UB’s minority architecture student organization earns honors in national-level design competition

UB's chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students earned honorable mention in the Barbara G. Laurie Annual Student Design Competition for its proposed cultural center for a Los Angeles neighborhood that once restricted minorities from living there.

The competition was held in conjunction with the National Organization of Minority Architects’ annual conference in Los Angeles last month, putting the work of UB’s team in front of a national audience of practitioners and champions of diversity in design.

The 2016 NOMA student design competition challenged teams across the country to design an African American Cultural Museum and Community Center for Leimert Park, a richly diverse community with a history of segregation. The planned community was formed in 1927 as the ‘model neighborhood of the American Dream’ – but not for everyone. Until 1948, restrictive real estate covenants written into property deeds kept African Americans, Asians, Hispanics and people of Jewish heritage from moving into the neighborhood.

More recently, Leimert Park has emerged as the center of LA’s African-American arts scene. Dubbed ‘Black Greenwich Village,’ the area is home to flourishing blues and jazz clubs, venues for hip hop, and spaces for dramatic performances and poetry readings. At the same time, gentrification threatens Leimert Park’s cultural identity as long-term tenants are forced out by rapidly increasing rents.

The field of 21 NOMAS chapters were invited to propose a cultural center that would support Leimert Park’s rebirth in context of the neighborhood’s cultural history, iconic architecture and urban fabric, including a developing rail line that is expected to accelerate its growth. The program included galleries, exhibition and performance space, a 99-seat theater and a public plaza Designs were judged on the core values of Cultural Expression, Design Excellence, Community Integration, Constructibility, Innovative Programs & Technology, and Construction Cost Analysis.

UB's proposed "Cultural Hinge” responds to the community’s need for a large open space, where citizens can come together to celebrate their heritage and culture. Drawing inspiration from residents’ current informal use of the space for gathering, Cultural Hinge elevates the role of the plaza or public square back to the center of the urban life. The plaza is flanked by the center’s two wings, one elevated above the other and hinged by the center’s lobby and reception area. A steel structure "adds playfulness and a sense of weightlessness" to the center, according to the students’ proposal.

The UB proposal draws heavily on the Plaza de España in Seville, Spain, which several students on the team studied as part of a UB global studio in Madrid last summer.

Taking on the competition above and beyond their regular coursework, the UB team of undergraduate students Mingyang Xia, Ho Kyung Lee, Xiaojie Cao and William Baptiste and graduate student Andres Santandreu developed the proposal over several weeks during the Fall 2016 semester. After several reviews at UB that included meetings with Omar Khan, associate professor and chair of architecture, the design team traveled to Los Angeles in October to present at the 2016 National NOMA Conference. UB's proposal was selected as one of the top five submissions.

The Design Award Jury, which featured the president of the American Institute of Architects and other industry leaders, praised UB's proposal for its innovation and creativity. "The strategy provides possibilities for adding a refreshing variety, complexity, flexibility, sustainability and richness in a building type that would otherwise be relatively plain, low performance or uninspired."

UB Professor of Architecture Brian Carter, who serves as faculty to UB’s NOMAS chapter and oversaw their design submission, praised the students for the performance in a national competition with significant jurors who are leaders in their field. "The students displayed skills that are fundamental for architectural practice - creativity, teamwork and collaboration," he says.

"There are many ways of being an architect," adds Carter. "In this competition UB students clearly demonstrated that not only could they design creatively but they could also communicate those ideas to others through excellent drawings, a model, and carefully chosen words in ways that engaged the interest of notable architects, professional peers and leaders in their field."

UB’s NOMAS chapter was founded in 2011 by three graduate students and now has 40 active members. The group visits local architecture, engineering, planning and construction firms every semester, allowing students to meet design professionals and land internship and job opportunities. They also collaborate with other student organizations and participate in other design competitions and conferences. Even more importantly, they represent and recognize the contributions of minority students at UB.