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...

The Hunters Point Library case highlights the ADA's failures to prevent inequality by design

2023-07-24T11:35:00-04:00

More than 30 years ago, the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law, mandating reasonable accommodations and accessibility features for people with disabilities. Yet to this day, ADA noncompliant sidewalks, crosswalks, and public transportation stops permeate U.S. cities from coast to coast.

The plaintiff in the Hunters Point Library suit against Steven Holl — disability advocate Tanya Jackson — is another high-profile case highlighting the effects of racial health inequality in design and the failures of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for Black disabled citizens, 37% of whom are experiencing poverty.

Some critics have begun apologizing for hyping certain flawed aspects of its design. Recently, the LA Times’ Carolina Miranda diagnosed it as “a structure in which architectural gymnastics have elbowed out basic function” after her own timely house call.

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).

A dearth of BIPOC Boston-area construction workers reveals the industry's ugly 'caste system'

2022-08-03T15:26:00-04:00

The Boston population has grown increasingly diverse over the past few decades, with people of color accounting for more than half of the city's current residents and Black people making up 24% of all residents. But the city's construction workforce has not kept pace, according to Boston city data. The data also shows a kind of caste system in construction. The higher up you go in a building under construction, the less likely you are to find workers of color.

The Hub’s long history with racism is felt in practically every other area of the built environment in the city, including its underserved mass transit system and arcane zoning policy’s harsh afterburn. Workers on various large construction projects such as the new Winthrop Center are seeing the effects even as the industry faces labor shortages.

According to WBGH, Boston’s citywide construction workforce is 63% white, with instances of high-demand skilled roles registering at 88% and 89% white. Perhaps predictably, the data set showed some more dangerous job functions (such as asbestos removal) being staffed by upwards of 75% BIPOC laborers.

This is particularly worrisome as the city has been pushing equity mandates that require 40% BIPOC employment on all sites totaling more than 50,000 square feet. Women aren't fairing much better in the local workforce either: A fall survey of Boston's 150 biggest projects found none that met the same requirement, which calls for only 12% empl...

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...

Trahan Architects to design a new performing arts center for the Asian American Resource Center in Austin

2022-03-18T19:56:00-04:00

The Asian American Resource Center (AARC) of Austin, Texas is getting an artistic new addition thanks to a design from Trahan Architects.

The New York and New Orleans-based firm was selected to envision a new performing arts space for the center, which will come in the form of two dueling 200- and 400-seat theaters housed within a singular structure on the AARC’s campus in northeast Austin.

Trahan’s design places the arts space next to the existing AARC facility on a 15-acre site at the nexus of Cameron Road and Clear Creek Drive.

Site plan of the planned Performing Arts Center at the Asian American Resource Center. Image courtesy the City of Austin

“[We] feel privileged to be working on such an important cultural project which will enrich the lives of the Asian American community members in Austin and its surrounding areas,” Managing Principal Kevin Thomas said in a statement. “The firm is well-positioned to do this meaningful work by approaching the design to ensure diverse commun...

RIDING THE VORTEX is named as 2022 recipient of the Whitney M. Young Jr. Award

2021-12-10T19:20:00-05:00

RIDING THE VORTEX has today been announced as the 2022 recipient of the AIA’s Whitney M. Young Jr. Award honoring the group’s commitment to challenging social issues.

The 50th edition of the award went to the 14-year-old breakout group that was formed after the 2007 AIA conference in San Antonio. Since then, VORTEX has gone on to establish itself as a torchbearer for the inclusion of Black women in all aspects of the industry, taking Mr. Young’s observations on the profession from the 1968 AIA conference as their charge.

A group photo after the RIDING THE VORTEX session at the 2008 AIA National Conference. Photo: Steven Lewis, image courtesy RIDING THE VORTEX.

“Everyone involved in VORTEX’s programming, whether they are a collaborator, panelist, or audience member, has emerged from the experience with a unique blend of intellect, creativity, and aspiration that empowers them to move confidently through the profession,” the AIA citation read. “Many often find support through the conne...

Amid labor shortages in construction, new reports expose failures in diversity and inclusion

2021-12-10T13:31:00-05:00

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has invited construction companies around the world to support a new charter committed to improving diversity within the global construction sector. The move comes amid multiple reports finding that female, BIPOC, and young employees are significantly underrepresented in construction occupations.

The CIOB’s charter contains five actions for signatories to implement, including highlighting the benefits of diversity and inclusion at a senior leadership level, creating targets to address under-representation and pay disparities, and publishing reports on an annual basis detailing the company’s diversity metrics and plans for the future.

The decision to create the charter was driven by findings from a CIOB report, which noted that women make up just 12.3% of the US construction workforce, with BIPOC individuals comprising between 5% and 7% of the workforce, ...

Chicago announces largest investment in affordable housing in city's history

2021-12-09T14:21:00-05:00

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Chicago Department of Housing (DOH) Commissioner Marisa Novara announced on December 6th more than $1 billion in affordable housing through the Chicago Recovery Plan, as part of Lightfoot’s 2022 budget. This is the largest investment in affordable housing in Chicago’s history.

Aiming to create and preserve 2,428 affordable housing units spread across 24 developments, the DOH is more than doubling the 11 developments awarded and 1,083 units built over the $398 million granted over the 2019 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) round.

The 24 LIHTC developments were selected through a racial equity lens. As detailed in the City of Chicago’s press release, the DOH conducted the country’s first Racial Equity Impact Assessment of the LIHTC program through a process that examines data by race, centering on the experiences of impacted populations. As a result, the city has ensured that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) developers will benefit ...

Theaster Gates teams up with Prada to launch incubator for emerging designers of color

2021-09-02T17:01:00-04:00

Theaster Gates is teaming up with Prada to launch a program that will support and invest in up-and-coming artists and designers of color.

Dorchester Industries, the design and manufacturing arm of Theaster Gates Studio, in partnership with Gates’ Rebuild Foundation and Prada Group, announced the launch of the Dorchester Industries Experimental Design Lab. Based on the South Side of Chicago, it is a three-year program that will serve as a platform for artists of color by creating opportunities to amplify their work, invest in their development, and expose them to organizations looking to work with diverse talent.

Designers in the areas of fashion, furniture, industrial and graphic design, and the arts will be trained, funded, and mentored through design awards and public programming. It will provide a platform for exhibitions, performances, and public dialogue, creating “a nucleus of design intelligence on the South Side,” as stated on Gates’ Instagram.

Related on Archinect: A Con...

Perkins&Will and Harvard GSD launch pilot program to support and mentor young Black designers

2021-02-22T13:27:00-05:00

Firms and architecture institutions continue to join forces as they build more robust pipelines for Black designers and designers of color. With organizational giants like NOMA and design equity leaders continuously expanding on this initiative to elevate and mentor students and future designers, firms like Perkins&Will and institutions like Harvard GSD have developed a pilot program of their own.

On February 18, 2021, an announcement was made launching the "Black in Design Mentorship Program." The idea for this pilot program was initially developed during the 2019 Black in Design Conference alongside Perkins&Will professionals. According to the firm, "the mentorship program will fill a critical educational and career gap in the design profession by fostering meaningful and lasting relationships starting as early as high school."

To learn more about the program, Harvard GSD grad and Perkins&Will principle Brooke Trivas shares in a statement, "Design firms have a responsibility to be...

NOMA celebrates Jason Pugh, Pascale Sablan, and Tiffany Brown as they embrace leadership and 50 years of empowering and educating minority architects

2021-01-19T18:45:00-05:00

NOMA's commitment to supporting and mentoring architects continues as new leadership transitions for 2021. Jason Pugh will begin his new position in the organization as he follows former President Kimberly Dowdell's work and energy. Pugh will be supported by Pascale Sablan, who was voted President-Elect for the 2023-2024 term. Like the presidents and leaders before them, each newly appointed president has helped shape NOMA into the organization it has become today.

Pugh shares, "One of the main goals for the next two years is to build upon the great work and progress NOMA has accomplished during the last impactful administration, led by NOMA past-President Kimberly Dowdell." In response to her appointment, Sablan wrote to the community sharing her matched enthusiasm in her new role. "I'm extremely proud to share that during the NOMA 48th National Conference, I was voted to be President-Elect to support Jason E. Pugh during his presidency. In this role, I will have the honor of gett...

2020 NOMA Conference opens virtually to the largest conference audience yet, gathering socially motivated architects, designers, and allied professionals

2020-10-15T14:51:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA)

In a year challenged with COVID-19, a recession, and social awakening, NOMA experienced record membership, partnership and sponsorship support.

The 48th Annual National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) Conference opened on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, with an online audience of more than 1,500 registrants, making it the largest NOMA conference gathering ever. The virtual conference surpasses the record-breaking attendance of over 1,200 at last year’s NOMA Brooklyn conference. In an unprecedented year due to COVID-19, a resulting recession and social unrest, the conference will bring together architects, designers, academics, urban planners, community developers, artists, and students to champion and discuss how to shift the issues of our current structures to more equitable systems through architecture during the online conference, Oct. 14-17, 2020.

“When faced with the difficult question ...

Melissa Daniel, host of Architecture Is Political podcast, creates a new voice for architectural discourse

2020-09-22T08:55:00-04:00

As Black and minority voices continue to impact the industry's progress towards equity and inclusivity, one woman is sparking opportunities for Black and Brown voices and opinions to be heard.

Architectural designer Melissa Daniel is the creator and host of the growing podcast series Architecture is Political. Daniel specifically emphasizes the podcast is where "Black and Brown folks have a conversation about architecture," and the reasons for starting the podcast is to "rediscover why I went into architecture." It's this point that makes her mission towards amplifying the experiences of minority voices and their views on how the discipline impacts their lives a much-needed outlet for digestible discourse.

Having launched her first podcast episode earlier this year, topics include mapping segregation in D.C., Muslim Women in architecture, gentrification, and issues on "curated tolerance." After listening to a few of her podcasts, it's clear that her vocal presence, openness, and con...

Architects Foundation Launches Black Women in Architecture Scholarship

2020-09-06T16:03:00-04:00

Mobilizing the architecture industry to provide opportunities for women, specifically for Black and minority women, has been an ongoing effort in recent years. Not only that, but the discussions over the state of racial and social injustice in field, the continued mistreatment of Black communities taking place in the larger world, and the growing and disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have together sparked greater efforts to re-evaluate racial biases inherent to many industries.

However, if there's anything the events of 2020 have taught the architecture industry, it's that architects, design professionals, and students should not be complacent with the mere "discussions" of making changes, but should instead focus on instilling real solutions in institutions and practices.

The AIA's philanthropic partner, the Architects Foundation, recently launched a new scholarship specifically to raise funds for Black Women in architecture. The Desiree V. Cooper Memorial fund aim...