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. 

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 Applications Technology in Planning & Community Design and Development. 

A licensed architect, Reavis has worked in both professional practice and education. He was the Founder and Director of Kulima, a community design, planning, and teaching practice in Oakland, California. Prior to founding Kulima, he has served as the Director of Community Planning and Project Manager for AND Architecture + Community Planning (AND A+CP) in San Francisco as well as an Associate and Director of Student Internships for Ashen+Allen. (The firm was acquired by Stantec in 2010.) During his 13 years at the firm, his primary project focus was on healthcare and academic projects. Such projects include the Gilroy Clinic in Santa Clara and the Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco.

As an educator, he has taught at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo's San Francisco Urban Program, was the former Joseph Esherick Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley Department of Architecture, and an Adjunct Lecturer at Howard University Department of Architecture. He was also a studio instructor at the California College of the Arts' Young Artist Studio Program.

Beyond his work within professional practice, Reavis was also dedicated to mentoring young designers. His passion for teaching and mentorship can be seen in his leadership roles within organizations such as AIA San Francisco, the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), and Youth Plan Learn Action Now! (Y-PLAN). He has served as the Co-Chair for AIA SF's Mentorship Committee as well as a founding member of the SF NOMA chapter, Project Pipeline (at a regional and national level), and chair of NOMA's national student competition.

What is most powerful about Reavis' life isn't the number of programs and organizations he was involved in but his relentless spirit and attitude for being an action of change. For many, Reavis was more than just a practitioner. He was a devoted friend, family member, and cheerleader for Black architects and designers. 

After hearing of his passing, friends and colleagues shared their love and appreciation for Reavis across social media. Oakland-based architecture and real estate development non-profit Designing Justice + Designing Spaces (DJDS) shared in an Instagram post, "DJDS wants to celebrate Prescott's legacy through the work he's done — from his #BlackArchitect shout-outs on Twitter to moving to the speed of community and not at the pace of government/business."

The current NOMA President, Jason Pugh, wrote an open letter sharing his relationship with Reavis as a friend, colleague, and mentor.

This one hits particularly hard for me and a lot of the leadership across our NOMA family. My relationship with Prescott (or Master P as I called him), started well before my journey with NOMA, during my time as an Undergraduate student at Howard University. Prescott was one of the first HU alumni I met who routinely came back to the School of Architecture, and he sincerely cared about both the upcoming students and program as a whole. He was a proud HU alumni who generously gave his time and energy to support the next generation, and he would frequently walk through the studios conducting on the spot project & portfolio critiques, sparing no tough words for those students who he believed could push themselves to higher standards, myself included. This always stuck with me, and in many ways inspired me to give back to the school upon graduation, as I tried to emulate the awesome example Prescott set for others to follow. 

Read Pughs's full message here.

I’m not just there to do the work, that’s not the most important thing. It may look like good work on paper, but without relationship, it won’t actually be transformative when it comes to implementation. — Prescott Reavis, NOMA, NCARB, LEED AP, SEED

In an interview with OpenArchCollab in March 2021, Reavis shared: "As designers, we’ve been trained to be the authorities of creating spaces. Often when architects and designers say 'community engagement,' it ends up being outsiders coming in with a proposal and a schedule. We have this lens of the way things should be done. But often we don’t see the lens of what’s most inclusive and desirable by communities [...] I’m not just there to do the work, that’s not the most important thing. It may look like good work on paper, but without relationship, it won’t actually be transformative when it comes to implementation."

The architecture community will miss Reavis and continue to honor his legacy and contributions to the field. Those unfamiliar with Reavis' work can learn and remember him through the organizations he has been a part of, the communities he has strengthened, and the people he has impacted.