You know when I applied for school in order to study architecture and I was asked who do you look up to within this field? I have always answered Norma Sklarek And I remember the teachers pull a face and say huh? Who? Why her? I always wondered if I answered incorrectly or the teacher thought I was weird. Of course now actually completed what is known as a part 2 (for the non architects) I know that isn’t the case. You see Norma was great, not because of the buildings she built but because of who she was. For those who don’t know she was the first black Woman To Be an Architect In America. I know, I know I am not in America and of course I won’t be the first but as a black woman in the industry, in any creative industry, you do have to admire all the adversity and controversy Norma overcame in order to become who she was. Bearing in mind this was in the 1950s, which to be honest was not that long ago really yet we sure know at that time it was definitely not easy. Nevertheless it is without individuals like her, people of ethnic minority, women of ethnic minority. I wouldn’t be able to share this story, persue my career or even consider architecture at all. She changed the game and allowed for moments like this where is as Black architects of tomorrow can be celebrated. Black Architects Of Tomorrow. What an Honour to be part of an amazing campaign which celebrates the future of black individuals within our chosen industry. I feel proud to be up there with great individuals in representing for architecture. This isn’t without the star of the campaign Dian Small, London’s Regional Director at RIBA, pushing for something that had never been done before. You know it takes individuals like her to break boundaries and change the way minorities are seen within architecture. I truly commend her for it! It has been an eventful month with events to attend and a real social collective has been developed because of this. One of the early events included the Sterling Awards (for those who don’t do architecture, it’s a big deal in the industry. This is where you see the top dogs in architecture). I along with other excelling black creatives in the campaign were invited to attend the RIBA Sterling Awards too. What an interesting and fun night, yet I have to admit my company made the experience so much fun along with the free drinks on offer and various canopies available. More than half I didn’t know what the heck they were! It was a fun experience tallying through which ones we liked and didn’t. Of course The Sterling Awards were great too, with Fosters + Partners Bloomberg Building winning the main award. The building is amazing! The actual night in celebrating the campaign was held at the end of October. Having attended the night I left the evening feeling encouraged, inquisitive and yearning for more information. Hearing from key figures who represent people like me, a person of colour, doing amazing things in the industry was very motivational! It’s amazing to see an actual room of black people in architecture, this is very rare sight! I knew we existed and of course there are so many more, we were only representing after all! But boy was it a sight to see! Some key figures that stood out to me were that of a group called 3.09, a collective of creative individuals coming from architectural backgrounds. I was intrigued that they were not all qualified which was enlightening to see. They are already doing great things within the industry, some venturing into other design principles yet still using the principles learnt within architecture. I have always believed we can do so much more with all the skills we learn whilst studying, it could be applied to any design profession if you think about it. This group definitely stood out to me. Hearing from groups like Black Female Architects, made me think I am not alone. Although I’ve always had a varied bunch of creatives around me whilst studying it’s nice to see a group celebrating our individuality within the industry. We are women. Hearing statistics from them on the numbers of minorities within the industry was concerning, so groups like this keeping us alive is vital. - There were so many influential people in that room, socialising and learning what people do in their spare time, whilst working or studying was encouraging. It would be a very long list to go through to all. I guess what I learnt from this night, was a reminder to utilise your skill set and qualifications. Let’s not see it wasted! Whether you go into your field of study or not. The key skills, environment and people can all be utilised in some way or another. Use them. All the individuals are in architecture because they love it and getting qualified is a significant title in letting everyone know that you know what you are doing, you live what you do. You are what you do! I feel people asked the right questions and challenged some of the current situations within architecture. Some I will highlight over future posts. Regardless, as creatives let’s beat these statistics as minorities, shine and conquer our fields.