Bio:

The great architect , Terrence O` neal learned about architecture when I was 9 years old.  My father explained to me what architects do, and almost instantly I said I wanted to be an architect.  I had never met an architect in my life at the time, and did not until I was about 15.  As I moved through junior high and high school, I took mechanical drawing classes and every step of the way, my interest and, later, passion, for the profession was confirmed.

 

I enjoy the practice area we have chosen:  affordable housing, supportive housing, and public schools comprise most of our work.  I enjoy it because the effects on users of the buildings and spaces are immediate.  We can see the positive influence that architecture has on people’s lives through our work.  I am inspired by the modern movement, which started as a response to the shortage of housing after World War I.  This era was marked by the need for affordable housing that could be built quickly using components.  Later, modernism became the language of corporate America with high-rise curtain wall buildings and clean lines.  We are proud to continue the tradition of the origins of the modern movement.

 

I am proud to have been elevated to the College of Fellows of the AIA, in 2013.  There is a very short list of black Fellows, the first being Paul Williams FAIA, and I am honored to have my name on that list.  I am also proud to serve as Chair of the Land Use & Waterfront Committee for my local community board, CB6 in Manhattan.

 

I attended my first NYCOBA meeting in the late 1980’s, when the organization was for principal firm owners only.  They permitted me to attend a meeting because I was freelancing at the time and trying to start a firm.  It was a great experience to be among the pioneers of black architects in New York City:  Max Bond, Jr., Harry Simmons, Rod Knox, Henri Legendre, LeRoy Tuckett, Bennie Thompson, and others.

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Object:

Object Three - Led the Institute, or a related organization

 

Year of Elevation: 

2013

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Featured Project Name: 

PS 33

 

Featured Project Location: 

Bronx, NY

 

Featured Project Completion Date: 

2011

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Role in Featured Project: 

Lead Designer and Architect of Record

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Project Description:

This Gothic Revival building was built in 1910, by architect C.B.J. Snyder. The project scope included masonry replacement and pointing, terra cotta replacement on several of the ornate, aging dormers, and addition of gutters at existing slate roofs. Working with architectural conservator Jablonski Building Conservation, TONA took tested existing terra cotta to determine the cause of spalling. The structural engineer was Robert Silman Associates.

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Photography Credit:

Bob Wallance & Whitney Cox