Black Architects You Should Know

Black Wall Street is proud to celebrate and showcase prominent black architects in the real estate industry.

The under-representation of Black architects and designers continues to mar the architectural profession. Today, Black people make up 14% of the United States’ population and 3.5% of Canada’s population; yet, less than 2% of the approximately 113,000 architects licensed in our country are Black.

Here are some Black Architects that you should know:

Tura Cousins Wilson

The Studio of Contemporary Architecture (SOCA) is an architecture and urban design studio dedicated to inclusive city building and the creation of beautiful spaces. Founded on the belief that architecture both shapes and is shaped by the contemporary condition, the studio is deeply engaged in research and the broader discourse of architecture’s impact on culture, the environment and the shaping of cities.

SOCA was recently listed in Wallpaper* Magazine’s 2021 directory of emerging architectural talent and selected as one of twenty emerging practices in Canada by Twenty + Change and Canadian Architect. The studio is also a contributor representing Canada at the 2023 Venice Biennale of Architecture. Regardless of the scale, SOCA is passionate about the positive impacts of quality design.

The studio pays close attention to detail and rigorously strives for craftsmanship throughout all phases of design and construction. Understanding that architecture requires intimate collaboration, we always begin by asking questions, discussing ideas, and engaging our clients and all members of the project team to achieve design excellence. The studio is led by Shane Laptiste and Tura Cousins Wilson, who have experience in residential, institutional, and civic architecture. Both Shane and Tura are founding members of BAIDA. (Source: SOCA)

https://socadesign.ca/projects

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Mariam Kamara

Initiated in 2014 by Mariam Issoufou Kamara, atelier masōmī is an architecture and research firm guided by the belief that architecture is an important tool for social change. masōmī means the inception in Hausa. We tackle public, cultural, residential, commercial and urban design projects. Our work investigates the power of design to elevate, give dignity and better people’s quality of life. (Source: Atelier Masomi)

http://www.ateliermasomi.com

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David Adjaye

Adjaye Associates strives for an architecture that enriches daily life and meets the diverse needs of the communities we serve from the intimate to the expansive. We believe architecture presents opportunities for transformation—materially, conceptually, sociologically—and can act as a catalytic mechanism for bridging and creating relationships between the human body, society and the world. (Source: Adjaye Associates)

https://www.adjaye.com/works/

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Afaina de Jong

AFARAI is an Amsterdam-based architectural agency that specializes in spatial design and strategy, led by architect Afaina de Jong. The studio’s aim is to cross the boundaries of the traditional architecture practice by dealing with the existing city with an intersectional and interdisciplinary approach, integrating theory and research with design. As a studio AFARAI considers itself a feminist practice that encourages change on social and spatial issues and that accommodate differences. (Source: AFARAI)

http://www.afarai.com/

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Nina Cooke John

Studio Cooke John, founded by Nina Cooke John, is a multidisciplinary design studio that values placemaking as a way to transform relationships between people and the built environment. Working at the scale of the human body; individually or collectively, in the home or on the street, we respond to how we use space in our everyday lives, whether in the family unit or as a community.

We play out intimate relationships in the privacy of our homes, but in public, in the streets, we play out important relationships with our neighbors. It is where we strengthen the bonds with those whose backgrounds might be different to ours as we build community. It is in public space that we provide a place for and acknowledge the presence of those who have been systematically silenced. (Source: Nina Cooke John)

https://www.cookejohn.com/

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Tosin Oshinowo

Our designs have an aesthetic signature, which retains our set of values of ‘less is more’ and ‘form follows function’. For each project, we ensure our clients needs are met, while also considering the environmental impact on the project on society at large. Our aim is to create contemporary solutions that constantly push the boundaries of Architecture in Nigeria and the African Continent. (Source: CMD+A)

https://www.cmdesign-atelier.com/

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Jeffrey Adjei

Jeffrey is a RIBA chartered architect and urban designer with experience in both residential and commercial sectors in the UK, Nigeria and Ghana. He has worked as an architect and interior designer at various practices, including Assael Architecture, Sheppard Robson, Bell Associates and Harry Dobbs in London, and with Joe Osae-Addo in Accra. He holds a BA and MA from the Canterbury School of Architecture and received the RIBA Design Excellence Prize in 2013. Jeffrey is on the Advisory Board of the Margate School, an independent, post-graduate, fine art institution in the UK and hub for innovation and creativity. (Source: Studio Contra)

https://www.studio-contra.com/

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Source: POC Architecture

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