Takeaways from Annual Luncheon 2020: Part 2

Leading Change through… Diversity in Design Education and Practice

5 minute read  The following is a summary of key takeaways from this Breakout Session during the virtual Annual Luncheon that took place on November 13, 2020. This session was led by Sekou Cooke and Felicia Francine Dean, and moderated by Asia Allen.

We need more Black architects.

Less than 1 in 5 new architects identifies as a person of color. In 2018, only 3 percent of architects who completed the Architectural Experience Program (AXP) were Black and only 0.3 percent of architects are Black women. In conversation with architecture professors Sekou Cooke, M.Arch. and Felicia Francine Dean, MFA, this session identified key actions that are necessary to getting and retaining more Black, Indigenous, and Brown students into design education classrooms. 

Action #1: Increase accessibility to design education by refocusing recruitment lenses and opportunities for exposure. 

Colleges and universities need to develop recruitment plans that focus on getting students in the door as well as keeping them there. Faculty and administrators should invest time discussing what architectural education looks like, how to finance it, and other vital information needed throughout the program. 

MNPS Students holding their coloring books pictured with Valarie Franklin, President of the Nashville chapter of NOMA

However, increasing accessibility needs to be a collective effort. Architects and design professionals need to do their part as well by spending time in and engaging with the community. This will expose more young people to the profession and inspire them to explore their talents. With more visibility, architects and designers can be common careers for inspired young people. 

The Nashville chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) is creating more opportunities for exposure by working with Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS). In collaboration, NOMA and MNPS introduce and promote architecture to school age children using coloring books. Visual and tactile, students can show off their creative side and connect their families to the possibility that architecture and design can be an attainable career choice.  

“Drawing is something to be nurtured. People who draw people are imagining the future, people are trying to create some new reality that doesn’t exist right now. ”

— Sekou Cooke

Also, take the opportunity to invite young people to see things that may inspire them. This can include professional architecture, exhibitions, or street art. Cooke discussed how vital it was for him to engage with the community at his exhibitions rather than to be locked in the academic ivory tower.   

Street view image outside of Cooke’s exhibition, Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture. [photo by Sekou Cooke]

Action #2: Keep this moment of change and action alive. 

Cooke and Dean strongly emphasized the need for continued pressure on systems, particularly in academia. With more people unwilling to accept the current states of injustice in our society, steps need to be taken now so that momentum is not lost.  

Though they are skeptical that academia is an answer to making our world more equitable, Cooke and Dean agreed that academia can be an influence piece to promoting change. This becomes especially true when colleges and universities collaborate with surrounding communities and neighborhood as well as center students of color in decision-making. 

Encourage universities to Tweet @civicdesignctr to tell us how they are incorporating diversity into their design programs.

“We all have to think about that it has to be from the ground up, like all students of all ages should be imagining that they can become architects. Architecture is a viable profession, architecture is a lucrative profession, architecture is a respected profession, and understood profession. We have to change it from the ground up.”

Action #3: Find creative ways to get parents involved to understand what architecture is. 

In 2011, the Design Your Neighborhood program inspired a high school student to pursue architecture as a career, and she is now on her way to certification

The Civic Design Center is facilitating design conversations among the next generation with the Design Your Neighborhood project. The 7th & 8th Grade Design Your Neighborhood curriculum is how young people in Nashville often first become engaged in architecture, design, and community development as potential career pursuits.

Families can support students in exploring career possibilities and influence potential career paths, so finding ways to reach family members is crucial in the recruitment process. Communication methods should target both students and parents. For example, connect with students via social media and use snail mail or email to connect with parents.

Do you know of any examples of Leading Change in Communities through Design Education Diversity? Comment below! 

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Speaker Bios

Sekou Cooke is an assistant professor at Syracuse University School of Architecture, where he teaches design studios and seminars that value breadth of exploration over formulaic production. Sekou’s research centers on hip hop architecture, a theoretical movement reflecting the core tenants of hip hop, hip hop culture, with the power to create meaningful impact on the built environment and give voice to the marginalized within design.

Felicia Francine Dean is an assistant professor at UT Knoxville in the School of Interior Architecture. Her research applies intrinsic methods of reconciling identity space and place based on her experiences as a biracial individual. Her process driven approach explores materials, material identities, using digital and hand fabrication methodologies

Asia Dixon Allen is an architect and Project Coordinator with Gresham, Smith and Partners. She is a Civic Design Center Board Member. 

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Takeaways summarized by Gretchen Trast, Civic Design Center Research Fellow

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Jump to other Annual Luncheon Takeaways

• Part 1: Leading Change in Economic + Community Development Within Neighborhoods

• Part 2: Leading Change through Diversity in Design Education and Practice

• Part 3: Leading Change by Celebrating Neighborhood Identity in the Face of Gentrification

• Part 4: Leading Change in Affordability through Transportation and Housing Advocacy

• Part 5: Leading Change in Safe Pedestrian Infrastructure for All