Architecture is Political

In this episode, we are joined by past recipients of the Desiree V Copper Memorial Scholarship , Whitni R Irving AIA, NOMA, LEED Green Associate, NCARB; Colby C. Mitchell, Assoc. AIA, NOMA and Natasha Graves, RA, who share their experiences of receiving financial support for their architectural registration exam (ARE). Two DVC Committee Members, Katherine Williams, AIA, NOMA and Nickolas Hill, Ass...

Rochelle Mills , President and Chief Executive Officer of Innovative Housing Opportunities (IHO) , shares her journey of persistence in pursuing her career goals despite facing multiple obstacles along the way. She talks about how she learned to overcome rejection and failure, and the importance of perseverance in achieving success. She also talks about the importance of continuous learning and pe...

Michelle L. Browder is a renowned artist and activist who has made a significant impact on her community. Her monument of Anarcha, Lucy and Betsy are three women who were subjected to medical experiments by Dr. J. Marion Sims (also known as the Father of Gynecology). With the acquisition of a historic site in Montgomery, Alabama, previously used for medical experimentation on slaves, Browder plans...

In this episode, we explore the findings of a recent study on Neighborhood Change in the Washington DC metropolitan region, with a focus on Montgomery County, Maryland. The research, conducted by the Montgomery County Planning Department , a part of the The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) , found that the most pressing issue in the county is low-income concentratio...

Intersections: Where Diversity, Equity and Design Meet is a Fall 2022 Series at The National Building Museum. It brings together leading Black voices in design, art, and architecture for a series of dynamic discussions about culture, equity and representation through the lens of design. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Mabel Wilson about researching anti-black spaces, the mental toll it can bring a...

Intersections: Where Diversity, Equity and Design Meet is a Fall 2022 Series at The National Building Museum.  It brings together leading Black voices in design, art, and architecture for a series of dynamic discussions about culture, equity and representation through the lens of design. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Mabel O. Wilson about researching anti-black spaces, the mental toll it ca...

In this episode, we talk about Dr. Edwards’ educational career in architecture and planning, why she stepped down as Chair at Howard University's Department of Architecture and the love she has for her students. Dr. Hazel Ruth Edwards, FAICP, is an educator and planner whose career combines place-based research with planning and urban design practice and teaching. She currently serves as a profess...

BlackSpace…at the Intersection of Diversity, Agency and Design is a series of workshops, two virtual and one in-person, at the National Building Museum’s Fall Series, INTERSECTIONS. At the second workshop, Vanessa Morrison (along with other cohorts), introduced the importance of culturally relevant and affirming design principles and how these can be used as a tool to create and preserve inclusive...

Let’s get political! AIP talks to Evelyn Lee, FAIA and Je’Nen M. Chastain, MBA, Assoc. AIA from Practice Disrupted Podcast about the politics of AIA (American Institute of Architects). We discuss a brief governing history as well as the elections process. Je’Nen M. Chastain, MBA, Assoc. AIA is the founder of Apostrophe Consulting , a practice focused on helping architects and next-gen leaders stre...

The design voice of impact and change— Kia Weatherspoon, NCIDQ, ASID, D.F.A (h.c) has spent the last 15 years defying every design stereotype. The most damaging—interior design is a luxury reserved for a few. Her voice, advocacy for Design Equity™, and design practice have shifted the narrative, making interior design a standard for all. Kia is challenging the lack of these standards in economical...

Juliet Sakyi-Ansah is an architect experimenting with architecture as a tool for driving social and environmental change using participatory and collaborative approaches. Invested in the potential of collective action, Juliet’s explorative work and approach  often centres on people and place identity and how that manifests in the practice, process and production of architecture and the built...

In partnership with the National Building Museum, AIP Podcast hosts a series of deep dive conversations from the Intersections series. This is a re-broadcast of a conversation with Demar Matthews. Founder of OffTop Design , Matthews will open the season with a presentation that addresses how architecture amplifies or silences perspectives and narratives and question if and how buildings, streets a...

Intersections. Where Diversity, Equity and Design Meet.  This Fall, The National Building Museum is bringing together leading Black voices in design, art, and architecture for INTERSECTIONS, a series of dynamic discussions about culture, equity and representation through the lens of design. Launching September 16th and running through December 14th, Intersections engages nationally recognized...

Black Students in Design (BSD) was created in recognition of the many barriers faced by Black students in the design and architecture fields. Clara James is a recent graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture at the Daniels Faculty of Architecture Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto, Canada. In 2020 Clara founded Black Students in Design, a student-led community for Black stude...

In this episode, AIP talks to Lori A. Brown FAIA , an architect and Professor of Architecture in the School of Architecture at Syracuse University and Jordan Kravitz, AIA, LEED Green Assoc, WELL AP , a healthcare architect and medical planner at Smithgroup, about TRAP (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) Laws and the call to action to mobilize a list of architects who can assist in design a...

At the AIA Conference on Architecture 2022, Architecture is Political Podcast joined Tangible Remnants host Nakita Reed AIA, to chat all things NOMA (National Organization of Minority Architects) with Pascale Sablan FAIA, NOMA, LEED AP and Tiffany Brown MBA, NOMA, Assoc. AIA. In this episode, Tiffany talks about how she was offered the position as Executive Director and the benefits of joining NOM...

Karina Ruiz has over 20 years of experience and has managed over $1 billion in educational projects throughout her career. Her belief that education shapes the future of this world, drives Karina to ensure that teaching and learning objectives remain the team’s focus throughout each project. She is actively engaged in the national dialogue on the intersection between pedagogy and design innovation...

Segregated By Design is a personal project of Adam Paul Susaneck. His Instagram posts visually depicts the destruction of black and brown communities due to redlining, urban renewal and freeway construction with aerial photographs and maps. Through various social media channels, Adam is able to bring awareness to the erasure of local black and communities to the forefront. Adam Paul Susaneck recen...

Laura Foote became a housing activist in 2014, when she became one of the key founders of the YIMBY movement. As Executive Director of YIMBY Action, Laura has grown the organization into a thriving grassroots political organization of thousands of volunteers. As of 2021, YIMBY Action has over 3000 supporters nationwide and is made up of nearly 20 chapters in cities across the country. Laura is wid...

Isabella Segalovich is a Philadelphia-based artist, designer, writer, and TikTokker. Her work focuses on anti-authoritarian art history, on topics such as cultural appropriation and erasure, the racism ingrained in modern design, and underappreciated art forms such as folk art, embroidery, and graffiti. Follow her on TikTok and on Instagram @interstellar_isabellar Article : https://hyperallergic.c...

Tiff Beatty (she/her) is a cultural organizer, arts administrator, performance poet, and host.  She is the current program director of arts, culture, and public policy at National Public Housing Museum in Chicago. Tiff Beatty was a 2019-2021 Chicago United for Equity Fellow and Senior Fellow and received the additional distinction of the 2019 Field Leader Award from the Field Foundation of Il...

In this episode, we speak to Michelle Barrett and Chris Daemmrich from Emergent Grounds in Design Education (EGDE) , a cogenerated catalogue of ongoing student and alumni practitioners organizing for antiracist, anticolonial, feminist education in the built environment design professions. This group was originally organized in June 2020 as the Alumni Collective in Solidarity/New Grounds for Design...

Chris Daemmrich was born and raised in Austin, Texas, on Tonkawa land. He studied architecture and political science on Chitimacha, Choctaw and Houma land at Tulane University of Louisiana in New Orleans, graduating with an M.Arch and a B.A. in political science in 2017. Chris has worked in a wide range of architectural, development, advocacy, political and research organizations including Wisznia...

In this episode, we catch up with #archimoms Anta Miranda AIA, NOMA, ARB (UK) and Veronica Elizalde-Molina on balancing architecture and parenting in the pandemic. Listen to the original Season 1 episode on our website here or on your favorite podcast app.

Nakita Reed, AIA, CPHC, LEED AP BD+C, NOMA, is an Associate at Quinn Evans. Her career has focused on the preservation and revitalization of historic buildings, restoring them to new purpose and economic vitality while also incorporating cutting-edge design strategies for sustainability. Nakita’s portfolio includes a wide range of architectural accomplishments, from the restoration of abandoned, h...