Architectural History 101: BIPOC Architects in North America
The stories and struggles of BIPOC architects are an understudied and intrinsic part of the architectural profession history in North America. Craig L. Wilkins confirms this when he writes that, “the experience of architects of color is not only that of African Americans themselves. It is that of the American experience in general.”1 Wilkins maps out the complications that African Americans are faced with while pursuing careers in architecture. He confirms that historically, African Americans have been met with discrimination at every step: through applying to schools while attending inflexible programs focusing on white, western design and finally when seeking employment in the white-male dominated the field of architecture.
In “Designing for Diversity,” Kathryn H. Anthony reveals that the struggle further perpetuates inequality within our field. Feelings of discouragement due to racism and discrimination decrease the chances of pursuing a career in professional architecture practice or academia, such as the case with Marcy Wong. Marcy was an Asian female architecture professor who was denied tenure due to the discomfort of her white male colleagues with her gender and background. Anthony references the American Institute of Architects (AIA) membership statistics from 2002 which reveal that only 8.4% of all tenured architectural faculty at the time were BIPOC.2 Consolidated data on BIPOC individuals practicing within the field was not available at the time, showing how little attention was placed on demographics within the profession.
The process of rebuilding after turbulent histories of oppression can also have ripple effects on BIPOC groups. Many groups are still in the process of healing and repair from years of slavery, residential schools, and segregation, and this greatly affects their visibility within the architectural profession. Until recently, many minority groups have not been able to prioritize receiving architectural education in North America. In an interview conducted by Wahpasiw with Patrick Stewart for the Canadian Architect, and upon asking an Elder within his community, why there is a lack of indigenous architects and students today, Stewart received he following response: “Lawyers were the first thing we needed, and then when residential schools closed, we needed teachers…. He said, “architecture will come”- it just wasn’t the first priority.”3 It is evident why BIPOC architects and academics are sparse within the field: the odds of completing an architectural education have historically been against BIPOC due to systemic racism and structural inequalities.
The Making of Today’s Special: Ham Sandwich Architecture
Anthony describes the current lack of diversity within the field entirely when she writes, “in striking contrast to the other arts, architecture remains all too homogeneous: too male, too pale… the architectural world-for the most part-is just a plain old ham sandwich.”4 We know that in diversifying whom we are taught by, work and study with, we can significantly enrich our architectural knowledge. Today, the profession remains stuck within a rigid framework built primarily by white men in the 20th century.
A large part of why architecture has been so slow to change, as opposed to other fields, is the lack of long-term diversity management implementation and the sole dependence on affirmative action. Anthony’s text bristles with examples of accountability, but perhaps the most enlightening example is the R. Roosevelt Thomas method of managing diversity within organizations.5 In studying the table excerpted from Thomas’ book, we can begin to see just how problematic an organization’s dependence on affirmative action can be. It is only in addressing diversity in a holistic way and with long-term consistency that a change can be observed.
One of the most prominent and effective solutions for increasing diversity remains an increase in the hiring of BIPOC architects. By diversifying the people within a practice or organization, we also diversify the architecture and knowledge that is produced. Anthony writes that “women can play special roles in transforming both the educational mission and practice of architectural education through the ideals of a liberal education, interdisciplinary connections, the integration of different modes of thought, connections to other disciplines through beginning studios, the reformation of pedagogical practices, collaboration, and caring for and counselling students.”6 Although Anthony’s focus lies primarily on women in architecture, her observations on the lack of gender diversity within the field can be applied directly to racial diversity in contemporary practice.
Architecture Now: How to Learn and Grow from Past Mistakes
Until now, architecture has been too slow in making significant changes both in education and in the profession. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement is an awakening to the lack of change in society and also within the field of architecture. The civil movements addressing the unequal treatment of Black people in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, “left the country both shaken and chastened with respect to its treatment of people of color.”7
This cycle of North Americans suddenly awakening to the horrors of inequality within their society is an all too familiar story that dates back to the abolishment of slavery and brings us to the BLM movement, which has regained speed since George Floyd’s death in May 2020. The general response of architecture within North America following these movements has been great at producing pithy statements and anti-racist manifestos, but this has continuously failed to tackle diversity in a tangible way.
In “Designing for Diversity,” Anthony suggests many methods, some more successful than others, which can be implemented by universities and architectural practices for improving diversity. How can we, as students in architecture, influence the diversity of the profession we are entering? Some of the examples that Anthony provides us with include the introduction of mentorship programs, increased flexibility of working hours, more part-time positions within universities and increased community dialogue through public outreach programs.8 These are all effective methods for the better inclusion of BIPOC individuals, but Anthony’s and Wilkins' pieces have been around for twenty and ten years, respectively, with little to no change in the field. It appears that is up to us, students who have yet to enter the profession, to implement and accelerate the changes we want to see in the future.
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1 Craig L. Wilkins, “Race and Diversity,” in Architecture School: Three Centuries of Educating Architects in North American, (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2012), 374-79.
2 Kathryn H. Anthony, “Designing for Diversity: Implications for Architectural Education in the Twenty-First Century.” Journal of Architectural Education 55, no. 4 (2002): 257-67. https://doi.org/10.1162/104648802753657969
3 Omeasoo Wahpasiw, “Learning from Indigenous Consultants,” Canadian Architect, September 1, 2020, https://www.canadianarchitect.com/september-2020/, 37.
4 Anthony, “Designing for Diversity,” 266.
5 Ibid, 260-61.
6 Ibid, 258.
7 Wilkins, “Race and Diversity,” 377.
8 Anthony, “Designing for Diversity,” 264-266.
