JAMES CHAFFERS
J. Chaffers Architect
African American AIA Fellow
SAY IT LOUD - Washington DC Exhibitor
Michigan Based Designer
Bio:
Chaffers is the founder of two inner-city design centers and a first-prize winner in the student/professor category of several international design competitions
JAMES CHAFFERS
Bio:
James Chaffers, FAIA, an emeritus professor of architecture at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, was the recipient of the nation’s first Doctorate of Architecture from Taubman College in 1971. A Woodrow Wilson Fellow and finalist for the White House Fellowship, Chaffers is the recipient of three Distinguished Faculty and three Outstanding Teacher Awards from U-M and other universities. He was named “Educator of the Year” by the Michigan Association of Colleges and Universities. Chaffers was elevated to the College of Fellows within the AIA. In his academic/professional roles, Chaffers has served as director of Taubman College’s PhD Program in Architecture, director of the Florence-Tuscany Design Studio in Florence, Italy, and director for 10 years of the West African Design Studio in Kumasi, Ghana. Chaffers is the founder of two inner-city design centers and a first-prize winner in the student/professor category of several international design competitions. With the focus of his professional and academic work on the exploration of design links between spatial quality and human spirituality, Chaffers was asked in April 1997 to serve as senior design juror for a “living memorial” in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Guided by competition criteria co-developed by Chaffers, the winning entry for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was chosen from more than 900 competitive briefs submitted by the international design community.
Object:
Object Two - Practice Management, or Practice Technical Advancement
Year of Elevation:
2007
Featured Project Name:
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Competition
Featured Project Location:
Washington DC
Featured Project Completion Date:
August 2011
Role in Featured Project:
Senior Design Juror, Co-Developer of competition
Featured Project Description:
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial honors the American Baptist minister, social activist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King, Jr., who led the civil rights movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. The monument is located along the west bank of the Tidal Basin. Dr. Chaffer was a co-developer and senior design juror for this competition.
