Savoy

2010 is shaping up to be a tough year for architects.  The design and construction industry is struggling at unprecedented levels, hurt by frozen credit markets that make it hard to finance new projects.  And the challenges are particularly acute among minority-owned firms, says Marshall Purnell, design principal of Washington, D.C.-based Devrouax + Purnell Architects.

When he became the youngest president of the National Organization of Minority Architects 25 years ago, African-Americans made up just above 1 percent of the profession.  Today, a couple of years after he ended a term as the first black president of The American Institute of Architects, the leading trade group for licensed architects, the percentage is no better.

At the same time, the number of African-American-owned firms has dropped substantially, as larger firms have hired more minority architects.  “In the ‘80s, there were 24 African-American owned firms in D.C.,” Purnell says.  “Now there are less than 10 and that is a function of the availability of work to sustain a firm and larger firms now go after almost everything.  There was a time when a large firm wouldn’t go after a small project.”

That means there’s still much work to be done on the diversity front.  Yet many believe that Purnell’s election to president of AIA in 2007 and the organization’s new emphasis on diversity are leading indicators that change is on the way.  During his tenure as president of AIA, diversity and inclusion became one of three strategic initiatives for the institute alongside sustainability and integrated project delivery, says Sherry Snipes, AIA’s director of diversity and inclusion.

Indeed, just the existence of a firm like his inspires many.  Annually about 34 million people live, work, play or move through spaces designed by Devrouax + Purnell, from the Washington D.C. Convention Center to the Verizon Center Metro system expansion.  Few firms have that kind of reach.

“The barriers to getting to the top have started to crumble,” Snipes says. “We want the Institute to mirror the marketplace diversity and to have an African-American president starts to demonstrate the progress that has been made and is starting to be made.”

But there’s no magic bullet, Purnell insists.  Bringing more minorities into the challenging profession requires a multitude of actions.  Children need more exposure to the field and an understanding of the courses they must take to prepare for it.  Mentors have to provide guidance and summer job opportunities to deepen young people’s familiarity with architecture.  Families must find a way to fund five to six years of expensive higher education and the students must have the aptitude—and motivation—to stay the course. “It takes a certain kind of kid,” Purnell admits.  “You have to love this blend of art and science.  It’s a working, functioning piece of art if you do it well.”

While the challenges are significant, the stakes are even more so. “We can no longer continue down this road where we have a profession that is 98% white in a society that is multicultural, multiracial and is becoming even more so,” Purnell says.  “We won’t be able to sustain ourselves.  Users will start to say: ‘What’s wrong with this picture? Why am I not represented in your firm?  How are you going to address the needs of me and my community?’”