Just over 1% of registered architects in this country are African-American. Though I'm proud to be part of this 1%, I find it sometimes challenging finding professional satisfaction and reward. I chose this profession hoping to help solve the ills plaguing urban communities. Professor Craig Wilkins, in his book Aesthetics of Equity, expresses my frustration through the words of Jacqueline C. Vischer:
...the profession's adherence to the belief that architecture's greatest aspiration is to be inspired by artistic vision, [implies] that anything that is not is, by definition, lesser. As result, although another person might produce architecture that is socially responsible, cost effective, technically innovative, or meets some other criterion of excellence, it can never be quite as excellent as "art"...[In fact], for some contemporary architectural theorist, achitecture that is inspired by an artistic vision cannot solve social problems and cannot even play a role in social change if it is to be "pure" as an art form.
As I review the projects I've been part over the past 17 years, I find inspiration in their social value. I have always valued being part of projects that are generated by a community need. Projects that are driven to have an immediate affect on a community's condition facilitate a building's link to community.
This is what I hope to share. My goal is to post images of projects that reveal this correlation. And along the way, raise the importance of an aspect of architecture that is frequently ignored. To reveal the role a socially responsible architect can play in rejuvenating the forgotten buildings of Detroit.
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