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Diébédo Francis Kéré has accomplished a not so easy feat as he’s reportedly become the first Black architect to earn a Pritzker Architecture Prize, or what’s being referred to as “architecture’s top award.” According to NPR, Kéré — whose work includes designs for schools and healthcare clinics — shares his architectural methods were inspired by his time in school with over 100 students who experienced scorching temperatures. “You will sit and it’s very hot inside,” Kéré said in an interview with the outlet. “And there was no light, while outside, the sunlight was abundant and in my head, I think, the idea one day grew [that] as an adult, I should make it better. I was thinking about space, about room, about how I can feel better.”
The architecture industry is not the easiest field to enter, especially when it comes to Black people. According to the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards’ annual report in 2018 , nonwhite architecture professionals are 25 percent more likely to stop pursuing licensure with a nonwhite professional that represents 45 percent of the participants in the Architectural Experience Program. Black women make up the smaller margin when it comes to diversity in the sector, but Deryl McKissack, owner of McKissack & McKissack , took a leap of faith, using her savings to start her career. “Architecture was in my blood,” the president and CEO told Black Enterprise . “I’m the fifth generation in our family to go into the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) business.” She also opens up about not being represented in the space and why it has always been so important for her to change that. “It is definitely a double-whammy, so the challenges have been many and...