfee-Mitchell and Charyl McAfee-Duncan, who run the family offices in Atlanta, Dallas and Oklahoma City. McAfee is married to Gloria Winston McAfee, a dedicated educator and community leader.

Roland A. Wiley, RAW International

2007-02-28T05:26:00.000-05:00

Mr. Wiley, managing partner of RAW International, has over 24 years experience in project design, technical coordination, and construction management. As founder and managing partner of RAW International, Mr. Wiley’s responsibilities range from the strategic and economic planning of the firm to resolving design and construction problems. His demonstrated leadership and planning skills have sustained the firm’s continued growth and success for 20years. The firm has evolved into a creative problem solving team, successfully executing a diversity of projects ranging from transit planning to sanctuary design.

Mr. Wiley considers himself an urban visionary. His 24 years of experience have afforded him the opportunity to plan, design, and build urban projects ranging from a downtown high-rise commercial development to light rail and bus transit studies. In the process of his professional development Mr. Wiley has developed a passion for the sustainable revitalization of underserved urban communities. Projects under his direction include the Crenshaw Prairie Transit Corridor Major Investment Study which identified the significant potential for revitalization by using regional transit investment as a catalyst for the development of a community. In addition, Mr. Wiley performed a sustainable technologies analysis for the California Science Center, which evaluated the feasibility of cutting edge sustainable technologies including fuel cells, photo voltaic cells, and thermal energy storage systems.

Mr. Wiley's recent projects include the Crenshaw District Pedestrian Linkages Plan, and the Union Station Gateway East Portal in Los Angeles, CA. The Union Station Gateway East Portal Project entails an intermodal transit facility that shall be the hub of pedestrian and transit activity for the Metro Rail, Metro Link, Amtrak, and RTD bus system.

RAW International
http://www.rawinternational.com/profile_bios.htm

Harvey B. Gantt, Gantt Huberman Architects

2007-02-22T00:18:00.000-05:00

Harvey Gantt was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He went to the public schools of that city and graduated from Burke High School second in his class. He moved to the Midwest on a merit scholarship, attending Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. from 1960-1962. In late 1961, he applied to Clemson University, and was admitted in January 1963 under court order and became the first black student to attend a previously all white school in South Carolina. He graduated from Clemson with honors and a Bachelor of Architecture Degree in 1965. He moved to Charlotte after graduation to join the firm of Odell and Associates. Five years later, in 1970, he received a Master of City Planning Degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 1971, Gantt returned to Charlotte to open Gantt Huberman Architects, an architectural firm he co-founded with Jeff Huberman. The firm has grown over the years to become a sucessful, award-winning design organization.

Harvey Gantt is a member of the American Institute of Architects and the National, Organization of Minority Architects. The American Institute of Architects paid due recognition to Harvey Gantt in 1987 by making him a Fellow in the Institute. Gantt has served on the NC Board of Architecture, the AIA National Minority Services Committee, juror on numerous design awards programs and member of accreditation committees at Howard University and Southern University Schools of Architecture. Gantt has been a lecturer and visiting critic at colleges and universities nationwide, including Hampton, Yale, Cornell, UNC-Chapel Hill, Michigan, MIT, Mississippi State, Tuskegee, A&T, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and others.

More recently, Harvey Gantt has devoted a substantial amount of time speaking to other architects nationally. His primary focus has been to make the case that the growing problems of the urban areas of our country demand a more activist role for architects in shaping public policy. He was chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission, appointed by President Bill Clinton, from the year 1995 to the year 2000.

Harvey Gantt himself has been an activist in the political arena since 1974. He served more than three terms on the Charlotte City Council in the late 70's. In 1981 he was made Mayor Pro-Tem. In 1983, he became Charlotte's first African-American Mayor and went on to serve two successive terms in this city of better than 400,000 persons.

Gantt's tenure in Charlotte politics was one of unprecedented growth and development. He placed a great deal of emphasis on planning, revitalization of the inner city, housing and managed growth.

In 1990 and 1996 Harvey Gantt ran for national office and challenged Jesse Helms in the North Carolina U.S. Senate race. While unsuccessful in winning the senate seat, he has won national acclaim and respect positions he took on education, health care, the environment, and his vision for improving quality of life for all citizens.

In his community, he has been active in his church, Friendship Missionary Baptist, where he is a member of the choir. He has been a member of numerous civic and cultural organizations in Charlotte and currently serves on the boards of Crisis Assistance Ministry, the Foundation for the Carolinas, Central Piedmont Community College Foundation, and Charlotte Center City Partners. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of NUCOR corporation.

Mr. Gantt's honors and awards are too numerous to list in their entirety. Suffice it to say he has received recognition from civic, cultural and service organizations - including the NAACP, Chamber of Commerce, The National Conference for Community & Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union. He holds honorary doctorate degrees from eight colleges and universities.

Devrouax & Purnell Architects

2007-02-15T00:04:00.000-05:00

Architects Step Up to the Plate
Black-Owned Firm Is Part of Team to Design Baseball Stadium
By David Nakamura
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 1, 2005; Page DZ01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/31/AR2005083100975.html

In their fifth-floor office in the 700 block of D Street NW, architects Paul Devrouax and Marshall Purnell have small-scale models of some of their most influential work encased in glass. In one corner is a model of the Freddie Mac building in suburban Virginia; in another is a model of Pepco's headquarters in downtown Washington. Soon, the duo likely will make room for a new model -- of Washington's new baseball stadium.

Devrouax & Purnell Architects, the firm founded by the pair in 1978, is partnering with the sports division of Kansas City-based Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum Inc., known as HOK Sport, to design the ballpark that is scheduled to open in Southeast in 2008. HOK Sport has more than 300 employees and is internationally renowned for its stadiums and arenas. It is relying on Devrouax & Purnell, which has about 30 employees, to complement its expertise by providing an intimate knowledge of the city.

http://www.dp-architects.com/

The McKissack and McKissack architectural tradition

2007-02-08T23:58:00.000-05:00

The McKissack and McKissack architectural tradition dates back to the first Moses McKissack (1790-1865) of the West African Ashanti tribe, who was sold into slavery to William McKissack of North Carolina and became a master builder. In 1822 he married Mirian (1804-1865), a Cherokee, and they had fourteen children. The ninth child, Gabriel Moses McKissack (1840-1922), continued in the building trade he learned from his father. Like his father, Gabriel Moses II taught the building skills to his son, Moses McKissack III (1879-1952).

Suggested Reading(s): Linda T. Wynn, "Leatrice B. McKissack," in Notable Black American Women, Book II, ed. Jessie Carney Smith (1996), 450-54 and "McKissack and McKissack Architects, 1905," in Profiles of African American in Tennessee, ed. Bobby L. Lovett and Linda T. Wynn (1996), 87-89.

The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture
http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/imagegallery.php?EntryID=M051

Norma Merrick Sklarek, FAIA

2007-02-01T23:57:00.000-05:00

Norma Merrick Sklarek (April 15, 1928 - ) born in New York, New York. She is an African American architect where she earned B. Arch. from Barnard College (part of Columbia University). She was the first black woman to be licensed as an architect in the United States with certification in the state of New York in 1954 and then in the state of California in 1962. She was the first black woman to be elected Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1980. Another first, she was the first African-American director of architecture at Gruen and Associates in Los Angeles, CA and she also worked with the Jon Jerde Partnership.

In 1985, she became the first African-American woman architect to form her own architectural firm: Siegel, Sklarek, Diamond which was the largest woman-owned and mostly woman-staffed architectural firm in the United States. Among Sklarek's designs are the San Bernardino City Hall in San Bernardino, California, the Fox Plaza in San Francisco, Terminal One at the Los Angeles International Airport and the Embassy of the United States in Tokyo, Japan.[2]
Semi-retired today, she currently serves on the California Architects Board. She also formerly served for several years as Chair of the AIA National Ethics Council. In her honor, Howard University offers the Norma Merrick Sklarek Architectural Scholarship Award.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norma_Merrick_Sklarek

Michael E. Willis, FAIA, Michael Willis Architects

2007-01-22T22:14:00.000-05:00

Michael Willis, the principal of Michael Willis Architects, with offices in San Francisco and Portland, Ore., has had the kind of success envied by architects of every race who have wanted to own and run a successful firm. His early high school, though, is echoed by many minority architects: “I wasn’t particularly outgoing but I loved drawing. My mother was a successful commercial artist. My first stumble in the road was in my high school.” Instead of architecture school, his counselor steered him towards trade school. Luckily, the senior counselor took him aside and said “if you want to go to architecture school, I’ll get you to the door. You’ll have to do the work yourself, but if that’s where you want to go, I’ll get you there.’”

After Washington University, Willis worked for Charles Fleming, a large black-owned firm in St. Louis, where he learned business development. Subsequent time teaching at Berkeley taught him the power of talent-driven small firms doing substantive work.

After time back in St. Louis, then again to San Francisco to start an office there for Fleming, Willis started his own firm in 1988. “Our design approach was to create a place where the solutions were,” he says. He was 37.

His firm’s breakthrough came, not surprisingly, through public work. What was surprising was the type: water purification facilities. The Sobrante Ozonation Facility, in El Sobrante, Calif., become the flagship for the district, enticing visitors from the water industry and the general public. Avoiding discussion of the size of his firm (four persons) or its longevity, he concentrated during the selection process on what people who work there need: light and air … a good place to work. That project led to two other water-purification projects, profitable work that earned the money it needed to buy computers, office space, and chairs. Being an expert in such a specialization has its advantages, Willis says. “There’s almost no bar to your being involved if you understand the technology,” he contends. “And because it’s not glamorous, it narrows the field.”

Willis approaches community development similarly. He talks to the public client about the way people live. What can you see from the window? How does light and air get into your building? What’s your relationship with the outside from your front door?

The King Center : J. Max Bond Jr.

2007-01-16T20:48:00.000-05:00

Established in 1968 by Coretta Scott King, The King Center is the official, living memorial dedicated to the advancement of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., leader of America’s greatest nonviolent movement for justice, equality and peace.

More than 650,000 visitors from all over the world are drawn annually to the King Center to pay homage to Dr. King, view unique exhibits illustrating his life and teachings and visit the King Center’s Library, Archives, his final resting place, his birth home, gift shop and other facilities. Located in Atlanta’s Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, The King Center utilizes diverse communications media, including books, audio and video cassettes, film, television, CDs and web pages, to reach out far beyond its physical boundaries to educate people all over the world about Dr. King’s life, work and his philosophy and methods of nonviolent conflict-reconciliation and social change.

J. Max Bond Jr., FAIA

2007-01-15T05:21:00.000-05:00

J. Max Bond, Jr. is recognized internationally as one of the United States’ leading architects and educators. Mr. Bond won early recognition for the design of the Bolgatanga Library in Ghana, and has followed that with such projects as the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, and major research laboratories at Harvard, Columbia and Northwestern Universities. In addition to recognition for award-winning architecture, Mr. Bond has established a reputation as a designer who works closely with his clients and their local communities to understand their needs and project goals. His technical ability, wisdom and insight is a resource that serves our clients and staff.

Early in his career, Mr. Bond lived and worked in France and Ghana. Upon returning to the United States, Mr. Bond helped establish and became executive director of the Architects Renewal Committee of Harlem (ARCH), one of the early community design centers that developed during the late 1960s and early 1970s. After two years with ARCH, he cofounded Bond Ryder and Associates which quickly became one of the leading African-American architecture firms in New York and the East Coast. As a Commissioner of the New York City Planning commission from 1980–1986, Mr. Bond was actively involved in the city’s approvals and planning process. Mr. Bond merged his firm with Davis Brody & Associates in 1990 and has since served as Partner-in-Charge of many of the firms significant academic and institutional projects.

http://www.davisbrody.com/

University of Tennessee College of Architecture & Design Lecture on 10/30/2006

Richard K. Dozier

2007-01-08T01:36:00.000-05:00

A former head of Tuskegee’s Department of Architecture, Dr. Dozier is particularly interested in African American architecture and historic preservation. He has conducted pioneering research on black architects and African American material culture and is a frequent exhibitor, lecturer, and consultant. He co-founded the country’s first statewide African American preservation organization, the Alabama Black Heritage Council, and he was selected by the U.S. Department of the Interior to survey threatened structures at twelve historically black colleges.

Dr. Dozier earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University and his doctorate from the University of Michigan. He was a fellow at the Dubois Institute of Harvard University and has studied urban design and architectural conservation in Brazil, Italy, Senegal, and Ghana. He has taught at Morgan State University and at Yale.

Karl Thorne, FAIA

2007-01-01T21:56:00.000-05:00

Born in Jamaica, Karl Thorne, FAIA, received a Bachelor of Architecture Degree from the University of Illinois in 1969 and a Master of Architecture degree form the University of Pennsylvania in 1970 where he studied under Louis Kahn. While a graduate student, he had a teaching fellowship and taught fourth year design.

At the University of Illinois Karl served as Treasurer (1967 & 1968) and President in 1969 of Gargoyle Society, the Architecture Honor Society. He was the recipient of the following awards: Small town development, Williamsville, Illinois, 1967 (First Prize, Third Year)
Bradley & Bradley Award, best project in fifth year, 1969
Edward L. Ryerson Traveling Fellowship to Europe, 1971

Karl’s early professional experience included two years in Jamaica as a draftsman with Wilson Chong, and Illinois Graduate, and two years in New York City with the office of Alfred Easton Poor, now Swanke Hayden Connell, until 1965. After completing graduate school in 1970, Karl moved to New Haven Connecticut, where he worked for the firms of Carlin, Pozzi & Associates, and Roth & Moore. In 1972, he went back to Jamaica as the Senior Architect / Planner of the Urban Development Corporation of Jamaica. He later reunited with Wilson Chong forming the Partnership of Wilson Chong, Karl Thorne & Associates, architects for the Post & Telegraph Headquarters of Jamaica. With the political upheaval in Jamaica, Karl returned to the US in 1977 where he worked for a year with Giller & Giller in Miami Beach.

Currently, Karl Thorne is a Professor of Architecture in the University of Florida’s School of Architecture where he has been on the faculty since 1978. He is also President of Karl Thorne Associates, Inc. Architects / Planners which he established in 1980. His diverse practice focuses primarily on educational architecture and includes the design of such projects as the George C. Kirkpatrick, Jr., Criminal Justice Training Center at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, and the Frederick G. Humphries Science and Research Center at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. His firm designed the new School of Journalism and Graphic Communication, and a museum addition to the historic Carnegie Library at Florida A&M University, both now under construction. When completed, this museum will house the largest collection of African-American artifacts and memorabilia in the southeast. The firm has been the recipient of numerous design awards. These include the 1988 Excellence in Architecture Award from the North Florida Chapter of the AIA for the PHEO Medical Center in Jacksonville Florida, the 1991 Excellence in Architecture Award from the National Organization of Minority Architects for the Coleman Library Addition and Renovation at Florida A&M University, and most recently a 2002 AIA Florida Unbuilt Design Award for The Conservancy: A Conservation Community Development. His work was exhibited in the 1993 Design Diaspora: Black Architects & International Architecture at the Chicago Athenaeum.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

National Organization of Minority Architects; National Treasurer, 1988 – 1990, South Region Vice-President, 1990 - 1992;

The American Institute of Architects; Florida North Chapter, Vice-President 1987; Florida North Chapter, President, 1988 ; Florida Association, Vice President, 1992-1994; Florida Association Design Jury Member for Excellence in Architecture Awards, Gulf Coast Chapter 1990; AIA Puerto Rico 1995; AIA Tampa Bay 1996; AIA National Committees: Minority Resources Committee, 1990-1994, President’s Task Force on Diversity, 1992 – 1993, NAAB Accreditation Team Member, 1991 – 1994

Jamaican Institute of Architects, Jury Chair for Governor General Awards, 1989, European Community, Caribbean Student Housing Competition Chair, 1990

Mr. Thorne served as a member of the Florida Building Commission from 1996-2004. This commission was established by the governor to create the first statewide Building Code which was implemented in 2001. He was Chairman of the Special Occupancy and the Code Administration Technical Advisory Committees. In 1998 he was the recipient of the Florida Association of the American Institute of Architects “Anthony Pullana Memorial Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession”. In 1998 he was also elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects.