IIDA – Perspective Fall/Winter 2019 - 16

"For more than 100 years, architecture has been
practiced through the lens of white European men,"
says Christopher Locke, a co-founder of the think tank
Designing in Color, and a coalition called small talks:
LA, both in Los Angeles. "It hasn't been conducive to
minorities in the profession or in school." Designing in
Color provides resources for marginalized professionals,
students, and allies to confront environments that
discourage their creativity and multicultural identity.
But shaking up that status quo can't be left to
professionals in the field or firm leaders. Design educators
must do their part by better reflecting a pluralistic society
in who, what, and how they teach.

Photo by: (Previous Page) Jonathan Timmes; (Left) Jonathan Timmes; (Below) FatCamera/Getty Images

As a Black kid growing up in Washington, D.C., Jeffrey
Gay, IIDA, envisioned a career in design from a young age
because of the other African American architects he met
working in his neighborhood. But not every child gets that
message. So when Gay's cousin, a secondary school teacher,
recently asked him to speak to her students on career day
about architecture and working as a designer, the answer
was easy.
He met with some members of the class, regaling them
with stories about his days working for a design firm and his
current role as an A+D representative at Herman Miller,
highlighting how they could carve out a career designing
buildings and interiors. For the classroom full of students
of color, it offered a glimpse into a whole new world of
possibility. "None of her kids had heard of architects or
designers," says Gay.
It's a common refrain-and the result is an industry
that remains incredibly homogeneous. Recent research
from the Design Council shows nearly four-fifths of the
U.K.'s designers are male and only about one-tenth are
from Black, Asian, and ethnic minority backgrounds. At
the same time, only 36% of newly licensed architects in the
United States are women, and only 2% are Black.

Open Classrooms
As Gay's career day experience illustrates, introducing
design to people from underrepresented groups should
happen early and often. "We need to engage students when
they're young," Gay says. "Before they even get to college,
they need to have exposure to what design means."
Associations and nonprofits are taking up that
challenge. The National Organization of Minority
Architects (NOMA)'s Project Pipeline connects young
people with architects and designers
to design a fully realized project that
addresses an issue in their city. In
Detroit, Urban Arts Collective runs a
camp that introduces underrepresented
youth to design, urban planning, and
architecture through the lens of hip-hop
culture. Students make physical and
digital models, then create a track and
music video to explain their work.
Universities are also building bridges
to local middle and high schools by
connecting design faculty with students
to introduce the profession or even create

We need to engage students
when they're young. Before
they even get to college,
they need to have exposure
to what design means."

Credit

-Jeffrey Gay, IIDA

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IIDA – Perspective Fall/Winter 2019

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