[dehai-news] (Harvardmagazine) Architecture for Everyone


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From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Sat Jul 25 2009 - 12:38:02 EDT


 
Architecture for Everyone

by Melanie E. Long July 24, 2009
 
 Eritrean-born Yohanna Iyasu’s parents moved their family to the United
Kingdom from Holland when she was 11, hoping for a better education for
their children. Although she became fluent in English, her difficulties
with the written language caused her to struggle with the Advanced Level
exams required for admission to universities; her scores limited her
chance of entering an architecture program. Oni Hinton was already on
the road to a career in architecture when she became seriously ill
during her final years of high school. Her professional dream was put on
hold when family troubles compounded the struggles caused by her
illness. But this summer, both Iyasu and Hinton have had the chance to
pursue their dreams of becoming architects. Along with four other
underprivileged British adults—Nick Ackers, Callum Gilbert, Luke
Henry-Powell, and Paula McDonald—they are attending the Career Discovery
Program, an eight-week introductory course at the Harvard Graduate
School of Design (GSD). Their sponsors are the Stephen Lawrence
Charitable Trust and the U.K.-based architecture firm RMJM, through the
Architecture for Everyone program the two organizations created: a
three-year campaign that seeks to increase diversity within the
profession.
 
The chance the six British students have been given is rare in the field
of architecture. According to a research study conducted in 2004 by the
Royal Institute of British Architects, only 2 percent of practicing
architects in Britain are ethnic minorities. Peter Morrison, CEO of
RMJM, publicly warned the architecture community last year that if
diversity in their field did not increase, the creativity level would
stagnate. “We need to reach out today to kids from all backgrounds
interested in becoming architects,” he said. “We need new faces, new
ideas, and new ways of looking at the world. The same old, same old is
boring and come 2030, if not already, boring design will not close the
deals on big projects.”
 
Morrison was in touch with Doreen Lawrence, who had created the Stephen
Lawrence Charitable Trust in honor of her son, an aspiring architect,
who was a victim of racially motivated murder. Their conversation about
how to open up opportunities in the field led to Architecture for
Everyone. That campaign held workshops in inner cities across the U.K.
earlier this year, seeking to attract a diverse and talented group of
potential young architects. Attendees learned about the industry from
senior architects and presented their own designs. Twelve of the most
talented participants at the workshops were invited to a competitive
interview, after which the six winners were chosen.
 
The Architecture for Everyone program also reaches out to high-school
students. On a trip to London to participate in a panel discussion
connected with the annual Stephen Lawrence Memorial Lecture, D.K.
Osseo-Asare’02, M.Arch ’09, an instructor in the Career Discovery
Program, was encouraged by the tutorials being offered and the work
produced by the students at the Stephen Lawrence Centre. “To have seen
the students there and now to see the six students here, I find it
inspiring. It makes me feel hopeful,” says Osseo-Asare. “You have to
start somewhere, and you have to start with the best.” He champions
RMJM’s commitment to increasing diversity in the profession, despite the
recession, and is pleased that their efforts have garnered attention
globally, noting that “What RMJM is doing is relatively novel. Some
large firms sponsor similar initiatives on a case-by-case basis,” but
these smaller-scale efforts “are mainly off the radar.”
 
Yohanna Iyasu is glad to be able to put Harvard on her résumé because
she knows it will make her a stronger candidate in applying for
architecture programs. Oni Hinton, who was working as a sales assistant
at a jewelry shop, cherishes the opportunity to have her professional
passion become a tangible option once more. “If I hadn’t gotten ill I
would be in my third year,” she says. “But now I’m here getting the
opportunity to do everything I would have done.”

Peter Morrison’s remarks on the lack of diversity in the field of
architecture can be found in the article “Why architecture must shed its
exclusive image” in The Guardian.
 
http://harvardmagazine.com/breaking-news/diversity-in-architecture

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