Archinect - Features

"Discovering a Black Aesthetic in Architecture" — An Investigation by Woodbury Grad Demar Matthews

2020-06-09T13:29:00-04:00

Demar Matthews is a recent M.Arch graduate of Woodbury University. We first met Demar with the publication of his article A Black Architecture Education Experience, a piece that propelled the young designer into a rigorous investigation of Black architectural aesthetics in America. Due to COVID-19, Demar was forced to rework his approach to his project and decided to curate all of his research on a website, offtopdesign.com, which is a work in progress. Demar's academic exploration of Black aesthetics is something he says he's only just begun.

He says this thesis is a first step to what he hopes will be a much longer and deeper path. I connected with Demar, to talk a bit more about his project and thoughts for his future.

Archinect's Spotlight on 2020 Thesis Projects: 2020 has been an extraordinarily challenging year for architecture graduates. Students were displaced as schools shut down, academic communities had to adapt to a new virtual format, end-of-year celebrations were can...

A Conversation with Curtis Moody, FAIA on What It Means to Help Shape a Future for Black Architects

2020-02-29T07:00:00-05:00

Within the realm of architectural practice, the need to write and re-frame the narratives and contributions of women in architecture, Black architects, and other minority-identifying designers has gained increasing urgency in recent years. And while architects like Paul Revere Williams, Phillip Freelon, Norma Merrick Sklarek, Zena Howard, Gabrielle Bullock, and Kimberly Dowdell are nearly household names in design, these architects constitute but a few of Black architects who have impacted the profession.

Curtis Moody, a renowned architect based in Columbus, Ohio who has been practicing for over 38 years, is another such architect. When he first started his practice back in 1982, his goal was not only to establish a thriving architecture practice but also build a firm that would be a representation of a group that is often overlooked and misrepresented. Since then, he has expanded Moody Nolan into a practice consisting of 230 employees with 12 offices across the U.S.

Archinect spen...

The Story of Horace King, Slave-Turned-Architect

2019-06-20T12:20:00-04:00

For over 250 years, African Americans in the United States endured the bondage of slavery, a cultural, political, and economic regime that exploited their forced labor in order to clear land, harvest crops, and build America’s cities and towns. Under these conditions, human beings were viewed as a form of property and as a source of free labor. Individuals and families were bought, sold, torn apart from loved ones, and subjected to untold violence and exploitation, an existential debt that has yet to be properly or meaningfully reconciled.

Amid this historical context, Horace King, a man born into slavery on a South Carolina plantation, rose to become a prolific architect, real estate developer, and Alabama state legislator. Educated and trained on the jobsite as an engineer and contractor, King built bridges, courthouses, and industrial facilities across the southern United States.

This is his story.