Changing the Face of Architecture
do you remember your first day of school
think back to how you felt emotionally
at that time of your life
maybe you were excited or nervous if
you’ve had the opportunity to attend
college
do you remember what it felt like to
experience that freedom and
independence perhaps you were scared
about not finding the dining halls in
between your 15-minute break between
classes
or getting lost on campus what about
school
academically did you have any fears what
if i’m just not cut out for engineering
or i thought english is what i wanted to
do but
maybe i’m leaning more towards art now
perhaps you’ve had some of these fears
it’s conceivable that anyone entering a
new environment not just first year
college students
would share some of these concerns or
possibly you thought
you would not fit in and i’m not
referring to a superficial sense of
belonging
that may result from being labeled as
cool or popular
no i’m talking about what if no one in
my major looks like me
will i be all by myself those last two
or few of the worries i had going into
my
architectural education for those of you
who are unaware
architecture is an old landscape if you
do it there’s a good chance you’re white
there’s a good chance that you’re a man
and if you’re successful
there’s a good chance that you’re old
right so going into my chosen field of
study
i already knew this but pursuing a
career in architecture is what i deeply
desired
in high school i decided to study
architecture after my dad pointed out
that i loved math
and had an affinity for creation i even
went to an architecture camp
before i applied to college i knew what
the demographics were
coming into the field of architecture
although i wasn’t blind to these
realities
i still had these fears i wondered
will i be treated unfairly overlooked
or have a professor or colleague be
unkind to me
what might i be up against as a black
woman for me
these fears were valid and sadly i
actually experienced these exact
problems i am approaching the
culmination of my bachelor of
architecture degree
and it was not a walk in the park i’ve
had struggles
just a few years ago at the height of my
struggles i was mistreated
bullied and regarded as other unlike my
white colleagues
i was told that somehow my ambition
would cause me to flunk out of college
while my non-black colleagues were
praised for their drive
instead of being guided with care i was
written off as lazy
i’ve been humiliated by someone in a
position intended to aid me
and support my growth as a student by a
professor
sadly these stories of inadequate
support alienation and bullying
are not rare occurrences for black
people indigenous people and people of
color
in architectural education and even in
the profession
and as horrific as it is my story still
pills in comparison to other accounts of
bullying that black architecture
students regularly face
the first time i met a black architect i
was 16 years old
he was a kind older black man who guided
me and gave me several resources
i was one of the lucky ones to meet a
black architect so young
now you may be thinking to yourself i’ve
never met an astrophysicist
and i’m 32. but think about it when is
the last time you’ve been in a building
today who do you think was on the team
of people who built that building
history suggests that it was most likely
a team of non-black people
and if there was black people on the
team there was only one
when was the first time you had a
teacher who looked like you preschool
kindergarten first grade or maybe you
never had a teacher who looked like you
when was the first time you had a lawyer
who looked like you
a doctor think about all of these ages
in which you’re exposed to the racial
norms in the u.s
if you’re white these ages are probably
in your early childhood
if you’re black there’s a chance that
you still have not had these experiences
yet
the first time i met a black woman
architect i was 20 years old
and i had to seek out that opportunity
it was not a given for me to meet one
serendipitously
it was the annual conference for the
national organization of minority
architects
it was my first time traveling alone to
new york city
i went to the opening event on a
wednesday night i was in a room with
hundreds of people
and almost all of them were black these
people all worked in the built
environment
black architects planners designers
construction managers
i could not believe my own eyes i
couldn’t even focus on the lecture
beautifully created work because i was
experiencing a culture shock
i was meeting black women who were
architects
left and right i was finally seeing the
examples that i did not receive when i
was deciding on my future career
what if i had not made up my mind that i
wanted to study architecture
even after i had all those horrible
experiences in my education if i would
have given up
i would not have met these black women
if it were not for my family
i would have switched majors if i did
not have that critical support
i would not be here the process of
becoming a licensed architect
is already arduous even without the
additional struggles
with which blackness is linked to even
be able to become a licensed architect
you have to complete either an
accredited five-year professional
bachelor’s degree
or a four-year bachelor’s degree with a
two
or three year master’s degree you must
choose
one of these schooling options before
sitting for the six
licensure exams and completing the
necessary three 3740 hours of experience
at an architecture office
once you finish all of these steps you
can officially regard yourself as a
licensed architect
who can practice architecture
independently this process
varies in length but continues to be
around eight years
including education and training and
architectural license
is not necessary to work in the field of
design but the license itself presents
itself as the highest qualification a
practitioner can receive
this process takes prolonged dedication
vast financial resources
and most importantly time
now i would like to give you some
context i will get to the numbers in a
second but
i believe that visuals are one of the
best ways to learn something new
i have this demonstration according to
2020 data
from the national council of
architectural registration boards
or ncarb this represents how many
licensed architects there are in the u.s
according to the directory of
african-american architects this
represents how many black men
are licensed architects in the u.s and
this
represents how many black women are
licensed architects from the u.s
sadly this is not a joke there are over
116 000 licensed architects in the us
right now
of that number 2 378 of them are black
and of that number
as of today only 502 of them
are women there have only been 502
licensed black women architects to ever
live
two percent of all architects are black
and only
point four percent of all architects are
black women
that is less than half of one percent
so where do we go from here with all
this information why does any of this
matter
i believe that we are a unique time in
history as a released architecture
there is no one person in this world who
has not been
impacted by architecture positively or
negatively there are several initiatives
popping up
by wonderful individuals mainly to
increase the representation of black
people
specifically black women in the field of
architecture
project pipeline is a camp for minority
middle and high school students
they’re doing the critically crucial
work of exposing the career path
of architecture to young black and brown
children
tiffany brown and her 400 forward
organization
tiara hughes and her first 500
organization
these black women are working to
drastically increase the number
of black women architects what can you
do to positively support the increase of
black architects being rightly
represented
advocate for black students to go to
design camps by sponsoring them
financially support organizations that
are doing this heavy work
and this is a big one to people who work
in the built environment
within that old man’s game you have to
passionately restructure your
hiring and also your work to create
meaningful change
the consequences of the black students
relentless pursuit
of an architectural education trickle
down and a major way to affect
every arena of architecture an increased
population of black licensed architects
bursts a greater network
of black professional mentors for young
black architecture students
while also creating a model for young
black children who are unaware that
architecture is for them
this model would easily begin to shift
the paradigms of young black children
then we can’t just stop with increased
representation
we need equitable support representation
is critical
but more importantly massive structural
change
must happen in order for the profession
of the built environment to effectively
combat racism
socially the very existence of black
architects is an act of destruction
to the racist subjugation of black
people in this nation
which systematically treats black bodies
in an inhumane manner
the federal bureau of prisons identifies
38.6
of all inmates as black but according to
2019 u.s census
estimates black people comprise only
13.4 percent of the population
the national low income housing
coalition identifies about 45 percent
of all public housing residents as black
while black people comprise only 13.4
of the population numbers do not lie
they tell a story the story of systemic
racism in this country
is not new this is the continuation of a
well-implemented design
in order for change to be sustainable
the current systems and processes
will have to alter or be dismantled
from education to licensure these
dilapidated systems are not
equitable due to implicit biases
racism and the makeup of our society it
is notably more difficult for black
people to complete
an architectural education and license
their process
but the change i see to create new
worlds can be a reality
gaining new black architects is a
necessity for transformation
but it is crucial for black architects
to be in positions of power
in order to make actual tangible change
in the way our society operates
even in the literal buildings we make
and reside in
architecture is one field of numerous
arenas where the black voice has been
extinguished
and needs to be recentered there must be
practices
and systems solely dedicated to black
empowerment
and liberation in order to bring the
black voice
back to the spotlight where it has
always belonged
our world has suffered greatly because
an aggressive
centering of eurocentric ideals this
metamorphosis
and change towards liberating the black
voice must be extensive and frightening
the way we practice architecture urban
planning design
these disciplines will all have to
evolve for this problem to truly begin
to be remedied
changing the face of architecture is
extremely important but changing the way
we do architecture
is fundamental though i have
personally experienced many challenges
in my schooling as a black woman
i have learned that the power of
perseverance is especially relevant
even in this hard reality of white power
and glorification
within the field of architecture
academic and professional success for
black architecture students means more
than having
a successful career and doing the job
well
black architects have always had what it
takes to be successful
and i stand here as an example of an
amplified black voice from the intended
point four percent
will you join me in amplifying more
thank you