Archinect - News

Kimberly Dowdell hits back at anti-DEI push in business circles and academia

2024-03-25T14:21:00-04:00

The new AIA President and Principal in HOK’s Chicago office, Kimberly Dowdell, talked with Crain’s recently, stating diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts must be sustained in the face of the latest anti-DEI pushback parroted by Elon Musk and other business leaders that contributed to the resignation of Harvard University President Claudine Gay and other rollbacks on Wall Street and in corporate America.

"It's really disturbing how quickly the pendulum is shifting back toward a less inclusive and diverse society," she says, referring to different policymakers who are beginning to codify their resistance in conservative states like Florida and Texas.

Revisit our 2019 Archinect Sessions interview with Kimberly Dowdell, then President of the National Organization of Minority Architects

Of her company’s ethos she says, "[It’s] about diversity and its multiple forms in terms of its people but also the work and the kinds of work that we do," something that has underpinned its success...

AIA New York awards $7,500 in student loan support to six aspiring BIPOC architects

2023-05-18T10:00:00-04:00

AIA New York has awarded $7,500 to help six aspiring BIPOC architects pay off their student loans. The money is to be drawn from the organization's 2030 Fund, which seeks to “help build a more diverse and representative profession.”

The 2030 Fund was developed by AIANY in collaboration with the New York Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects. The fund is also used to support NOMA’s 2030 Challenge, which aims to double the number of licensed Black architects by the end of the decade.

The six future architects to receive the latest funding are Wilfrido Adames (Pratt Institute), Hamees Gabr (City College of New York and Harvard Graduate School of Design), Chae Park (Cornell University and the Art Institute of Chicago), Reuben Posada (Texas A&M University and Cornell University), Jahaan Scipio (Syracuse University and Yale University), and Stephen Sewar (University of South Florida).

Society of Architectural Historians appoints Ben Thomas as its new Executive Director

2023-01-10T17:35:00-05:00

The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) has announced Ben Thomas as their new Executive Director. The current Director of Programs for the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) comes to the post with more than 17 years of experience in higher education non-profit work and will replace Pauline Salinga when he steps into office on February 1st.

“Ben Thomas’ deep knowledge of membership organizations and his commitment to diversity make him the ideal person to lead SAH at a transformative moment for the Society,” the organization’s President, Patricia A. Morton, said in a statement. “We are delighted to welcome Ben to the SAH team.”

The roughly 2,300-member strong Chicago-based organization is in the early stages of developing a five-year strategic plan that will rely heavily on Thomas’ extensive past experience with DEI initiatives, fundraising drives, and programming to best position it for “long-term stability and sustainability.”

Related on Archinect: Society of Architect...

AIA President-elect Emily Grandstaff-Rice joins Perkins&Will's staff in Boston

2022-12-05T09:00:00-05:00

Perkins&Will has announced the recent addition of AIA President-elect Emily Grandstaff-Rice to their Boston studio in order to help further its EDI, decarbonization, and research pursuits across the industry.

The organization’s soon-to-be 99th President comes to the position with a breadth of K-12 and higher-education experience around Massachusetts, including recent projects for the UMass Lowell and Boston Children’s Museum.

Grandstaff-Rice pointed to the firm’s “unparalleled” focus on climate action and social equity causes as the principal factors that led her decision, adding: “I envision this next stage of my career as one in which I collaborate with interdisciplinary teams in support of creating safer, healthier, and more responsive architecture.”

“Emily’s experience in the education market will beautifully complement our Boston studio’s K-12 and higher-ed practic...

Cornell AAP reappoints Dean J. Meejin Yoon for a second term

2022-11-18T11:49:00-05:00

Cornell’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP) Dean J. Meejin Yoon has been reappointed to her post for a second term after a vote from the university’s Board of Trustees in October.

Yoon will begin her second term in January of 2024, extending for five years a tenure that brought “dramatic institutional change” to the campus, according to Provost Michael I. Kotlikoff, who made the announcement yesterday.

Yoon has been credited with doubling the college’s endowment in the process of funding the establishment of several influential centers and recruiting more than a third of its tenured faculty.

Her time as Dean also included the founding of the AAP’s first Office of Diversity and Inclusion, in addition to creating grant opportunities and other academic programs geared specif...

Gensler and Amazon among $4.7 million donors to California College of the Arts supporting diversity and innovation

2022-10-28T11:22:00-04:00

Gensler and Amazon are among the donors who have gifted $4.7 million to the California College of the Arts (CCA). The funds will be used to support diversity, equity, and innovation in the arts and design field.

CCA received a $1 million gift from the Gensler family and an additional $1 million gift from Gensler as a practice; donations which will establish the M. Arthur Gensler Jr. Center for Design Excellence. According to the college, the newly-established center will “support and enrich learning, teaching, and research in CCA’s Architecture Division” with a focus on supporting students from diverse backgrounds through “tuition scholarships, mentoring, and career development support.”

The donation will extend over ten years, with the first cohort of Gensler Center scholarship recipients set to receive awards this year.

The remaining $2.7 million in donations to the CCA was received from Amazon ...

Meet the first class of ASLA's new Women of Color Licensure Advancement Program

2022-06-06T12:38:00-04:00

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has announced its first class of Women of Color Licensure Advancement Program participants.

Ten women from across the country were selected to take part in the two-year program, which was created to provide support and mentorship opportunities to BIPOC women working towards their professional landscape architecture licensures. The aim of the program is to increase racial and gender diversity within the profession as taken from ASLA’s 2020 Racial Equity Plan of Action.

Launched in February, the program crucially provides up to $3,500 to cover costs related to the Landscape Architectural Registration Exam (LARE) for each participant in addition to the mentorship opportunities and preparatory coursework for each section.

“We are proud to take this first step to lift up women of color in our landscape architecture community, by providing them with the support network they need to achieve licensure,” ASLA President Eugenia Martin said i...

RIBA's diversity & inclusion chief is stepping down after only a year

2022-03-22T17:39:00-04:00

Change has come to the UK’s leading architectural association as The Architects’ Journal is reporting that RIBA’s current Director of Inclusion & Diversity Marsha Ramroop is departing from the organization after just 13 months on the job.

The institution is going through an administrative restructuring after reporting an £8 million ($10.8 million) budget deficit late last year. Ramroop’s budget had reportedly been significantly impacted by the cost-saving efforts, which so far includes a round of layoffs and the sale of its 78 Portland Place office.

The former BBC journalist’s year-plus tenure has seen the development of initiatives like RIBA communities, its new Inclusion Charter, the institution of official guidance for employees on a host of sensitive issues like pronoun usage, and the creation of a live radio channel that broadcast EDI-related content as part of RIBA’s second annual fe...

Donation by Zaha Hadid Foundation creates scholarships for students from low-income households

2022-03-09T10:09:00-05:00

The London School of Architecture has announced a scholarship program for students from low-income households. The initiative will see three recipients each awarded £36,000 (approximately $47,000), covering the full fees and associated costs of the LSA’s two-year MArch program. The funding for the scholarship was made viable due to a donation from the Zaha Hadid Foundation.

The initiative is aimed at promising prospective Masters students from low-income backgrounds, defined as those whose household income is below £25,000 ($32,000). To qualify, applicants must either be over 25 and not financially dependent on parents or under 25 and not financially dependent on parents. The scholarship is also open to refugees who would otherwise be unable to pursue their studies, even if financially dependent on parents or relatives.

While the scholarship is aimed at all students from low-income backgrounds, the school also strongly encourages applications from students with “particular inter...

$1 million donated to UT Austin School of Architecture honoring John S. Chase, their first Black graduate

2022-02-28T12:12:00-05:00

The University of Texas at Austin’s School of Architecture has received a $1 million donation honoring John S. Chase, the first Black graduate of the school and the first Black licensed architect in the state of Texas. The donation has been provided by Tony Chase and his wife Dr. Dina Alsowayel. An entrepreneur, law professor, and civic leader based in Houston, Tony Chase is also the son of John S. Chase.

The $1 million donation will create two new permanent endowments. The first, named the John S. Chase Family Endowed Graduate Fellowship, will be used primarily to increase diversity and representation in the profession by recruiting graduates of historically Black colleges and universities. Meanwhile, the John S. Chase Family Endowed Professorship in Architecture will help recruit and retain outstanding faculty and support their research of the built environment.

Archinect Feature: Architecture Gets Psychosocial, Socioracial & Sociospatial: A Conversation with Todd Brown, UT Au...

Pratt and Clemson both launch fellowships for underrepresented architecture students

2022-02-18T09:36:00-05:00

The Pratt Institute and Clemson University have each launched fellowships within their design and architecture schools focused on students from underserved or underrepresented communities.

The Pratt Institute’s initiative, titled the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Fellowship program, will focus on students from underserved communities whose work concentrates on issues related to climate change. The fellowship will be awarded to two students for the first year of graduate study at Pratt; one in the School of Architecture and one in the School of Design.

Archinect Feature: Michael Jefferson Talks the Future of Fellowships and the Biases of AI Application in Architecture

The fellows will be selected based on their portfolios of work addressing the impacts and challenges of climate change. A call for applicants will be issued in the spring, with selections announced prior to the beginning of each fellowship year. The program will focus on students in groups and communities that are often underr...

Crystal Williams is announced as the 18th RISD president

2021-12-16T16:21:00-05:00

When we began the search for RISD’s 18th president, we sought candidates with not just the experience, education and wisdom that the job requires, but also receptivity, an aesthetic sensibility, the skill to communicate in a community that trades in images and materials, and something even more intangible: a deep, abiding empathy that can bind us all together

Williams has held similar positions at Williams College, Bates, and as the first-ever Dean for Institutional Diversity at Reed College in Oregon. While at Boston University, Williams was responsible for staff training and a host of successful diversity and inclusion initiatives in addition to her role as a full-time Professor of English in the College of Arts & Sciences.

“Crystal’s creativity and her talent for helping manage complex and challenging situations related to race, gender, sexuality, and socioeconomic differences have been invaluable in moving BU forward,” BU provost Jean Morrison said in a statement. “She has consistently produced programming that not only answers the issues facing us, but also helps to initiate structural change.”

Williams is a graduate of NYU and Cornell and is considered a prolific author and poet, with superlative works featured in the MOMA poetry project and the American Poetry Review, among other places. Her writing has received multiple awards an...

ARE scholarships for aspiring Black architects launched by the Architects Foundation

2021-11-15T13:53:00-05:00

The Architects Foundation has announced the launch of the Large Firm Roundtable (LFRT) ARE Scholarship, providing support for aspiring Black architects within the licensing process. Through the scholarship, the organization is aiming to double the number of licensed Black architects in the United States by 2030.

The scholarship will cover the cost of the ARE, a one-year subscription to the AIA’s exam prep course ArchiPrep, one year of dues to either the AIA or NOMA, one year NCARB record fees, and $500 in study materials. To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must identify as Black or African American, be eligible for the ARE, hold an NCARB Record, and be either an Associate AIA or a member of NOMA.

Findings from NOMA/NCARB report on disparities in architectural licensing

To apply for the more than 30 awards available under LFRT, applicants must submit a brief 500-word personal statement, a professional biography and/or résumé, and a maximum of three optional letters of ...

SoCal NOMA looks to inspire future designers with a summer camp focused on LA's changing Exposition Park

2021-07-29T15:07:00-04:00

A diverse group of middle and high school age students is getting a sneak preview of the blockbuster changes coming to Los Angeles’ Exposition Park this summer thanks to the Southern California chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), a group dedicated to the advancement and development of future professionals.

Students at SoCal NOMA’s Project Pipeline summer camp will get a closer look at the forthcoming Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in addition to future projects planned for ZGF's revitalized, park-like Oschin Air and Space Center and Natural History Museum extension underway from Fredrick Fisher and Partners.

The camp lasts four days and includes lots of hands-on sessions with professionals meant to expose school-aged children to the built environment and architectural profession. Students of all skill and interest levels rotate through a series of workshops that explain the design process through an eight-step program that builds their knowledge base ...

White and male candidates more likely to pass the ARE, says NCARB study

2021-07-22T12:23:00-04:00

The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) has, for the first time, published data on Architect Registration Examination (ARE) pass rates that are broken down by demographics. The statistics show that white candidates are more likely to pass the ARE than candidates of color, that men are more likely to pass than women, and that younger candidates have higher pass rates than older candidates. The findings will also be included in an upcoming joint report between NCARB and the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA).

The ARE, which is developed and administered by NCARB, is a key step on the path to professional licensing and is required by all state licensing boards in the United States. To generate the latest statistics, NCARB analyzed the pass rates from more than 32,700 ARE exam participants, studying information on race, ethnicity, gender, and age. NCARB says that releasing the findings is an effort to “help inform essential discussions about eq...

Architects Foundation awards 2021 scholarships to promote diversity and sustainability

2021-07-14T12:49:00-04:00

The Architects Foundation has announced the recipients for four of its scholarship programs aimed at supporting future leaders in equity, diversity, and sustainability in the architecture profession. A philanthropic partner of the American Institute of Architects, the Architects Foundation has awarded the scholarships to 15 individuals during their architectural education to support their college tuition.

The 2021 Payette Sho-Ping Chin Memorial Academic Scholarship has been awarded to Brittney Sooksengdao, a student at Virginia Tech. Sooksengdao will receive a $10,000 scholarship intended to support the education of women in architecture and will also be mentored by an architect at Payette for the scholarship year.

The 2021 a/e ProNet David W. Lakamp AIA Scholarship has been awarded to Alexandra Gottlin from the University of Oregon and Schola Eburuoh from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Each will receive $5,000 to be used towards tuition for demonstrating a strong intere...

Meet NCARB's 2021-2022 President Alfred Vidaurri Jr.

2021-07-13T20:36:00-04:00

“I am honored to be the first Latino president in this organization’s 102-year history,” said Vidaurri. “But I look forward to the day when we no longer have to call out the first, or the second, or the third, but can celebrate the vision of the individual.”

Alfred Vidaurri Jr., NCARB, NOMA, FAIA, of Fort Worth, Texas, was inducted as the president of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) at its 2021 Annual Business Meeting. Vidaurri is the first Latino president in the organization’s history; in this role, he will lead the organization that supports the 55 U.S. architectural licensing boards in their mission to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.

During his term as president, Vidaurri will focus on two issues essential to architectural regulation: how the path to earning an architecture license should evolve to meet the needs of the future; and how NCARB can support greater equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) along that path. Under his lea...

New ACSA President Robert Alexander González pushes for DEI in higher education and shares the importance of community colleges

2021-07-02T14:05:00-04:00

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) has announced architect and academic Robert Alexander González as its 2021-2022 President. Not a stranger to the ACSA, González has been involved in the organization's leadership since 2019, serving as the second vice president and vice president in 2020. Now in this new role, he shares, "It's an exciting time to step into the presidency, with access to such a large membership that is continually growing."

University of New Mexico campus building courtesy of University of New Mexico, School of Architecture + Planning

Currently serving as the Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of New Mexico, González's leadership experience within architectural academia is expansive. Prior to his leadership at the University of New Mexico, he's served as the Director of the Architecture Program at Texas Tech University and the TTU El Paso Regional Site. Beyond his experience in academic program management, rec...

AIA launches program to broaden leadership pipelines

2020-09-04T12:20:00-04:00

As part of an effort to address the glaring lack of diversity within its ranks, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced a new initiative titled Next2Lead that aims to elevate "ethnically diverse women into leadership positions within the AIA."

According to an announcement, Next2Lead will select 16 AIA members with a minimum of five years' experience in the architecture field to receive focused "leadership and experiential education" as well as exposure to specialized individual and group projects, conferences, and other forms of mentorship.

As part of the initiative, AIA has issued a Request for Proposal , due October 15th, seeking a consultant who will "provide curriculum design, development, instruction, facilitation, communications, assessment and evaluation" to aid the program.

Among the objectives of this curriculum will be to provide preparation for potential future AIA leaders by formalizing the organization's leadership preparation models, help strengthen l...

SCI-Arc offers plan for addressing "a pervasive and persistent lack of access, inclusion, and equity" in architecture

2020-08-17T15:34:00-04:00

The Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) has issued a public statement highlighting the school's efforts to begin to address structural and racial inequalities within the field of architecture.

Highlighting the growing civil rights movement in support of Black lives and racial justice that has intensified this summer, SCI-Arc Director Hernan Diaz Alonso and SCI-Arc Board Chairman Kevin Ratner have issued a statement that promises to rework curriculum priorities at the school, offers new financial support for BIPOC students, and promises to better engage with local issues while instituting widespread institutional reform, among other topics.

Previously on Archinect:Black Columbia GSAPP faculty and students push school for comprehensive reforms. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia user GSAPPstudent

"We have not, as an institution, done enough to understand or dismantle how these embedded structures contribute to disenfranchisement on the basis of race, gender identity, sex...

Peopling Studio allows you to increase the diversity in your renders

2020-08-10T20:24:00-04:00

Peopling Studio offers a 3D library of diverse characters in a variety of scenes to use and customize in your digital renders. The project appears to be voluntarily founded and run, offering free downloads.

Their "disclaimer" describes the motives and inspiration behind the project...

Realism is not neutral. CGI has its own politics. We can see this in digital representations of non-white individuals, which tend to be at best stereotypical and, at worst, caricaturish and overly sexualized. Meanwhile, whiteness tends to be represented as default and neutral as evidenced by the Jack and Jill avatars in Siemens Tecnomatix Jack human modeling software or the original Sketchup scale figure, Bryce. To counter these traditions, PEOPLING STUDIO puts forth black and brown skin tones as the default settings. We also acknowledge the limitations of 3D human models, in particular the distinction between 3D scan data and sculpted meshes. We provide sculpted meshes as these are the least exaggera...

Designing for neurodiversity in the workplace

2020-08-05T15:10:00-04:00

A new report from global architecture firm HOK highlights a growing awareness regarding "neurodiversity" in the workforce and offers design strategies for creating workplaces that cater to and facilitate the spatial needs of neurodiverse individuals.

According to the report, "'Neurodiversity' refers to the natural range of variation in human neurocognition. It’s an umbrella term for people who aren’t neurotypical, and includes such conditions as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dyspraxia (a neurologically based physical disorder) and Tourette syndrome, among others. Approximately 15-20 percent of people are 'neurodivergent.'"

The firm's report argues that adapting workplaces to the the needs of neurodiverse communities not only helps individuals thrive in the workplace, but that "accommodating the different wiring of neurodiverse people can provide a huge competitive advantage" for businesses due to the fact that, according ...

Pratt School of Architecture launches Kathryn and Kenneth Chenault Scholarship to support student diversity

2020-08-04T16:45:00-04:00

Pratt Institute School of Architecture announced in late July the launch of the Kathryn and Kenneth Chenault Scholarship, an initiative started by Pratt Board of Trustee member Kathryn Chenault and her husband Kenneth to "support diversity in the School of Architecture."

The school has selected three incoming undergraduate students to receive funding from the initiative, which has been launched with an initial $1 million endowment.

The three students are:

Fatoumata Diallo from Columbus, OH
Ariana Dillon from Pembroke Pines, FL
Rylee Ferguson from Coppell, TX

Pratt School of Architecture Dean Harriet Harris shares in a statement, "A Pratt education empowers students to use their creativity and talent to make positive change in the world with a curriculum focused on key real-world issues from climate change to growing inequality and a goal of graduating a new generation of socially-engaged, inclusive architects and designers.”

With talk of diversifying student and faculty representat...

National Trust leads effort to protect HBCU campuses

2020-07-31T14:17:00-04:00

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Ford Foundation, The JPB Foundation, J.M. Kaplan Fund, and The Executive Leadership Council are collaborating on a $1 million pilot project that aims to develop conservation and preservation plans for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

The so-called HBCU Cultural Heritage Stewardship Initiative is an outgrowth of the National Trust's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a $25 million initiative billed as "the largest preservation campaign ever undertaken on behalf of African American history."

Previously on Archinect: "As Historically Black Colleges and Universities shutter, America loses its history."The remnants of Morristown College, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and shuttered in 1994. Image courtesy of Wikimedia user Bravidos.

A statement published by the National Trust explains, "The historic buildings and landscapes on HBCU campuses—m...

National Museum of the American Latino heading to National Mall in Washington, D.C.

2020-07-27T17:10:00-04:00

The United States House of Representatives has passed the National Museum of the American Latino Act, a bill that paves the way for the creation of a new Smithsonian Institute-affiliated museum celebrating the histories and achievements of Latinos in the United States.

The bill's text explains the "legacy of Latinos is deeply rooted in the very fabric of the history, democracy, freedom, and economic opportunity of the United States," and that despite this fact, "there exists no national museum within the Smithsonian Institution that is devoted to the documentation and explication of Latino life, art, history, and culture."

Previously on Archinect: "National museum dedicated to women's history takes a step forward." The Smithsonian Building in Washington D.C. Image courtesy of Wikimedia user Noclip.

The bill lays the groundwork for the creation of a new museum that "will be the keystone for people in the United States and other Smithsonian Institution visitors to learn about Latino ...

RISD announces plans to focus on social equity and inclusion in art and design education

2020-07-23T14:56:00-04:00

As universities and colleges across the country have seen renewed calls for racial equity and social justice within their curricula, faculty, and programs, the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) has announced a series of initiatives as part of effort to focus the school's pedagogy on anti-racist topics.

A recent letter from RISD President Rosanne Somerson highlights a slate of changes that are coming to the school, including efforts to develop curricula that focuses on anti-racist agendas, engage with non-Eurocentric topics, expand faculty development around equity issues, and expand hiring of faculty members with "expertise in issues of race and decoloniality in the arts and design."

The school will also develop a new Office of Discrimination Reporting and Title IX, expand its existing Center for Social Equity and Inclusion, and expand mental health programs for BIPOC students.

The letter continues, "Evolving our college, museum and community is not just about eliminating racism; ...

UK efforts to bring public sector contracts to Black architects are floundering

2020-07-08T15:40:00-04:00

Southwark council declared that its New Architect Design Services Framework was a “first-of-a-kind” attempt to engage with a new generation of diverse designers. As councillor Leo Pollak put it: “It is the framework some architects have been waiting for all their years.” It turns out that black architects will have to wait even longer.

Writing in The Guardian, architecture critic Oliver Wainwright highlights the long-standing barriers Black and other minority architects in the UK face with regards to attaining public building contracts. Wainwright finds that while the 2010 Equality Act compels localities to improve how public projects impact and support minority communities, a lack of demographic collection data has hampered efforts to diversify public projects in London to include the contributions of minority designers.

University of Illinois Professor Lynne M. Dearborn inaugurated as ACSA National President

2020-07-01T18:37:00-04:00

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) has announced that architect and educator Lynne M. Dearborn has taken office as the organization's new President.

Dearborn will serve through June of 2021 and is expected to focus on issues relating to racial justice within the ACSA organization and throughout field of architectural education, among other topics. Rashida Ng of Temple University served as the previous ACSA President.

Aside from her longtime involvement with ACSA and status as a licensed architect, Dr. Dearborn is also a Professor of Architecture and the Chair of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Illinois School of Architecture in Urbana-Champaign. She earned a B.ARCH from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an M.ARCH from the University of Oregon, and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

In a statement announcing her inauguration, Dearborn stated:

I am eager to identify opportunities to strengthen existing ties with NAAB, NCARB, AIA, AI...

Inside Winnipeg's growing Indigenous design scene

2020-06-22T16:00:00-04:00

As American architecture firms and institutions continue to grapple with inadequate levels of diversity and inclusion, Canadian groups are highlighting an increased willingness to highlight and support the work of Indigenous designers.

A recent CBC article highlights the Brook McIlroy Indigenous Design Studio, a focus within the Winnipeg, Canada-based practice that engages with Indigenous communities and worldviews as a part of its overarching ethos. The firm, according to the architects, positions Indigenous designers to lead "co-creation teams with Canadian professionals whose families have come from all over the world," and has worked to nurture Indigenous design talent for over a decade.

Previously on Archinect: "GSD students launch Harvard Indigenous Design Collective." Photo courtesy of Wikimedia user Gunnar Klack.

Brook McIlroy senior associate, Ryan Gorrie, who is Anishinaabeg from the Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek (Sand Point First Nation on Lake Nipigon) region tells CBC, ...

London launches commission to review diversity of public realm landmarks, statues, and monuments

2020-06-09T13:02:00-04:00

London Mayor Sadiq Kahn has announced a new commission that will "review and improve diversity across London’s public realm to ensure the capital’s landmarks suitably reflect London’s achievements and diversity."

A press release announcing the creation of the commission states: "The Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm will focus on increasing representation among Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, women, the LGBTQ+ community and disability groups."

NEW: Today we've unveiled a new commission to review and improve the diversity of London’s public landmarks.

We must commemorate the achievements and diversity of all in our city - and that includes questioning which legacies are being celebrated. pic.twitter.com/dro06UQB7Y
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) June 9, 2020

The creation of the commission comes as protest movements around the world take aim at monuments celebrating the sordid legacies of slavery and colonialism. In the United States, protesters have taken down prom...