Archinect - News

Howard University begins Myrtilla Miner Building restoration, initiating $785 million campus master plan

2023-02-10T14:35:00-05:00

To kick off February, Howard University President Wayne A.I. Frederick announced at a groundbreaking ceremony the start of extensive renovations to the school’s historic, 109-year-old Myrtilla Miner Building. This restoration marks the start of Howard University’s $785 million Central Campus Master Plan, the largest campus development project in the school’s history.

As noted by Howard University, preservation and sustainability are at the core of the institution’s real estate development initiatives. When renovations are complete, the Miner Building will serve as a shared space for the university's School of Education and Middle School of Mathematics and Science.

Work will be conducted mainly on the building’s interior. Significant architectural features, such as the building’s two-story arched windows, limestone baseboards in corridors, and two grand staircases that rise from the ground floor to the second floor, are being preserved.

Previously on Archinect: Howard University an...

Howard University selects Moody Nolan and KGD Architecture to design new building that will house the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts

2022-11-01T16:35:00-04:00

Howard University has selected Moody Nolan and the Washington DC-based KGD Architecture to design the next piece in its ongoing $785 million campus revitalization.

According to a press announcement by Moody Nolan, once completed, the new Center for Fine Arts & Communications will contain the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, Cathy Hughes School of Communications, and house the University's television and radio stations (WHUR/WHUT.) The new fine arts center was named after the late actor and class of 2000 graduate last year in recognition of his dedication to preserving and fostering arts education at the University.

In September 2021, the school installed letters to the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts. Image still courtesy of Howard University.

"For the KGD | Moody Nolan team, this represents a transcendent design opportunity," shared Howard alum, Moody Nolan Partner, and the project's design executive Renauld Deandre Mitchell. "The Center for Fine Arts and Communica...

Perkins&Will will design a new STEM facility at Howard University

2022-10-28T17:43:00-04:00

A trio led by Perkins&Will has been selected to design a new STEM center for Howard University as part of the HBCU's well-publicized and long-overdue makeover.

The firm will collaborate with the local women- and BIPOC-owned firms K. Dixon Architecture and R. McGhee & Associates (both run by Howard alums) to deliver a seven-story new research facility that will eventually be shared by the university’s College of Engineering and Architecture and College of Arts & Sciences.

The team will renovate Howard’s historic C.B. Powell Building as part of the project, which university President Wayne A. I. Frederick called a “watershed moment” in the school’s 155-year history.

Image courtesy Perkins&Will

Howard is in the midst of a historic five-year $785 million master plan that will revitalize its campus with three new state-of-the-art academic buildings and other renovations in line with the federal government's larger $2.7 billion commitment to HBCUs that was first announced in March.

“The S...

Howard University announces historic $785 million investment to revitalize campus

2022-03-24T13:01:00-04:00

Howard University has announced a historic investment to build upon and revitalize its campus master plan. The University will invest $785 million to build three new state-of-the-art multidisciplinary academic buildings and renovate several existing structures. This is the largest construction real estate initiative in the school’s history.

The new academic centers include the Health Sciences Complex, which will house the College of Medicine, College of Dentistry, College of Pharmacy, and the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences; the Center for Arts and Communications, which will house the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts and the Cathy Hughes School of Communications; and the STEM Center, which will house various STEM programs and disciplines including physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, mathematics, and associated labs.

Previously, "Howard University's Bradford Grant named Instagram artist-in-residence at National Portrait Gallery"

“This is a watershed momen...

Remembering Prescott Reavis: A champion of Black excellence and mentorship within architecture

2022-02-10T17:57:00-05:00

Within the architecture industry, there are individuals who work tirelessly to not only design impactful buildings but who aim to represent the people, places, and community that their work serves. Prescott Reavis was more than just a Black architect. He was an advocate, a mentor, and a formidable force for equitable design practices. On February 8, 2022, Reavis sadly passed away.

The Oakland-based practitioner was a man of many talents and specialties. For over 20 years, his works as a spatial activist, architect, planner, and educator could be seen throughout his involvement with organizations across the nation, specifically in the Oakland/San Francisco area.

Image of Prescott Reavis as a student at Howard University. Image courtesy of Prescott Reavis' Facebook page.

Reavis was a graduate of Howard University where he received a Bachelor's degree in Architecture with a minor in Education. He also attended San Jose State University where he completed Master's Certificates in Appli...

Architect, preservationist, and advocate of D.C. statehood, Charles Cassell, dies at 96

2021-05-26T17:42:00-04:00

Charles I. Cassell, a distinguished architect who helped shape the campus of the University of the District of Columbia and fierce advocate of Washington D.C. statehood, passed away on May 17th, the Washington Post reports. He was 96. According to his wife, Linda Wernick-Cassell, the cause of death was congestive heart failure.

Born on August 5, 1924, Cassell grew up in Washington, D.C., the son of one of the country’s most prominent Black architects, Albert I. Cassell, who was the head of Howard University’s architecture department and designed eleven buildings on the campus, along with many other academic communities across the United States. Albert I. Cassell’s Founders Library at Howard University was named a national treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2016.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Charles I. Cassell spent several years as an architect for the Navy Department, designin...

The Beyer Blinder Belle Foundation provides a $30k grant to support Howard University architecture students

2021-05-04T19:15:00-04:00

The Beyer Blinder Belle Foundation is a non-profit organization that has provided fellowships, grants, and other funding opportunities to support young architects entering the profession, graduate research, and "socially-conscious design and planning that directly benefits communities." Launched in 2017, the Foundation is tied to the New York-based architecture firm Beyer Blinder Belle. In April, the Foundation announced its first annual scholarship program dedicated to Howard University's Department of Architecture students.

The Foundation awarded a $30,000 grant to Howard University in order to support the academic pursuits and professional development of its architecture students. According to the Foundation, the funding provided is intended to "increase professional mobility, the program also includes a paid summer internship at Beyer Blinder Belle for one scholarship recipient."

(L-R) 2021 Scholarship recipients Dean Bailey, Khadija Callender, and Jemima Pierre. Image courtesy ...

Howard University's Bradford Grant named Instagram artist-in-residence at National Portrait Gallery

2020-08-19T14:48:00-04:00

Architect and educator Bradford C. Grant has been named as the inaugural Instagram artist-in-residence by Smithsonian Institute's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Grant, who is a professor in the Department of Architecture at the Howard University College of Engineering and Architecture, will "provide engaging insight into the museum’s programs and its community through his sketch work and made-from-life drawings," according to the university's website. Grant's work will be shown via the gallery's Instagram account, @smithsoniannpg, throughout his residency, which will last through the Fall 2020 semester.

In a press release National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet writes, “Bradford Grant is a talented member of the D.C. community, with a gifted eye for finding and documenting stories,” adding, “Brad’s work as a sketch artist is rooted in both his training as an architect and in his fascination with the intersection of space, structure, community and culture. We hop...