Notable Black American Designers

February marks Black History Month in Canada and the USA, so we would like to take some time to celebrate our Black design professionals! These designers are change-makers of their time.

This year’s theme for Black History Month is Black Health and Wellness. Though the theme primarily focuses on Black excellence in medicine, consider how architects, interior designers, landscape architects, urban planners, other environmental designers, and policy-makers contribute to the public’s health and wellness. How do our professions promote equity and justice in our communities?

Robert Robinson Taylor

A man of firsts – the first African-American student, enrolled at MIT and the first accredited African-American architect. He worked primarily in the southern USA, designing several historically-Black colleges and university buildings. He was integral to the campus design of Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama, which is now a designated National Historic Site by the National Park Service. He also served the institution by teaching architectural drawing, acting as Director of “Mechanical Industries,” and vice-principal throughout his career. He was known as a hard worker, and his buildings on campus were known for their quality of workmanship and evoking an inspiring aura.

Norma Merrick Sklarek

And now, a woman of firsts – the first licensed African-American woman architect in both New York and California, the first African-American woman member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and the first African-American woman elected to the AIA’s College of Fellows. After graduating from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Architecture (one of only two women and the only African-American in her class), Sklarek faced discrimination in her job search. This continued throughout her career, receiving poor references for jobs, particular scrutiny from managers compared to her male and non-Black counterparts, and being given menial tasks despite her licensure and expertise. She persevered, working diligently and using her exceptional technical skills to work her way to a top position at Gruen Associates. Her most notable projects include Terminal One at LAX, Tarzana Promenade, and Mall of America. She lectured at several institutions, including her alma mater Columbia University, and mentored young women of color aspiring to become architects.

Walter Hood

After receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Architecture at the North Carolina A&T State University, Hood completed a Master’s of Landscape Architecture at UC Berkeley. Only three years after graduating, he established his practice, Hood Design Studio, in 1992. Hood works primarily in urban environments, designing public spaces that pay close attention to and reflect the community’s needs and sense of place. His practice and approach to design combine architecture, landscape, art, research, and community. His most notable projects include Splash Pad Park, MH de Young Museum, and the International African American Museum. Hood is a professor at UC Berkeley and lectures at institutions around the world, teaching and inspiring the next generation of landscape architects.

Watch Hood’s TedTalk “How urban spaces can preserve history and build community” here.

Toni Griffin

Toni Griffin started her career like most architects do – after obtaining her Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Notre Dame, she worked at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP in Chicago. She worked her way up to Associate Partner, handling London and Chicago’s architecture and urban design projects. Her transition to the public sector is when we see her overhaul and shape cities’ framework and master plans, initiate neighbourhood revitalization efforts, and see her strong advocacy for social justice and equity in all scales of planning and urban design. She currently teaches at Harvard GSD and oversees her practice urbanAC, both roles which involve her teaching and practicing urban planning and design, focusing on how design can create just and unjust conditions and resiliency in cities.

Learn more about Toni Griffin’s work at the J. Max Bond Center on Design for the Just City here.

Dr. Dori Tunstall

Let’s end this article with another first – Dr. Dori Tunstall is Dean of the Faculty of Design at OCAD University in Toronto, the first Black Dean of a Faculty of Design anywhere! She holds a BA, MA, and Ph.D. in Anthropology and is known as a design anthropologist, researcher, academic leader, writer, and educator. Dr. Tunstall’s career brushes a bold stroke, researching and developing practices regarding design and design technologies being tangible, equitable, fair, democratic, and connected amid a capitalistic society. Her current efforts as Dean primarily focus on decolonizing design at OCAD University.

Countless other Black-American design professionals are pushing the boundaries of design excellence and equity that we just couldn’t fit in this article. We hope you take time this month to learn more about these pioneering individuals and their work and learn more about how you can support the Black design community at large. There are still many systematic barriers that prevent Black and other students of colour from pursuing design professions and prevent communities from living in neighbourhoods and cities that regard their health, safety, and welfare. We hope this article can start (or continue!) your thinking on diversity, inclusivity, and just design.

Here are some resources you can check out:

AIA – Race and Equity

Black Lives Matter – Resources

ASLA – Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion News From Landscape Architecture Magazine and ASLA

Sierra Club – Deep Dive: Redlining, Racism and Urban Planning