N AT I O NA L ORG AN IZ ATION OF M IN OR IT Y A R CHIT ECT S FA LL 2 0 1 5
National Museum of African American History and Culture Project Pipeline: Celebrating 10 years
Co ntent s
2 President’s Message
3 Editor’s Message
4 Letter from the Executive Director
5 Pro Bono
6 M ember Spotlight Andrew Thompson
8 Agents of Change
N ational Museum of African Am erican History and Cultur e
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1 0 L if t i n g t h e Ve i l Teaching Cultural Relevancy in the CADC
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1 2 P roj e c t P i p e li n e Celebrating 10 years 22 P ra c t i c i n g Arch i tecture Ove rse a s a s a U S A rch i te c t 25 Obi t u a ri e s 28 NOMA Officers NOMA Magazine | No 13 | Fall 2015 | Edited by: Devanne Pena, Assoc. AIA, NOMA | Designed by: Lou Moriconi
P res i d ent’ s M essage NOMA President Kevin M. Holland, AIA, NOMA
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elcome to the Fall 2015 Edition of the NOMA Magazine!
Before, I get too far into my letter, I want to thank the Editor-in-Chief, Devanne Pena and her staff of writers for not only spearheading this issue but, also, for the exceptional issue that was released in the spring of this year! Unfortunately, Devanne has made the decision to step away from her duties as editor in order to focus on obtaining her architectural registration. As an organization of architects, we should commend her efforts to obtain her right to practice our craft but, let’s also thank her for a job well done!
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This issue memorializes and documents many monumental occasions. At the top of this list of monumental occasions is a memorial to a great, kind and gentle man who we all know as one of the twelve founders of NOMA. Harold Williams, FAIA, NOMAC, has transitioned to the ages and leaves behind his devoted wife of over 60 years, Dr. Betty, and his longtime friend, college and remaining NOMA Founder, Jeh Johnson, FAIA, NOMAC. I had the honor and privilege of speaking on behalf of The Organization at his memorial service in Los Angeles in July. While we mourn one occasion, we must remember to celebrate another. This issue celebrates 10 years of Project Pipeline! The very first Project Pipeline started in my newly-adopted hometown of Cincinnati, by past NOMA Midwest Region Vice President, David Kirk, AIA and other members of the SW Ohio Chapter in 2005. Contributing to our enormous pride is the fact that in 2014, Kate Brandy, from Cincinnati, became the first Project Pipeline student to graduate from an accredited program in architecture, when she obtained her bachelor of science in architecture from my alma mater, The University of Virginia. Almost 15 years ago, a presidential predecessor of mine, Paul Taylor, AIA, NOMA had a vision for the hiring of a management firm to manage the day-to-day activities of NOMA. This issue also, celebrates the fulfillment of that vision. This past June, we achieved a historic milestone: the hiring of an Executive Director for The Organization and this magazine issue introduces Nicole A. Singleton, MBA, and her staff at The Adept Group, to the NOMA Family. This issue celebrates two people that I have known for almost as long as I have been a member of NOMA: Andrew Thompson, AIA, NOMA and Dr. Carla Jackson Bell, NOMA. Andrew is stepping down from his second tour of duty with the NOMA Board of Directors--this time as the Northeast Region Vice President and; Dr. Carla has, recently, launched an invaluable resource into the culture of the architectural curriculum in the form of a book, entitled Space Unveiled, edited by her. It is with bittersweet feelings that we must accept the end of Andrew’s term and with enormous pride that we, as The Organization, elevate Dr. Jackson Bell’s accomplishments. Last but, not least, we celebrate the near completion of the Smithsonian Institute National Museum of African American History and Culture. The team responsible for this, soon-to-be, iconic work was put together by legendary architect, and the late, Max Bond, FAIA of Davis Brody Bond. This team included, internationally-acclaimed architect, David Adjaye, as its designer; the SmithGroup, and longtime NOMA member, Phil Freelon, FAIA, and his firm, Freelon, as the architect-of-record. I must confess that I have one more shameless plug to make on behalf of my alma mater: the project manager for this project is a dear friend of mine, classmate, and is one of the most dynamic persons that I know, Zena Howard, AIA, NOMA. For the conference attendees, if you see Devanne at the 43rd Annual NOMA Conference in New Orleans, being held from October 14-17 (last plug, I promise), please make sure that you congratulate her on this edition! Devanne, you and your staff did a great job! Thank you! Regards, Kevin M. Holland, AIA, NOMA 2015-16 National President
E d i to r ’ s M es s a ge Editor-in-chief Devanne Pena, Assoc. AIA, NOMA magazine@noma.net devannepena.com
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ow do we define our identity? Is it by what we do, what we believe in, who we care to love, or an indissoluble marriage of these? The art of, and the profession of architecture play a central role in our career paths, volunteerism, reading material, vacation destinations, subject of drawings, subject of conversations, subject of dreams. Architecture is our raison d’être.
I have wanted to become an architect, and nothing else, since 7 years old; I grew up with architecture, and it will always be amongst the three greatest passions which create my identity; the other two, being my faith and family. I now stand at a pivotal place in my career, where I have experience, and it is just enough to begin choosing my direction within the field. Three years ago, just getting my foot in the door was enough, it didn’t matter where I would go to do it (which ended up being Laredo, a Mexican-Texan border town) or what types of buildings the firm would design (except prisons). Since, I have been an educator, general contractor, designer, and now editor. I spoke at the 2014 NOMA Conference in Philadelphia, and will moderate at the upcoming conference in New Orleans. My story and face is being promoted in the I AM AIA campaign around the country and internationally. The more achieved, the more I am floored by the graceful circumstances that have elevated me from, as one of our NOMA members and my friend, Tiffany Brown, deems it, a free lunch kid, to a place where I can be a beacon of success by fortitude. I am only twenty-six, and the best has yet to come. But none of this holds any value, if I do not lift as I climb. Beacons don’t shine in vain, they guide others to access. They are conspicuous for the sake of representation and to create opportunities where before unseen. Melissa Daniels, Katherine Williams, Karen Williams, Nekia Strong, Gabrielle Bullock, Dina Griffin, Phil Freelon, Kevin Casey, Steven Lewis, Andrew Thomson, Richey Madison, to name a few, are my beacons. They’ve seen my potential, guided me, advised me, and improved professional I am today. Though each of these very special articles highlight a different sense of identity, I’ll say that the common thread within that theme is having a desire for improvement, from modernizing and profiting our own firms, to diversity of our future professors and future students, and much in-between. Enjoy!
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Often times when meeting new people, other than the guy who confides in you his secret charge of having wanted to be an architect since knee-high to a grasshopper (a super-southern idiom, an identity trait of mine), someone always asks “What made you want to be an architect?”. This is a very curious question in that it is not often proposed as in other true professions, or if it is, it could never be answered, “…to be rich”. There is endless wonder in architecture. I am sure there is in other true professions, but just not as curious to everyone. We all, grow up with architecture surrounding us, but not many people know exactly what it is that architects do. This is not an easy thing to sum up, because beyond designing buildings, architects design, manage, research, advocate for, speak on, write on, and teach on so many different things. I chose the theme of Identity for this fall issue to explore just a few.
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L etter Fro m The Execu ti ve Di recto r NOMA Executive Director Nicole A. Singleton, MBA, MAC
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am incredibly humbled and honored to have the opportunity to advance the National Organization of Minority Architect’s mission, aims, and objectives, as its new Executive Director. As an experienced nonprofit association manager, I am thrilled about partnering with you and assisting our Board of Directors to take NOMA to higher levels. What appealed most to me about the opportunity to lead NOMA as its Executive Director was the opportunity to work along side individuals who are dedicated to their profession and passionate about ensuring diversity and equity in the design community. NOMA has a fabulous history and continues to touch the lives of many professionals, students, institutions, and communities across the United States.
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I bring experience providing oversight and management for over 40 national and international professional societies and trade associations. I have been responsible for all activities including strategic planning; budgeting; financial management; board, committee and volunteer management; membership recruitment and retention; annual meetings; continuing education program management; new program development; and alliance building with legislation, sponsors, and other key stakeholders. From this experience, I will lead our management team to provide a high-service level to each of NOMA’s members and stakeholders, introduce new programming and professional development opportunities, expand our marketing and public relations efforts, increase the support offered to NOMA and NOMAS chapters, develop and implement operational guidelines to support the organization as it continues to grow and evolve, and assist in connecting our members with career and business development opportunities. For over 44 years, NOMA has promoted excellence, community engagement, and professional development of its members—while serving as a valued resource and strong unified voice for minority architects. With your continued participation, input, and support, we will continue to make a difference for many, many years to come. I look forward to our work together. I, along with our management team, are grateful to the NOMA Board and all of you for your warm welcome. Feel free to reach out to the NOMA National Office at any time. We are happy to hear from you. With warm wishes,
Nicole A. Singleton, MBA, MAC NOMA Executive Director executive@noma.net
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ost of us enjoy helping out. Gandhi states “We find ourselves through helping others.” A defining moment of helping others is when the skills we have sync perfectly with the task at hand. Made for the moment. A key to protecting our identity is contributing to its overall health. As architects, this place comes under the umbrella of pro bono work.
Steps to signing up: 1. R egister your firm and pledge your 1%. The 1% program asks that firms dedicate a minimum of 1% of their working hours to pro bono service. That amounts to just 20 hours per employee per year. 2. C omplete your profile and post past projects. Your firm’s profile on The 1% website can tell a story about your NOMA past contributions, project interests, and availability to take on new projects.
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Pro bono, (or pro bono public, which in English translates to “for the public good” and is usually shortened to pro bono,) is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. Unlike traditional volunteerism, it is a service that uses specific skills of professionals to provide services to those who are unable to afford them.
3. F ind projects and connect with nonprofits. As a participant of The 1% program, you have the ability to see all the listings of nonprofit projects currently registered, while registered nonprofits have the ability to contact your firm.
Often when we hear pro bono, it is in the context of legal work, but the architecture profession is on the rise to join the movement in a more focused way. A grassroots effort entitled “The 1%” strives to match architects with the nonprofit organizations who require their skills. “If every architecture professional in the U.S. committed 1% of their time to pro bono service, it would add up to 5,000,000 hours annually-the equivalent of 2,500-person firm, working full-time for the public good.” To break it down even further: “1% of an 8-hour work day is 4.8 minutes. Over the course of a traditional 2,080-hour work year, it amounts to just 20 hours per person.” Imagine the impact we can have. The group was started by design professionals who desired to provide a focused way to reach the organizations who would benefit from the developed skills. It provides a platform for recording pro bono hours, connecting nonprofit groups with the professional who most fits, and increasing visibility for those who are doing so.
Things to know: The platform to date is designed for firms to connect with nonprofits, individual professionals should feel free to probono on their own. Professionals licensed and unlicensed are encouraged to participate. There are different models for breaking down hours each firm must commit. For further information and registration, contact: http://www.theonepercent.org. And for those unlicensed professionals such as myself, be inspired by the process! AIA provides a free contract template which provides a focused way to approach pro bono opportunities. The steps are yours for the taking so make it count. What’s next? Your move.
Sharlita Green graduated from Hampton University with a Master of Architecture degree. After pursuing a Classical Architecture & Design Certification involving extensive stay in Rome and Florence, she went to New York to freelance through her business, “thewriteillustrator.” Participation in NOMA as a student encouraged her to continue the partnership, namely through NOMA magazine.
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M e mb er Spot l i g ht Andrew Thompson NOMA AIA LEED AP BD+C
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In 1991 I was an undergraduate student at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY and was involved in an organization for African American/Caribbean students in the undergraduate architecture program. We were made aware of a group of black New York City architects who were meeting once a month in New York City. They accepted our invitation to come meet with them. It was the first time a group of students had met with this group of practitioners. We walked into the room and were welcomed and accepted as one of their own. The group was known as the New York Andrew Thompson NOMA AIA LEED AP BD+C County Architect- Passaic County New Jersey Northeast Region Vice President National Organization of Minority Architects Mr. Thompson is currently the County Architect for Passaic County in New Jersey. He oversees and is charge of new projects and renovations in all of the towns and municipalities in Passaic County. His projects range from upgrades of a correctional facility in Paterson New Jersey to the restoration of historic structures in Wayne New Jersey. Mr. Thompson previouslywas the Director of Campus Operations for the New Community College at CUNY now Guttman Community College. His responsibilities included the fit-out of a 7 story building in midtown Manhattan for the College’s inaugural student body. The Stella and Charles Guttman Community College is the first college in the City University of New York (CUNY) system in over 40 years. CUNY is the largest urban university in the United States. Mr. Thompson served as the Chief Architect in the Design and Construction Department Facilities Management for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) for 12 years. He supervised a staff of in-house designers and managed out sourced architects on multiple projects. MSKCC’s Construction Guidelines which were created by Mr. Thompson and his staff. Mr. Thompson was also an architectural designer and facilities planner with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for 10 years. He was involved in the initial planning and design of the Air Train project at John F. Kennedy Airport. Mr. Thompson worked on various facilities owned and operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, including One World Trade Center and various airport facilities. Mr. Thompson served as Visiting Professor from 1995 to 2000 at Pratt Institute’s Undergraduate School of Architecture. He taught a NYC Building Code and Zoning Course in 2006 at the Mechanics Institute in New York City. In 2006 he was cast as a participant on Archi-TECHS, for a pilot episode on the History Channel that explored various apparatus and systems to evacuate people from a high rise structure in the event of catastrophe and to get emergency service personnel and equipment to the scene effectively and efficiently. Mr. Thompson received his Bachelor of Architecture Degree from Pratt Institute in 1991 and is a 1993 Graduate of Columbia University with a Masters in Architecture and Urban Design. He also holds an Associates Degree in Mechanical Engineering from New York City College of Technology.
I think back and I am like wow 24 years is a long time
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Coalition of Black Architects-NYCOBA. Max Bond, Jimmie Tucker, Richard Franklin, Bill Davis, LeRoy Tuckett, were just a few of the architects around the table. As I worked with NYCOBA more interns and students joined in. In 1993 the New York Coalition of Black Architects received their charter from the National Organization of Minority Architects. They became known as NYCOBA-NOMA. This group was influential in my career and kept my focus on being an architect. They became like family, and at difficult times NYCOBA-NOMA always had your back. NYCOBA-NOMA sponsored ARE workshops under Jeh Johnson (a NOMA Founder). These were all day workshops when the exam was still using pencil and paper for the multiple choice and graphic portions. The workshops were very helpful to and Jeh knew how to get what we needed to know so we could be successful in passing our exams. I was still with NYCOBA-NOMA when it was decided that the National NOMA conference would be held in NYC in 1993. It was our first time holding a major conference and I remember the planning sessions in One World Trade Center on the 72nd floor. Richard Franklin who was then Assistant Chief Architect of the Port Authority of NY and NJ was extremely instrumental in giving us the space and in the planning process. The students from City College which were not yet a NOMAS chapter was extremely helpful in the planning process. Unfortunately right as conference planning was done, the 1993 bombing at the World Trade Center which forced us to suddenly change our venue from the Vista Hotel to Penn Plaza across from Madison Square Garden. It took hard work but the chapter pulled off the conference with great success with a large showing of NOMA members from around the country. At the conference I met so many people, students, interns and architects; it was such a joyful experience. I knew then I was part of something so much bigger than I could have imagined. NYCOBA-NOMA continued to grow and I met more professionals such as Roberta Washington who became one of my mentors as well as my friend. Our local chapter in NY had its ups and downs but it still was a force in mentoring and fostering growth amongst professionals, interns and students. In NOMA I continued to attend conferences and every year building up the excitement to go and then feeling so refreshed when I returned back to NY. Later on I became more active with National first asked to be one of the first University Liaisons in which I represented the Northeast. I was a professor at Pratt Institute so it was at the right time to reach out to schools and students. It was great to participate on the NOMA Board back in 2000, and I learned how much hard the Board does to keep NOMA going forth and thriving. In the meantime in my movement from academia, to intern to professional, I kept giving back and that meant mentorship to whomever I could. NOMA also presented job opportunities directly to me and this all before the organization had its participation of firms at the vendor expo at the National Conference. In my time since becoming a licensed architect, I have served my local chapter in NY as the Vice President and President. Shortly after stepping down as President of NYCOBA-NOMA after completing my term, I got the call again to come back to the Executive Board. I came on the Regional Vice President for the Northeast and I am now wrapping up my six year term. I was happy to see two new chapters start up, NJ-NOMA and PGH-NOMA (based in Pittsburgh, PA), under my term. I think back and I am like wow 24 years is a long time. The answer I can say if it is something you love and the people are like family, time is irrelevant. I am just waiting in the next 20 years to sit back and read an article on the next NOMA member who is reminiscing about their number of years and experience with this unique and great organization.
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Agents of Change How Emerging Professionals Are Changing the Architectural Profession Coauthored by Yu-Ngok Lo, AIA and Bill Schmalz, FAIA
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When architects think about who creates innovation and drives change in their profession, they might benefit from looking at what happens in other fields. For example, linguists have put forward a theory that when languages change (and languages are changing all the time), it’s not because a language’s older speakers decide it’s time for a change, but because young speakers are more willing to explore new ways of using the language to meet their needs. Young speakers are more likely to play with the language and change its grammar and vocabulary. Then, as these speakers grow older, they carry the language changes with them. Something similar has recently happened in the architectural profession. During the last great recession, architectural firms were forced to make tough choices, including reducing their staffs drastically to survive. For those who lost their jobs, the effect was devastating. Many architects with 20+ years of experience were forced to either retire early or switch to another industry (e.g., construction management or cost estimating), never to practice architecture again. But not all architects affected by the recession left the profession. Many emerging professionals who lost their jobs have moved on to start their own firms. They distinguish themselves from the more established firms by being young, energetic, and creative. These young folks are adept at programs such as Rhino, Maya, Grasshopper, and Photoshop, which allow them to produce stunning presentation materials that are as good as or better than their more established competition. They are willing to take chances and explore new ways of creating architecture.
Many of the young architects who ventured to start their own firms work at home, and their business is primarily online. Their business expenses are the costs of the firm’s website, software licenses, and marketing. Unlike the older practitioners, these youngsters often have no mortgages to pay or financial burdens from their families (i.e., no kids). They market themselves through blogs and social media. Many small firms start earning income by doing small projects, such as a small bedroom addition to a neighbor’s house. They also participate in small competitions through crowdsourcing websites. Some of the firms with access to capital even do small residential developments on their own. Young professionals conduct business by responding to the digital age and the ever-changing architectural profession. Through innovative thinking and the use of digital technologies, they are pushing the industry to rethink the fundamentals of how architects conduct business.
Emerging professionals are also helping to reshape the documentation and construction processes of many established firms. These young architects are driving
The last great recession was devastating; however, it gave many young professionals the opportunity to create innovative small businesses. The ways these firms conduct business is truly remarkable. They are revolutionizing the way we think about the business models of architecture, and are pushing the industry into the digital era. They are also creating a ripple effect that is changing how architects and engineers interact. From business practice model to documentation to punch list process, emerging professionals today are serving as ambassadors connecting the profession of architecture with the new digital age. In architecture, as in all fields, it’s the young who are the agents of change.
Yu-Ngok Lo is the principal of his own firm YNL Architects. He was a Board of Director of the AIA LB/SB chapter from 2013 to 2014 and is an Advisory Group member of the AIA CCA Knowledge Community since 2014. He is also a member of the AIA California Council Committee On the Environment, Advocacy Advisory Committee and a National Director of the American Institute of Building Design. He is currently serving the AIA YAF CONNECTION Editorial Committee as a Contributing Journalist.
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An example of this is MASS (Model of Architecture Serving Society) Design Group, an international design practice based in Boston. Founded by Alan Ricks and Michael Murphy in 2008 when they were still studying at Harvard GSD, the firm has come up with a drastically different model for practicing architecture. Their business model is “to deliver fundamental services to communities that have been underserved.” The company’s mission is to redefine architecture as a tool to improve people’s lives and the value of their communities. The company’s success has been proven by the firm’s numerous awards, including the Curry Stone Design Prize, the Zumtobel Prize, and Contract Magazine Designer of the Year. The Butaro District Hospital in Rwanda is one of the projects the firm completed in 2011. The design made use of local materials such as volcanic rock from the nearby Virunga Mountains to reduce the construction cost and maximize the project value. The project also stimulated the local economy through employment, and provided women an opportunity to contribute to their own community (one of the chief masons was female). The hospital now serves a population of over 340,000. The firm survived the great recession and was able to sustain itself through humanitarian work and partnering with various charity organizations. Now with offices in Boston, Haiti, and Africa, MASS employs more than 40 full-time staff, and the number is growing.
the profession toward a digital/paperless practice. Eskew+Dumez+Ripple, the recipient of the 2014 AIA Firm Award, is among the many young firms that embrace the digital age of architecture. As an early adopter of the PDF software BlueBeam, which can accurately scale as-built drawings, Eskew+Dumez+Ripple is able to quickly analyze existing buildings, perform program comparisons, and create area takeoffs before any renovation design begins. The firm also developed digital markup tools in Bluebeam to effectively collaborate with consultants; by overlaying consultants’ drawings and sketches on the architectural base drawings, conflicts and discrepancies immediately become apparent. Bluebeam generates “clash reports” in standard PDF formats, which can be easily shared with consultants. “The biggest change is how our firm utilizes digital tools such as Bluebeam for the construction administration process,” says Ian O’Cain, a young designer who pioneered the firm’s use of various digital tools. “People no longer have paper sets covering their desks. Instead, up-to-date conformed PDF sets are being used which can be shared between multiple people and accessed remotely.” Punch lists have also been simplified at Eskew+Dumez+Ripple. Instead of individual printed sheets of paper with handwritten notes and a camera full of pictures to sort through in the office, punch lists are now done on iPads with Bluebeam in the field. Each item, along with a photo of the condition, is linked to a plan location, and a complete punch list can be automatically generated. “Bluebeam is only a starting point of the digital revolution in our office. The most important thing is that now the more experienced people are exposed to these tools and see the immediate benefits,” said O’Cain. “We are constantly looking for ways to improve the efficiency of our workflow, and our goal is to create a complete paperless construction administration process.”
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Lifting the Veil
Teaching Cultural Relevance to Architecture and Design Students Dr. Carla Jackson Bell
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Faculty and Director of Multicultural Affairs in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction (CADC) at Auburn University
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ince the early 1880s, underrepresented groups both African Americans and women have designed signature buildings. In the mainstream marketplace, however, most minority builders have remained invisible in modern history, theory, and practice. I found that this unfortunate omission has been ignored and silenced. Such noted educators as Dr. Kathryn H. Anthony (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and Dr. Akel Ismail Kahera (Dean at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar) suggest that African American architects and educators are deeply shaped by Eurocentrism and struggle to work and teach from a position of invisibility. My research has focused on why architecture faculty are uncomfortable discussing cultural topics and on ways to include such theories in modern architecture history books. After twenty-one years of teaching and researching, I finally found a way to retrofit the accounts to include black and women’s history and culture in curriculum content by using diverse ideologies, and displaying images and comparisons to illustrate content. Examples are documented in my new book, Space Unveiled: Invisible Cultures in the Design Studio, which was published by Routledge Research in Architecture series in July 2014. Space Unveiled is an extension of my dissertation research and a reference work of twenty-two chapters written by me and other nationally and internationally acclaimed educators and practitioners from across the country. The intent of Space Unveiled is to modernize design and architecture curricula content. In order to develop the content for Space Unveiled, I assembled a group of educators and practitioners with the intent of laying out an examination of traditional architecture education. The investigation was a series of historical overviews, followed by a series was a set of teaching approaches on design and non-design studios that highlight tools that are proven by these educators to be more diverse and inclusive teaching practices. Social-cultural-situated modes of learning, collaborative learning, naturalistic feedback and learning for errors, and problem-based learning through guided discovery are cultural and pedagogical examples that are merged within Space Unveiled! The research in Space Unveiled reveals that Booker T. Washington’s master builder training approach, which began at Tuskegee in the late 1880s, omitted African American women from entering into the field of architecture and construction. These women could not enroll until 1934 over 40 years after Robert Robinson Taylor, the first accredited African American architect and first African American student enrolled at the MIT in 1888, taught his first architecture class at then Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. Washington’s practice was a serious detriment for women in the Tuskegee program. The first African American woman, Dr. Sandy Moore, did not complete the
architecture program until 1967. This discovery uncovered a critical debate about how African Americans are and have been taught in traditional programs across the country.
ARCH 3600 Ethnic Americans and the Built Environment Seminar class, Fall 2014 – Topic: Diversity Issues in Professional Practice. Carla Jackson Bell with guest speaker, Contina McCall (TU alumna 2001), AU Campus Architect III, Construction Management
Space Unveiled does something that no other book does – it unveils invisible space, culturally competent teaching strategies, and diverse philosophies in modern education. Dr. Sharon E. Sutton, Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Washington and the only African American woman in the U.S. to be promoted to full professor, noted that no other publication provides crucial teaching tools that include diverse practices in learning spaces that today’s students will design and inhabit.
For my leadership in architecture education, I was recently appointed to the National Diversity & Inclusion Council of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Kevin H. Holland, AIA, President of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) named me National Committee Chair of the Higher Education Task Force beginning fall 2014. Most recently, for promoting cultural and racial justice in design education, I was selected as the 2015-2016 recipient for the Janet and John Stone Lectureship for Multicultural Understanding, Equality, and Justice at Auburn University. Last of all, I owe a major debt of gratitude to the chapter authors and other contributors of my research projects for providing visibility to the diverse voices and cultural practices in the fields of design and architecture. To order a copy of Space Unveiled, please go to http://www.taylorandfrancis.com/books/details/9780415724418/.
Dr. Carla Jackson Bell is a faculty member and the Director of Multicultural Affairs in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction at Auburn University. Dr. Bell’s primary focus has been on uncovering teaching approaches that would be more inclusive of underrepresented women and people of color in architecture, design and construction programs. Throughout her 22 years of professional experience, Dr. Bell’s research in architecture education have provided enough experience to address the issues surrounding the success of students and additional practice to engage in empirical research to inform her efforts. Dr. Bell’s research has ultimately revealed that recruiting, retaining, mentoring, and supporting a less insular educational environment will encourage students to share the experiences, understandings, and aesthetics of their culture.
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The CADC has directly supported efforts to teach cultural relevance, and enrich visibility and scholarship for people of color and women in their architecture, design and construction programs. In fall 2012, I used my approach to cultural teaching practices while a visiting lecturer in Dr. Rebecca Retzlaff’s seminar, Race, Class and Gender in Planning and Design in the Master of Community Planning Program. Dr. Retzlaff and I completed a six-minute trailer from my original work on a documentary film: “Women in Architecture and Design” funded by the Graham Foundation ($10,000) and Daniel Breeden Endowed Grant ($4,000). This project is an oral history documenting the contributions of three women architects – Norma M. Skylark, Dr. Sharon E. Sutton, FAIA and Allison Williams, FAIA. I currently teach a new seminar, CPLN 5080/6080 and ARCH 3600 – Housing and Neighborhood Conservation/ Ethnic Americans and the Built Environment in the School of Architecture and the Africana Studies Programs. University students engage in a vibrant conversation with me and guest speakers who have an understanding of cultural relevance and that calls attention to the silenced dimensions in education and practice. It’s my life’s mission to emphasize diverse perspectives in higher education so that the underrepresentation of minorities and women is not lost within the richness of multiplicity in architecture and related fields.
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Project Pipeline
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The camps provide multi-generational mentorships through a wide range of volunteers ranging from seasoned professionals and sponsors to current architecture and design students. The camps are intended to teach the basis of architectural design, yet each chapter takes ownership of what the curriculum will be. Though each chapter showcases a unique scope of the Project Pipeline camps, the motivation behind the planning efforts and goals stem from the same NOMA Mission driven roots to be an effective source of motivation and inspiration for minority youth and to build the pipeline of the next generation of licensed architects.
This year marks the 10 year anniversary of the development of the program. The first chapter to hold a camp was the Southern Ohio chapter in Cincinnati, founded by long time NOMA member and former MidWest Vice President David Kirk. Since then, other chapters have redefined and adjusted the charge to expose the architecture profession to youth in their local communities and beyond. In light of this milestone, NOMA National is mworking to streamline the Project Pipeline program in efforts to extend its reach and encourage participation from more chapters. Over the next few months, the development of a national model will be released to serve as an adaptable program, making this initiative more streamlined and organized for local chapters to take on. This will unify the impact of Project Pipeline and provide greater opportunities to grow the program nationwide. Any chapter looking to plan an upcoming camp can inquire about the process by contacting Bryan Lee at projectpipeline@noma.net. This summer many local chapters hosted students of various sizes for camps across the country, here are a few accounts from chapters who hosted Project Pipeline. Check out their stories.
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roject Pipeline is an architecture and design educational camp that provides an opportunity to teach and engage a diverse youth audience about the process and impact of architecture and design. The program is designed and facilitated by NOMA members and volunteers. Camps are planned and facilitated around the country by local NOMA chapters. As a NOMA national initiative, Project Pipeline continues to create a glimpse into the careers and responsibilities of the design profession to a young inquisitive audience. In response to the low rates of diversity within the profession, the need for future practitioners continues to be a battle NOMA plans to face head on.
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GRAND RAPIDS Kirk Welsh Camp Duration: 2 Days
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Location:
Ferris State University’s Kendall College of Art and Design
Participants:
14 Students
Planning Team:
Bryan Cook Kirk Welsh Latrice Harrison Lynda Haith Zachary Verhulst
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he second year of Grand Rapid NOMA’s Project Pipeline Program was an amazing experience for all who participated. The camp’s participants more than doubled from 4 to 14. This was a thrilling expansion for the emerging program and an inspiration to the program planners, comprised of 9 diverse, young and experienced architectural professionals. The camp was held at Ferris State University’s Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids in early June. The two days were jam-packed with many events from office tours of several design companies, including Hooker DeJong, Inc. and Custer Office Furniture, Inc., to engaging in stimulating exercises to introduce the fundamentals of architecture. The main piece of the camp was the students’ “Design Project.” The students were given the design task to create a space that tears down prejudices and discriminations, and brings people of different backgrounds together in harmony. The students, work hard and fast to find design solutions and prepared presentations for their friends, families, a judging jury, and peers and mentors of the camp. By the end of the camp, the students were able to illuminate the presumptions in today’s society that we are sometimes oblivious in noticing. The students learned how architecture relates to social justice and social issues. But most importantly, they learned to work collaboratively in solving problems and to nurture the process it takes to reach these solutions.
Karina Zarate Amelia Richards Chloe Beighley Courtney Parks Jana Cooper
Judy Torres Isaac Norris
SOCAL Duane Williams Camp Duration: 3 Consecutive Saturdays Location:
School of Career and Technical Education, Los Angeles Southwest College
Participants:
70-75, ranging from ages 10-16
Planning Team:
Drake Dillard Larry Huhley, Director Duane Williams, Asst Director Dwayne Johnson, Asst Director
A group of 25 volunteers donated their time to teach, participate in panel discussions, lead field trip tour groups, photograph and video camp activities, and facilitate behind the scene efforts. The goal was to introduce students to Architecture, Engineering & Urban Planning, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture and several other trades and concepts of the design community. This year the theme was Urban Planning. Each team of students was given three lots with different zoning designations: small, medium, and large residential; small, medium, and large commercial & public space. Some lots were adjacent to freeways, major streets, elevated train tracks and bike paths. On the 2nd day, student teams designed and built mass models addressing types of buildings to design, scale, open spaces and adjacency concerns. On the 3rd day they further developed those buildings as individual projects continuing to add detail to their physical model or as a 3D model using Google Sketch-Up.
Hakeem Parke-Davis Reuben Jacobs
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he Southern California Chapter, formerly the LA NOMA Chapter, Project Pipeline camp initiative raised nearly $10,000 to support this year’s camp and future programming. With over 95 middle and high school aged applicants, the chapters 6th Annual Architecture & Engineering Summer Camp received an overwhelming positive response. The 10 person planning committee worked tirelessly to ensure a successful experience for the participants. This marked the largest camp that the chapter has ever held, far exceeding their previous average enrollments of 35 students. SoCal NOMA’s planning for this year’s program was strategically coordinated to forge new and strengthen existing partners and supporters who shared the Project Pipeline vision. There was a diverse team who joined together to advertise and sponsor students, sponsor activities and lend a helping hand to foster a fantastic 3 days. The sponsors included The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc., or NACME, local councilmen, Curren Price and Herb J. Wesson, Jr., Pastor Stephen McGlover of The California Community Connection Corporation, Veronica Soto of Build LACCD, Richard Karr of America Talk Live Networks Speak Own It radio show, and Hakeem Parke-Davis & Antonio Villaraigosa, Jr. of the acquisition and entitlement firm, Urban Land Solutions.
Monica Douglas, Treasurer Otto Stallworth Janiece Williams Antonio Villaraigosa, Jr.
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SAN FRANCISCO Prescott Reavis Camp Duration: 5 Days Location:
The California College of the Arts San Francisco Campus
Participants:
8 students
Sponsors: Asian Neighborhood Design, CCA, HKIT, David Baker Architects, PyatokArchitects, WRNS Studio, Rosamunde, BohlinCywinskiJackson, Gonzales Architects, Richard Ashman Interior Design and Herman ColiverLocus Architecture Planning Team: The Planning team included Co-Directors Rommel Taylor and Prescott Reavis, Shelly Davis, Annette Dinez, Alexandria Evans, Miriam Fiorentino, Iheanyi Ngumezi, Shawn Reese, Charles Smith, Valerie Smith and Tiana Taylor.
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he San Francisco Chapter embarked on a new format by expanding the camp to a one week intensive studio-based program introducing middle school students (ages 12 to 14) to the profession of architecture and community planning. The chapter’s focus is on youth to empower them with creative, critical thinking and problem solving skills to make community connections and nurture the future generation of design thinkers and leaders who will serve these communities. Students participated in a design project titled The Peoples Plaza. It centered on developing ideas that support the revitalization of the 3rd Street corridor in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood by redesigning an underutilized public plaza in the last primarily black neighborhood in San Francisco. The student’s design responses included vibrant, highly functional, colorful and reflective spaces which exhibited information gathered from onsite interviews of local residents that followed the necessary program of creating space which will help to identify the community and provide desperately needed community gather spacing. Each day started with group reflection of the past day’s experiences and ended with a recap discussion to ensure that the creative ideas and solutions were collectively shared and understood. With the help of 19 volunteers, and 3 former project pipeline students who were teaching assistants, the students were led through the program which included foundation exercises and workshops that taught sketching, architectural drawing, model making, critical thinking, and public speaking skills. The students were able to use the context of the project and connect the knowledge from the workshops to complete the program deliverables and presented their design solutions in front of an audience of over 60 people including family, friends, sponsors, mentors and local design professionals.
CHICAGO Jason Pugh Camp Duration: 4 Days Location:
David and Reva Logan Center for the Arts, The University of Chicago
Participants: 70 students (grades 6th – 8th) primarily from the south side, and 30+ high school, college and professional mentor volunteers. Sponsors: The University of Chicago and Gensler were our two biggest sponsors, followed by W.B. Olson Construction, K&N Foundation, the Center for Arab American Philanthropy, AIA, the Consortium for design + Construction Careers, and Blick Art Materials. Planning Team: Oswaldo Ortega (VP of I-NOMA) was the Project Pipeline director, and assembled a core planning team in January to start preparing for this year’s camp. This year’s success with the camp is in large part to the early planning, execution, and dedication of that core planning team and Oswaldo’s excellent leadership skills throughout.
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he program workbook and agenda for the camp consisted of a 4 day lesson plan which introduced the students to general architecture concepts, then reapplied them over the next couple of days in transitional scales. First the students focused on the human scale, something they could relate to, and gathered a stronger understanding of how they interact with the built environment around them. Then they each designed their own house and built a scaled physical model, complete with space planning programs, rooms, exterior siding, a pitched roof, and some even designed furniture. The second day they jumped up to the neighborhood scale, working closely together in small teams on the programming and design of neighborhood amenity buildings (e.g. a grocery store, fire station, library, school, etc.). Once again they built scaled physical models and started to arrange their own neighborhood blocks. On the third day the students took on their biggest challenge, combining into larger teams to create their own skyscrapers. Once again they carefully crafted a program of activities and amenities to take place within their towers, and built one last scaled physical model per team. On the very last day the instructors combined every single model that was built by the students throughout the duration of the camp to create a large city. We held a short discussion on the concepts of urban design, city planning, and infrastructure to ensure the students knew about everything it takes to build and run a healthy city. This was followed by final student presentations and awards.
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National Museum of African American History and Culture FALL 2015
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Vision Statement
A place of remembrance, the Museum will explore and revel in African American History and Culture. This rich heritage will be the lens through which all visitors will see what it means to be an American... ...and how our culture both informs and is shaped by the broader global milieu. A museum committed to collaboration, the NMAAHC will reach beyond its local context to partner with sister institutions domestically and abroad.
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At its best, architecture is the physical manifestation of a culture’s highest ideals. The National Museum of African American History and Culture – the institution and the building – embodies the African American spirit. Majestic yet exuberant. Dignified yet triumphant. Of the African Diaspora yet distinctly African American. The new NMAAHC will be a building worthy of the museum’s vision - and its prominent place on the National Mall. The primary architectural idea for the museum was derived from the classical tripartite column with its base, shaft and capitol. In Yoruban art and architecture, the caryatid or wooden post was usually crafted with a capitol resembling a crown. This crown or corona form is the central idea which has driven the design of the museum. Reaching toward the sky, the bronze colored corona expresses faith, hope and resiliency. Internal to the building, the corona forms a perimeter zone which surrounds the primary galleries. Daylight enters this zone through patterned openings in the corona panels and through skylights – washing the interior walls with light while providing views upward and outward. At night, the corona glows, presenting stunning views of the museum from a variety of vantage points in and around the Mall. Below the corona, the museum threshold experience begins with the grand “porch” at the south (National Mall) entry point. The landscape design is the initial component of this threshold, establishing the site as an integral part of the visitor experience while providing perimeter security and sustainable water management. A series of landscaped spaces utilize water as a constant and dynamic companion throughout the journey. An aquatic garden at the north entry marks
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the location of Tiber Creek – part of the canal system which once ran along what is now Constitution Avenue. A grand reflecting pool at the south entry brings the new museum into the view of the Mall - its slowly moving waters inviting all to approach. Entering the museum, visitors arrive at the Central Hall and are oriented to the museums’ offerings. Four “Pillars” flank the Central Hall – expressing the museum’s primary structure and service core areas. As visitors move through this generous space, the History exhibit is introduced through overlooks to the lower level. The other primary exhibits located above are accessed by way of escalators and elevators. With its luminous wood ceiling, the Central Hall is the “must see” moment of the interior. Important landmarks in the monumental core of the city are highlighted by a series of openings which frame specific views. These openings or “Lenses” offer respite and pause at selected moments along the exhibit experience. These framed perspectives are a reminder that the NMAAHC presents a view of America through the lens of African American history and culture. Sustainability has been a primary consideration from the initial conception of the design through the development of the constituent components. When completed, the new NMAAHC will stand as a demonstration of best practices in environmental design. The building itself, perhaps through supplemental exhibits focused on its green design, will be a tool for teaching the importance of environmental stewardship through design excellence. While the specific stories of persecution and struggle, resiliency and triumph are presented in the museum’s exhibits, the building itself stands as a powerful testament to the centrality and relevance of African American culture and history.
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Practicing Architecture Overseas as a U.S. Architect Yu-Ngok Lo, AIA, CDT, LEED AP, NCARB
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he recession led many firms, for their survival, to explore the international market. For example, China, then the world’s second largest economy, attracted many U.S. firms to venture into international practice. Overseas projects provide not only great design flexibility, but also huge financial incentives, and many firms in the U.S. expanded their international practices during the recession. However, providing architectural services remotely to another country can be challenging. How do we ensure design quality and succeed as foreign practitioners?
Forward thinker There are many reasons for international clients to hire U.S. architectural firms. Our experience and visions often bring unique perspectives to the project. U.S. architects are celebrated as the pioneers of innovation, which is exactly the value many countries, such as China, seek. The knowledge and technological background that come with a U.S. architect often offer new visions to international clients. Although the value of a U.S. architect is highly appreciated in many overseas countries, it is not to say that we can provide architectural services without limitations. While international projects present tremendous opportunities, they also present significant risks and challenges. As foreign architects, we are responsible for delivering unique architectural services to our international clients while adapting to the local culture. We have to approach each project intelligently to ensure a successful and profitable outcome.
U.S. firms are typically hired as the Design Architect for the concept design, schematic design, and design development. The overseas Architect of Record then uses the design package to produce construction documents for bidding (or tender) and construction. For example, in China the local Architects of Record are known as the Local Design Institutes (LDI). In many cases, the Design Architect has no contractual scope to participate in the documentation and construction phases. There are many advantages to this type of practice model. The local design team is usually more affordable in terms of the fees for their services. Furthermore, they are familiar with the local language, codes, regulations, and construction methods. In some countries, such practice models are required by law for international collaborative projects.
Design Chinese projects, for example, offer great design opportunities and flexibilities. However, what is built is sometimes different from what is originally envisioned by the Design Architect during the design phase. What are the contributing factors to such discrepancies? In many cases, the designers are not involved in the documentation and construction phases, and design changes due to local codes, materials, or construction processes are often made without the design team’s knowledge. These changes could affect the building’s aesthetic quality. In China the problem is amplified on small tenant improvement projects, which do not require the involvement of local architects. The design development documents are often used for construction. Another problem with overseas work is that, due to budget constraints, small projects are built by local contractors who are not familiar with the construction means and methods typically used in the U.S. For example, on a small project our firm recently finished in Macau, China, the local contractor was not familiar with gypsum board construction. All of the interior non-load-bearing walls ended up being constructed with unreinforced bricks finished with painted plaster. As foreign practitioners, we are contracted to bring our visions to the table. However, it is crucial that we have a basic understanding of the local culture and construction methods to avoid any surprises during construction.
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How it works
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How should we position ourselves from a professional practice standpoint?
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One of the most important aspects to conducting business overseas is to really know your client and have a thorough understanding of the project you are committing yourself to. For example, doing business with a reputable client will help prevent your firm from being exposed to the risk of not getting paid, which is not uncommon in Asian countries like China. An experienced developer in China with good international project experience is likely to be less risky for potential claims and disputes. Furthermore, a knowledgeable attorney and insurance agents should be consulted in drafting an agreement that takes into consideration many different legal aspects of working overseas. For example, what is the architect’s limitation of liability? What is the choice of language of the agreement? Which laws and jurisdiction will the agreement fall under? A payment structure and the currency that the architect will be paid in should also be clearly stated. Miscellaneous expenses such NOMA as translators, travel expenses, overtime hours (due to time differences), etc. need to be taken into account as part of the overhead cost when estimating your fees. The translator/ 24 interpreter hired should also be familiar with construction terms. “Lost in translation� could potentially be a huge issue in the process of contract and agreement negotiation, and even in the process of client/contractor communication down the road. Proper risk management is a crucial part of international practice that will be too costly to overlook.
quality of the finished building, we video-conferenced daily with the local contractor and the owner to select materials and make sure what they built aligned with the design intent. Due to the time difference, we ended up working overtime almost every day during the duration of the project. Although the project was eventually built successfully and the owner was satisfied, we compromised on many design decisions and our firm suffered a financial loss. The problem would have been minimized if we charged enough fees to support our construction phase activities.
Lessons learned How can U.S. architects be successful in international markets? There are ways to ensure design quality and be profitable at the same time. To ensure that the finished building reflects the design intent, it is common for U.S. design firms to propose fees for reviewing submittals and making document revisions during construction. The question is, how much review (and fee) is enough? The local architect (in China, for example, the LDI) is often not selected until the design is completed. In such cases, budgeting adequate fees to support activities during the construction phase becomes essential. Firms conducting business overseas need to take time zone differences and traveling time into account. Miscellaneous costs for interpreters or translators (for RFIs and submittals) could also drive up costs. The contractor selection process becomes crucial, especially for small projects. Many international clients are willing to go the extra mile (by hiring U.S. architects due to our values) to have better quality projects. However, it is still our job to remind them how important it is to NOT select contractors solely based on their bid price. As foreign designers, we should not design without regard for local conditions. A basic understanding of the local codes, construction materials, and methods is essential. This minimizes the number of changes necessary by the local architect, which, in turn, reduces the overall design impact during the documentation and construction phases. Finally, proper risk management policies should be carefully considered before committing to any projects to shield your firm from any potential harm. Providing architectural services internationally could be very challenging. However, both the monetary rewards and the recognition outweigh the obstacles. U.S. architects are unique in many ways, and we will continue to excel in the territory of international practices.
There are ways to ensure design quality and be profitable at the same time.
In some cases, as mentioned previously, our involvement as the foreign practitioner in the documentation and construction phases was crucial to minimize the discrepancies between the design and the end product. However, we should minimize our exposure to potential risk by limiting our services to the review of aesthetic related submittals. We should separate ourselves from all local code requirement reviews and construction means and methods. Such technical reviews should remain strictly the responsibility of the local design and construction firms. The fees required for submittals reviews in the construction phase could potentially be higher than the combined Schematic Design and Design Development fees. Therefore, careful consideration should be given when estimating our fees for such services. Otherwise, either the design will be compromised during construction or the design firm will suffer a financial loss. As a small firm conducting business overseas, we have learned this lesson the hard way. Since our project in Macau was a fast-tracked (of course it was; everything in China is fast-tracked) and to ensure the design
O bit u a r ies
Norcell D. Haywood
1930 – June 21, 2015
January 23, 1935 - June 15, 2015
Roger Margerum Jr. FAIA, NOMA graduated from the University of Illinois in 1955 with a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, Mr. Margerum began his career working with Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM) in Chicago. In 1965 he relocated to Detroit where he worked at Smith, Hinchman and Grylls now known as SmithGroup, where as an intern, he worked on two of the major projects of his career, the design of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and Detroit’s Hart Plaza. Trhoughout his career, Margerum worked with many big names in modern architecture including, Walter Netsch, Gordon Bunshaft, Stanley Tigerman, Bruce Graham, and Gertrude Kerbis.
Norcell D. Haywood’s life journey began on January 23, 1935 in Bastrop, Texas, where he was born to the late Roy Haywood, Sr. and Amanda Green Haywood, and ended on June 15, 2015, in San Antonio.
Roger Margerum started one of the first independent minority owned firms operating in the mid-seventies, Roger Margerum, Inc. Architects, based in Detroit with an office in Chicago. His projects included schools, office buildings a reiverside pavilion shelter at The Ambassador Bridge and the San Auditorium and Performing Arts Center in Detroit. In 1983, Margerum was elevated to Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and served as President of the AIA Michigan. In 2008 he was honored by NOMA Detroit with a Lifetime Achievement award. He was awarded the AIA Detroit, Gold Medal in 2011. His last project, at the age of 77, was the 45 degree angle house, built for him and his late wife, Frances on Detroit’s far east side. The house is heralded for its challenge to conventional residential design and construction of inner city Detroit residences.
Norcell was one of the first four African-American students to be admitted to the University of Texas, and was the second African American to graduate from the UT School of Architecture in 1960. After graduation, he taught at Prairie View A&M University’s School of Engineering, followed by employment at the City of Austin Planning Department. In 1968, Norcell became the first licensed African-American Architect in San Antonio. He founded Norcell D. Haywood & Associates in 1965. In 1971, Haywood Jordan McCowan SAT Inc (HJM) was founded, with offices in San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas. HJM was the recipient of the numerous awards, including the prestigious Merit Design and Honor Awards. Major projects included the University of Texas–Dallas Student Union Center; various churches, including Second Baptist Church, in San Antonio. Also notable was the Texas Southern University Physical Education Building, and Business Technology Building in Houston; Lincoln Magnet High School in Dallas; the Alamodome Stadium, and completion of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio. Norcell’s profes¬sional memberships included the American Institute of Architects. He was also a lifetime member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. As the first African-American to be appointed to the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners, he served as Vice-Chairman of the Board. He was also a delegate to the White House Sub-Committee on Small Business in 1995. “I am not a civil rights person, I am an architect who is civil-minded,” Norcell once stated. He believed that architecture could have a healing effect on the community. Passionate about early childhood development, Norcell actively supported the YMCA, Boys’ and Girls’ Club of San Antonio, was an NAACP life member, and was cited with awards for his humanitarian and civic duties.
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Ob i tu a r ies
Harold Louis Williams, FAIA, NOMAC NOMA Founder
August 4, 1924 – June 21, 2015 Michael Ford
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Harold Louis Williams FAIA, NOMAC, holds a Bachelor of Architecture Degree,, School of Architecture, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 1952. He pursued graduate studies in Urban Design at University of Southern California. He was born 1924 in Flemingsburg, Kentucky and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has resided in Los Angeles since 1955 with his wife of 60 years, Dr. Betty Smith Williams. He was the 9th African American Architect licensed in California in 1958. A year after graduating from Miami University (Ohio) School of Architecture in 1952, Williams relocated to Los Angeles to work for his mentor, Paul R. Williams (no relation) at Paul R. Williams & Associates. Paul Williams’ architecture is celebrated as the “Classic Hollywood Style” as most of the 2,000 homes he designed resides in the Hollywood Hills. While working under his mentor, Harold Williams served as a draftsman on homes for Frank Sinatra and other prestigious clients. In 1958, Harold Williams became the ninth African American architect to be licensed in The State of California. Eager to create buildings that served the public, Williams established Harold Williams Associates (HWA), Architects & Urban Planners, and began designing schools and housing developments. But his most significant commission was Compton City Hall and Civic Center, which included a high-rise county court building. Williams collaborated with sculptor Gerald Gladstone to create one of the projects features, a memorial to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The white, circular, precast concrete sculpture is a reflection of King’s resounding statement that he had “been to the mountaintop”. Compton City Hall has been identified as eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, as the finest
building designed by Harold L. Williams, a finding that resulted in its automatic listing in the California Register of Historical Resources. Mr. Williams was the architect on public buildings projects including the Compton City Hall, 1976; the South Central Los Angeles Multi-service and Child Development Center, Los Angeles, 1976; Compton Civic Center, 1977; California State Office Building, Civic Center, Van Nuys, 1982; the Fire Station Number 3, Compton, 1989; and the King Drew Medical Magnet High School, 1996. Harold prided himself in the repeat clients including Los Angeles Unified School District, the City and County of Los Angeles, as well as, the California Universities. Mr. Williams provided leadership and active participation to address some of the issues confronting the African American community. He was the organizer, founder and first president of the Southern California Association of Minority Architects & Planners (MAP) in 1960’s. They sought equity and justice and participation in public built environment. Harold became one of the co-founding members of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) in 1971 when twelve African-American architects from different parts of the country met, some for the first time, during the AIA National Convention in Detroit in 1971. What these professionals recognized was the desperate need for an organization dedicated to the development and advancement of minority architects. Present at the creation were William Brown, Leroy Campbell, Wendell Campbell, John S. Chase, James C. Dodd, Kenneth B. Groggs, Nelson Harris, Jeh Johnson, E.H. McDowell, Robert J. Nash, Harold Williams, and Robert
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Wilson. These African American architects wanted minority design professionals to work together to fight discriminatory policies that limit or bar minority architects from participating in design and constructions programs. That was the beginning of the National Organization of Minority Architects, an increasing influential voice, promoting the quality and excellence of minority design professionals.
design were received from the Society of American Registered Architects and the National Organization of Minority Architects. The Los Angeles NOMA Chapter awarded him for Humanitarian Service in 1991. He was elevated to the prestigious, College of Fellows, American Institute of Architects in 1994, “for outstanding service to the nation and the architectural profession”.
Williams served as NOMA National President 1981 – 1982, and He is a Charter member of The NOMA Foundation where he served as President and Treasurer.
In 2013, the Compton City Hall was subject of the Los Angeles Conservancy Award to Chattel, Inc. They cited that when the city opened its doors in 1977, Compton City Hall symbolized a new era for Compton, a city that went from being almost exclusively white before World War II to majority African American by the 1970s.
Concern for the community, its artistic and cultural environment, led him to become the first African American member of the Committee for Simon Rodia Towers in Watts, 1963. Under his dedicated leadership as chairman, a new Watts Towers Art Center building was built in 1967. The foundation he laid is the basis for the current community arts program. Harold Louis Williams, contributions and talents have been recognized locally and nationally. Awards for excellence in
Stating that the architect of the building, Harold L. Williams, FAIA was an active civic leader in addition to being a successful architect. His design of Compton City Hall represented his desire to give something back to the African American community It was concluded that the building is eligible for listing in the National Register as the finest building designed by Harold L. Williams, FAIA.
Michael Ford received his Master’s in Architecture from University of Detroit Mercy’s School of Architecture. Ford is a designer and lecture, interested in the intersection of hip hop culture and architecture through three realms, professional practice, media and academia. Ford runs a blog at www.brandnudesign.com dedicated to his research.
2 0 1 5 - 2 0 16 N OM A Offi cers
Executive Board NOMA 2015 Officers President Kevin M. Holland, AIA, NOMA (Cincinnati, OH) 1st Vice President/ 2017 President-Elect Bryan Hudson, RA, NOMA (Chicago, IL) Northeast Region Vice President Andrew Thompson,AIA, NOMA (Brooklyn, NY) South Region Vice President Anzilla Gilmore,AIA, NOMA (Houston,TX)
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Midwest Region Vice President Jason Pugh,AIA, NOMA (Chicago, IL) West Region Vice President Rod Henmi, FAIA, NOMA (San Francisco, CA) Treasurer DeJeana Chappell, NOMA (Chicago, IL) Secretary Daya Irene Taylor, AIA, NOMA (Tuskegee, AL) Parliamentarian Najeeb Hameen, NOMA (New York, NY) Past President Kathy Dixon, AIA, NOMA, LEED AP, NCARB Executive Director, Nicole A. Singleton, MBA, MAC Board of Directors 2015-2016 Board of Directors Recording Secretary Gianna Pigford, NOMA, AIA recordingsecretary@noma.net Membership Chair Ken Casey, NOMA, AIA membership@noma.net Internet Committee Chair Vacant, webmaster@noma.net NOMA Magazine Editor Devanne Pena, Assoc. AIA, NOMA
Assistant Editors: Kristian Bocage, Jeff Charles-Pierre, Michelle Crawford, Michael Ford, Sharlita Green, Ursula Johnson,Yu-Ngok Lo, Jimmie Tucker,Timothy Ung
Student Representatives Melanie Ray, NOMAS (Pennsylvania State University)
Travis Armbrister, NOMAS (Tuskegee University)
Historian Jimeca Sims, NOMA historian@noma.net NOMA Council Representative Jack Travis, NOMAC, AIA Northeast Region University Liaison: Victoria Acevedo, NOMA (Pittsburgh, PA) South Region University Liaison Andrea Henderson, Assoc. AIA, NOMA (Atlanta, GA) Midwest Region University Liaison Tiffany Brown, Assoc. AIA, NOMA (Detroit, MI) West Region University Liaison Gabrielle Riley, Assoc. AIA, NOMA (Portland, OR) NOMA Foundation President Harold Williams, NOMAC, AIA HBCU Liaison Bradford C. Grant, NOMAC, AIA GSA Liaison Mary Shearill-Thompson, NOMA, AICP Executive Committee Chair Kevin M. Holland, AIA, NOMA (Cincinnati, OH) Finance Committee Chair DeJeana Chappell, NOMA (Chicago, IL) Membership Committee Chair Anzilla Gilmore, AIA, NOMA (Houston,TX) Professional Development Committee Chair: William J. Stanley, III, FAIA, NOMA (Atlanta, GA) Marketing Committee Chair Lew Myers, NOMA (Durham, NC) National Committee Conference Chair Richey Madison, AIA, NOMA (Dallas,TX) Project Pipeline Committee Chair Bryan Lee, Assoc. AIA, NOMA (New Orleans, LA) Organizational Liaison Ken Casey, AIA, NOMA (Chicago, IL)
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