Acclaimed North Carolina-based architect Phil Freelon has passed away.
Freelon, 66, had been diagnosed with ALS in March 2016, just prior to the debut of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, a signature project he helped design in partnership with Adjaye Associates, Davis Brody Bond, SmithGroupJJR, and Perkins + Will.
A Facebook post from the NorthStar Church of the Arts in North Carolina confirmed Freelon's passing this morning.
Freelon was a graduate of North Carolina State University's College of Design, where he earned a Bachelor of Environmental Design in Architecture; He earned his Master of Architecture degree from MIT.
He founded The Freelon Group in 1990, a practice that took on many culturally and architecturally significant projects, including the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Emancipation Park in Houston, and the MoTown Museum in Memphis. The Freelon Group was acquired by Perkins + Will in 2014, and Freelon was made managing director of the firm's Durham and Charlotte offices.
As an African American architect, Freelon strove to engage with America's most painful and glorious histories alike, while also animating those stories and paying homage to their lessons through his designs.
While working on the the NMAAHC project, for example, Freelon told Archinect, "The African American story is the quintessential American story...Our immigration was forced but what you do when you get here—the struggles, the triumphs...not just the victims and the perpetrators, but the successes and the resiliency—all of that is part of the American story, and I’d like to say the quintessential one. That is reflected in the exhibit. It’s not just the exhibit that gets into the finer things but we felt that the building should begin to express those aspirations and part of the history should be conveyed in the architecture. That is a common theme in our work, particularly the cultural work. We feel that the architectural element should be more than a container, a wrap around. The architecture should help to tell the story."
Reacting to Freelon's passing, American Institute of Architects Chief Executive Officer Robert Ivy said, "Phil was a trailblazer in the architecture community and a pioneer of public spaces. His contributions to the design of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, notable projects in communities across the United States, as well as his positive influence on the profession and our society will be felt for years to come.”
AIA 2019 President William Bates added, “Phil has left a legacy of service to the AIA and its members. He has served as a great mentor and role model for many and was a kind and loving friend to all who knew him. His memory will forever be imprinted in the significant designs he brought to the world. He will be greatly missed.”
In 2016, Harvard's GSD announced the establishment of the Philip Freelon Fellowship Fund designed to "provide expanded academic opportunities to African American and other underrepresented architecture and design students at the GSD."
Archinect's 2017 conversation with Freelon, as well as other articles highlighting his work and contributions, is available below. A full transcript of the conversation will be published later today:
Phil Freelon on Engaging with Black History Through Architecture
An American Story; A conversation with Phil Freelon
The first 'Phil Freelon Fellow' has been named at Harvard GSD
8 Comments
Terrible news.
I've been sad and irritable with my coworkers all afternoon ever since I heard. It's terrible and sad.
Rest in peace, Mr. Freelon. He was a role model for myself and probably many others.
My first job out of college was at The Freelon Group. Phil was a wonderful person + mentor and will be forever remembered as such.
Optimistic, even with the deck stacked, the consummate professional, a pragmatist; a hopeful pragmatist.
When I listened to the podcast today, after hearing of his passing, I remember thinking how easy the conversation flowed, how present he was in the moment - we never sent questions, or expected anything longer than 20 minutes, he gave us 40. We did our homework, knowing that given the timing, it may have seemed like we wanted to talk his ear off about the NMAAHC, but the richness of his heritage, the time he came of age, his interest in sci-fi - the forward thinking of Star Trek - his family; wow. I knew of Phil Freelon before I knew about Paul Revere Williams, and Phil's leadership in getting Mr. Williams his AIA Gold Medal is the kind of selflessness that is rare to find these days, yet easy to see why it rested so comfortably with Phil; he saw the forest, the trees, and sought to lift those left behind by a profession's ongoing struggle reconcile it's values with it's past missteps.
Phillip Freelon, talked in the podcast about his present, and future self, spoke not only about accessibility in terms of codes, but of universality, he spoke about the dignity of all people, regardless of ability, of race, of gender, of nationality, identity. He spoke about a world, a world he saw in Science Fiction, of Roddenberry, but he spoke about it in a way that made it seem nearer than any star, more realizable than any fiction, and more importantly, at least for me, he spoke like it was just around the corner, and he was going to be here to enjoy.
I was fortunate to meet Phil and his beautiful wife Nnenna, it was brief, but it was the honor of my career to have had the chance to meet him.
When I think about my choices in this profession - and I think a lot about them, and wonder why I am doing this - I get self-involved, loathsome, self-pitying, but when I reflect on the man Phil was, and what he meant to so many professionals, and to so many communities, and that photo above - man, I've never seen an architect and their spouse radiate so much grace, and love - I want to be like Phil, and see the world he saw, be the architect-leader he became. We need more Phillip Freelons, because the one that has passed, has awfully large shoes that need to be filled.
Thank you for writing this.
What and incredible career and legacy. Rest In Peace.
Sad news. Tho his career gives me hope in the future of architecture — and the kind of architects that can get recognized after a career of good work.
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