Desiree V Cooper (DVC) Memorial Scholarship

Desiree was one of my dearest friends until she tragically passed away a couple of years ago. 2021 will be the fourth year of the Desiree V. Cooper (DVC) Memorial Scholarship offering assistance to those taking the architect registration exam. It seeks to honor the life and legacy of Desiree V. Cooper by championing the things she was passionate about in her professional career and personal endeavors: providing continual service to her communities and encouraging minorities and women in the advancement of their careers in architecture. To that end, the Foundation awards Scholarships for the architectural registration exam in the following categories: The Black Women in Architecture Award, The Harrisburg Memorial Award, The DC Memorial Award, and the NOMA award (new 2021).

For more information about this scholarship: http://bwa-network.com/dvc-memorial-scholarship/ Submission responses must be received no later than 11:59pm on January 11, 2021

https://www.facebook.com/desireesvictorycrew/

Sharlita Olaleye won the 2020 DVC Black Women in Architecture award.

Tya Winn won the 2019 DVC Black Women in Architecture award. She is an advocate for affordable housing and community development in Philadelphia. Winn is the Director of Project Planning for Habitat for Humanity in Philadelphia where she serves as project manager for acquisition, design, and permitting phases of their projects. She also works on affordable housing policies with local civic organizations.

Jennifer T. Matthews won the 2019 DVC DC Memorial Award. She is an Architectural Designer at Sherlock, Smith & Adams. With six years of healthcare design experience, Jennifer has worked on projects with multiple DC Metro healthcare providers. She was awarded the 2018 Healthcare Design Magazine's Educator Honor Award for creating Array Architects' annual Mind the Gap event. Her recent outreach efforts include professional practice seminars, design studio critiques, and managing her professional development platform, Creative's XP. 

Katherine Williams, AIA, NOMA, LEED AP is co-founder of DVC Memorial Scholarship. She is a licensed architect in Northern Virginia and currently a Senior Project Manager at a DC university. Katherine has written extensively about the architecture profession, diversity in the industry, and community development. She has served as editor for multiple publications and was the NOMA magazine editor from 2009-2014. She writes at katherinerw.com and is publisher/editor for archstories.com.

Nikolas Hill is a juror and member of the DVC Memorial Scholarship. Nikolas X. Hill, Assoc. AIA, NOMA, is a juror and member of the DVC Memorial Scholarship Committee. He is a Project Designer/Project Manager at an A/E firm in the Baltimore/Washington, DC region, recently passing his three-year anniversary. His early career saw him gain undergradate & Master's degrees in Champaign-Urbana and Cincinnati, respectively, while gaining professional practice experience in Chicago, Cincinnati, Washington, DC, and London, England. Living in Baltimore since 2012, some of his completed projects are the renovated & expanded Stanton Elementary School in Washington, DC; exterior improvements to the Metro Points Hotel in New Carrollton, MD; renovated Capital One branches throughout Maryland & Virginia; and the under-construction Purple Line Light Rail Maryland, a $5.6bn P3 design-build project. He is currently working on multiple projects in the aviation, transit infrastructure, & municipal government sectors. One of the people involved in restarting the Baltimore NOMA chapter, he also previously served on the NOMA National Board as Midwest University Liaison. He spends his free time falling asleep on TV shows with his wife, Lauren; having his four-year-old son, Nixon, tell him nonsensical "Knock, Knock" jokes; and sourcing the most glorious quince, Champagne vinegar, & lemon thyme to use in shrubs.

PRIMAVERACH

Primaverarch is a grassroots organization committed to stimulating change for the recognition of women in architecture and related fields. Inspired by the renaissance era and the symbolic idea of spring, Primaverarch is a movement of rebirth, revival, and renewal. Primaverarch is created by four minority-women who recently graduated from the Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York. Throughout their studies, they experienced a lack of professional support, mentorship, and recognition. Without anyone to share similar values in regards to their diverse backgrounds, Primaverarch becomes a catalyst movement dedicated to creating a seat at the table for all women in the field. Blooming into future architects, the team is leading the next movement. With everything they do – from a set of interviews, creative series, mentorships, and interactive workshops, they are focused on one goal: How can they support the future generation of architects? 

Social Media and Website:

Instagram: instagram.com/primaverarch

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/primaverarch

Website: primaverarch.org

Nadeen Hassan
Nadeen Hassan is an architectural designer and activist who is committed to making a space for herself and others in the architectural profession. As a first-generation Egyptian-American, Nadeen recognized the unrelenting atmosphere in many parts of the world. She believes that an architect is a problem-solver that attends to the need of not one, but every group of people. Throughout her studies, Nadeen tackles subjects of inclusivity, activism, and social change within her design projects and research. Not having support at the beginning of Nadeen's academic journey motivated her to become that network of support for the next generation. Nadeen is a co-founder and the Director of Primaverarch, a platform that offers a space for women to amplify their voice, seek advice, share their stories, or celebrate themselves and their peers. Nadeen believes the world needs people who come from diverse backgrounds to be a part of new design revolutions; to give a voice to smaller groups who otherwise would not be heard. Through Primaverarch, Nadeen begins to initiate this change. 

Chaerin Kim
Chaerin (she/her) is a recent B.Arch graduate and Senior Editor of Primaverarch based in New York. Passionate about the built environment, she is adamant in creating spaces that are inclusive and reflective of the cultures we design for. During her studies at Spitzer School of Architecture, Chaerin engaged in courses focusing on social justice, activism in NYC, and key housing and urban issues in Latin American cities. She is also committed and actively empowering womxn of color pursuing architecture by giving them a platform to share their stories. With the launch of Primaverarch, Chaerin hopes to continue the growth of a platform where womxn can seek advice, support, and a community where their voices are heard.   

Soany Marquez
Soany is a designer, artist, and activist who is interested in architecture as a form of activism and artistic expression. Born in Honduras, she is constantly pushing boundaries in her education focusing on diversity and inclusivity for women. She is aware that architecture can be a powerful tool to pave the way for social reform. As a first-generation architecture graduate, she is dedicated to changing the narrative around minority women in design and construction. She understands the importance of discovering your own potential and hopes that this platform becomes a space of mentorship for future generations. 

Martha Zambrano

Martha was born and raised in NYC by Venezuelan immigrant parents. She obtained her associate's degree in business administration in 2014 and later her bachelor's degree in architecture in 2020. Both fields have opened her eyes to how unrepresented young women are in predominantly male careers. Teaming up with her classmates and longtime friends, she wants young women in the architecture field to have a platform for support, and encouragement. She hopes young women use this platform to its fullest advantage. 

CONVERSATION W/ DEVANNE PENA

Devanne Pena ("Dev-in Pee-nuh") is an Architect Entrepreneur. She is proud to be among the first 400 African American women living history to be licensed to practice architecture. A fourth generation Cape Verdean, Devanne conducted independent research in her native West African islands to define future architectural service for the culture. She is the owner of a design consultancy, Archidev LLC, and this year founded a start-up called AFROSPACE. Creating resilient and protective space for black women is a design problem she intends to solve.an architectural practice as well as . She first envisioned this venture by asking the question, “How can we design resilient, habitual and protective spaces for Black Women+”?

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DevannePena

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devannepena/

#BLACKINARCHITECTURE UK

Black In Architecture is a hashtag to amplify the voices of Black/Black British architectural professionals and students in the UK. It is also a black-led research initiative, proposing a new approach to achieving racial justice and ending structural racism and inequity in architecture. This is a start in defining the changes that we, as black people, want to demand in architecture and across the various dimensions of the profession - in education, practice, recruitment, professional memberships, regulatory bodies, media, events, to name a few. The aim is to gain richer insight into the persistent racial injustice in the profession, and how it often impacts on the everyday lives of black people in architecture - at home, at the workplace, in finding work and business opportunities, in higher education and in other situations.

Juliet Sakyi-Ansah ARB RIBA AGIA, is a Ghanaian-British architect based in the U.K. She is currently studying for a PhD in architecture and the built environment, and is the Founder and Lead at The Architects' Project.

Also in the conversation is Irvine Toroitich , Shade Abdul, RIBA and Zubaydah Jibrilu

Website: https://blackinarchitecture.uk/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/blackinarch

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tap.narratives/

MUSLIM WOMEN IN ARCHITECTURE

Muslim Women in Architecture (MWA) is a network and collective working to empower, inspire and celebrate Muslim women in the architecture and built environment industry. In this episode, I talk to Tahin Khan, Zahra Mansoor and Rim Kalsoum about MWA as it aims to provide a platform to not only support Muslim girls and women who want to pursue a career in the field, but to encourage an open discussion amongst those within the profession and outside.

Tahin Khan is a British Bangladeshi Part 2 Architectural Assistant at ArchitectureDoingPlace. She completed her Part 1 and 2 at the University of Westminster. Over the years, Tahin has worked with a number of architects on projects ranging from private residential to healthcare to the preliminary design for the Tower Hamlets Town Hall. Currently, she is working on several social housing projects for local authorities in London. Tahin understands the importance of communities, and how the wellbeing for an individual correlates to the communities they are a part of. She explored this in depth in her Master’s thesis, which she continues to do research on. Tahin is keen on tackling social, political and environmental issues through architectural interventions.

Zahra Mansoor is an independent architectural designer currently based in India. She met fellow co-founders Rim Kalsoum and Tahin Khan while doing her Part 1 at the University of Westminster. During her term as president of the Westminster architecture Society (WAS), she and Rim organised the AF Megacrit under the theme "Architecture and Power". While studying in London, she realised that the lack of diversity in the industry affected the way students were supported in their education and careers. Her interests include the influence of power and social systems on architectural ethnography as well as the use of digital fabrication in architectural practice.

Rim Kalsoum is a British Syrian Architectural Assistant based in London. Having completed her RIBA PART II at the University of Westminster, she currently works for Golzari NG Architects and Architecture Doing Place. As Ex-Vice President of the Westminster Architecture Society, she co-organised the Megacrit in 2019 with Zahra Mansoor. She is a researcher for Palestine Regeneration Team (PART) and is currently working on a range of research projects, most recently the Secrets of a Digital Garden, in collaboration with RIWAQ which was exhibited at the Chicago Architecture Biennial in 2019 and the Berlin Film Festival in 2020. Her work arches from examining methods of urban landscape annihilation in conflict areas to erosions of public space in London.

Design Disrupted

In this episode, Melissa shares her thoughts about the recent events involving black lives and Call to Action to Starchitect (celebrity architect) professionals.

CONVERSATION W/ PROFESSOR AMBER WILEY PhD

Amber Wiley is an Assistant Professor of Art History at Rutgers University. She provided insight on Tyler House neighboring areas like LeDriot Park and Dunbar High School. Born in Oklahoma, Wiley recalls visiting her grandfather in DC which set the foundation of her future works.

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Professor Wiley research interests center on the social aspects of design and how it affects urban communities - architecture as a literal and figural structure of power. She focuses on the ways local and national bodies have made the claim for the dominating narrative and collective memory of cities and examines how preservation and public history contribute to the creation and maintenance of the identity and sense of place of a city. Her publications cover African American cultural heritage, urbanism in New Orleans, school design, urban renewal, and preservation. Her current book project is entitled Concrete Solutions: Architecture, Activism and Black Power in the Nation’s Capital.

Amber was co-Principal Investigator of the National Historic Landmark Nomination Update for the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site. She gave expert testimony for the highly contested Barry Farm historic landmark designation in Washington, DC. She also worked as a consultant for the National Building Museum exhibition “Community Policing in the Nation’s Capital: The Pilot District Project, 1968-1973.” She has served on the National Park System Advisory Board Landmarks Committee, and on the boards of the Vernacular Architecture Forum, Latrobe Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, and the Yale Black Alumni Association.

Amber received her Ph.D. in American Studies from George Washington University. She also holds a Master's in Architectural History and Certificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Virginia School of Architecture, and a B.A. in Architecture from Yale University.

Links: 

Website: https://ambernwiley.com/

“The Dunbar High School Dilemma,” Giving Preservation a History: Histories of Historic Preservation in the United States, 2 ed. Edited by Max Page and Randall Mason (London, New York, NY: Routledge, 2019)

“A Model School for a Model City: Shaw Junior High School as a Monument to Planning Reform,” Designing Schools: Space, Place and Pedagogy. Edited by Julie Willis and Kate Darian-Smith (London, New York, NY: Routledge, 2017): 158-174

“A Modern-Day WPA,” Bending the Future: Fifty Ideas for the Next Fifty Years of Historic Preservation in the United States. Edited by Max Page and Marla R. Miller (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2016): 261-264

“Geography, Planning, and Performing Mobility in New Orleans,” Walking in Cities: Quotidian Mobility as Urban Theory, Method, and Practice. Edited by Timothy Shortell and Evrick Brown (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2016): 177-196

“Carrie Mae Weems, When and Where I Enter the British Museum,” Accelerate: Access and Inclusion at the Tang Teaching Museum. Edited by Ian Berry and Rebecca 

MONEY. POWER. LAND. SOLIDARITY.

In this episode, we talk to G.P. Jacob (Jake Virden) about his podcast, Money. Power. Land. Solidarity. We discussed economic and urban development, politics, race, the working-class and the Upper Harbor Terminal Development, a project slated for North Minneapolis' riverfront.

Jake Virden is an artist, practitioner of popular education and host of the Money Power Land Solidarity podcast.. Check out the Money Power Land Solidarity podcast on Patreon at:

Patreon.com/MoneyPowerLandSolidarity

Twitter: @gp_jacob @mplspodcast

IG. g.p.jacob @moneypowerlandsolidarity@gmail.com

ARCHITECTURE & MAPPING SEGREGATION IN DC

In the episode, we discuss mapping public housing and the displacement of blacks in the district. We also talked about Northwest One and architecture.

Sarah Jane Shoenfeld is an independent scholar and public historian. She co-directs the project Mapping Segregation in Washington DC, which is documenting the former extent of racially restricted housing in the nation's capital along with other historic mechanisms of segregation and displacement. Sarah's company, Prologue DC, engages in a variety of history projects, including research for exhibitions and films, historic landmark and district nominations, oral histories, and walking tours. 

Sarah was the lead historian for several DC Neighborhood Heritage Trails and has produced historical essays and other content for the Smithsonian Institution, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and the PBS series American Experience, among others. She received an M.A. in History and Certificate in Public History from Northeastern University, and is a graduate of DC's Wilson High School. 

PUBLISHED WORK 

"Barry Farm's historic landmark designation was pitted against affordable housing,"                                 The Washington Post, Feb. 21, 2020.

“The history and evolution of Anacostia’s Barry Farm,” D.C. Policy Center, July 9, 2019.

"Open Data Meets History: Mapping Segregation in American Cities, Then and Now," Open Cities: Open Data: Collaborative Cities in the Information Era (Palgrave Mamillan, 2019).

"Mapping segregation in D.C.," D.C. Policy Center, April 23, 2019.

"Race and real estate in mid-century D.C.," D.C. Policy Center, April 16, 2019.

Review, Race, Class, and Politics in the Cappucino City, by Derek S. Hyra, Washington History, Spring 2018.

"Don't let development push out low-income residents," The Washington Post, March 23, 2018. 

"How segregation shaped DC's northernmost ward," Greater Greater Washington, Sep 14, 2017.

"DC's Comprehensive Plan, a document we use today, preserves the racial segregation of our past," Greater Greater Washington, Jun 13, 2017.

"'A Strictly White Residential Section': The Rise and Demise of Racially Restrictive Covenants in Bloomingdale," Washington History, Spring 2017.

Review, Just Another Southern Town: Mary Church Terrell and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the Nation’s Capital, by Joan Quigley, H-AfroAm, Feb 2017.

Become an insider by supporting the show at https://glow.fm/archispolly where you can support the show on a recurring or one-time basis!

CONVERSATION W/ SARAH AKIGBOGUN

Sarah Akigbogun is a London-based transdisciplinary practitioner and educator. An architect, filmmaker and writer, she is founder of Studio Aki London and theatre collective Appropri8, which seeks to work with communities to activate disused urban sites. Sarah is passionate about diversity within architecture and is Vice Chair of Women in Architecture UK and founder of the XXAOC project. In 2017 she directed the film She Draws : She Builds, which collates the voices of 15 female architects. Trained as an architect and structural engineer, Sarah studied Architectural Engineering at the University of Westminster and completed her Diploma at the Architectural Association (AA).  At the AA  her work focused on themes of mental illness and architecture and the use of film as a tool to explore and document experiences of the city. 

 After graduating Sarah worked at several international practices including Alsop Architects and Foster and Partners. She also holds an MA in Acting from Central St Martins and is currently an Associate Lecturer at Canterbury School of Architecture.

Sarah’s current film project, for which she has received support from Arts Council England, tells the stories of Female Architects of Colour.  The film is part of the wider XXAOC research project which is intended as an online resource documenting female architects of colour past and present.  Last year as part of this project Sarah conducted an interview with Dr. Sharon Egretta Sutton which is was published by Parlour and Architecture Australia.

Connect with Sarah:

Twitter: @SarahAkigbogun @xx_aoc

Insta: @studio.aki. @xx_aoc

Check out the newest link: https://www.archispolly.online/dope-videos-1

Become an insider by supporting the show at https://glow.fm/archispolly where you can support the show on a recurring or one-time basis!

CONVERSATION W/ EBEHI IJEWERE

Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Ebehi Ijewere always had an innate passion for design, color, materials, and crafts. After graduation, Ebehi found that there was no space where she could listen to experiences from designers of color so she started a design podcast, Layers of Design. She also uses her platform to amplify the voices of African architects as well as participate in meaningful design competitions that look to solve social and humanitarian problems through architecture. 

Listen to Layers of Design on Apple Soundcloud

Follow on Instagram Twitter

CONVERSATION W/ NOMAS RPI CHAPTER

Architecture students across the country are denouncing systemic racism in academia. I spoke to Malika Yansaneh and Kelsey Mitchell , members of National Organization of Minority Architects Student (NOMAS) Chapter at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), about the lack of diversity in architectural history, the NAAB statement on racial injustice, student life at Rensselaer as well as the pandemic. At the time of this recording, both women are pursuing a Bachelor of Architecture degree at RPI.

NAAB Statement on Racial Injustice: https://www.naab.org/naab-statement-on-racial-injustice/

RPI NOMAS Instagram: @nomas_rpi

RPI NOMAS Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nomasrpi

CONVERSATION W/ HOUSTON NOMA

Architecture is Political Podcast had the honor of hosting Houston NOMA (National Organization of Minority Architects) Happy Hour Series. In this episode, we explore ‘How Architecture is Political’ in the current climate. Special thanks to Mona Elamin and Antoine Bryant of Houston NOMA for making this event possible.

To support NOMA National, go to https://membership.noma.net/donations/ for more information.

To become a NOMA member, go to https://membership.noma.net/ for more information.

PANDEMIC FLOSS: ARCHIDADS

Richard Lyew, AIA of Studio Lyew and Nikolas Hill are both archidads; balancing architecture and parenting under one roof. The new norm for them include alternating work/parenting schedules and sharing a co-working space in the dining room.

SHOW NOTES: Learn to meditate from the world’s top mindfulness experts with Ten Percent Happier (Not a paid sponsor)

PANDEMIC FLOSS: ARCHIMOMS

Anta Miranda, AIA and Veronica Elizalde-Molina are both archimoms; balancing architecture and parenting under one roof. The new norm for them include zoom chats, project delivery and explain the importance of social distancing to a four year old.

SHOW NOTES: NIH begins study to quantify undetected cases. Blood samples from healthy volunteers needed to inform public health decision making. See link below for more info.

https://www.niaid.nih.gov/news-events/nih-begins-study-quantify-undetected-cases-coronavirus-infection#qa-section