By the time I was seven years old I knew I wanted to be an architect. I wanted to be a singer too, but that’s another story. Architecture wise it was like as soon as I realized you could make a building that wasn’t a rectangular box I was all in. Being raised up on the Southside of Chicago also played a major role in my decision making because when you get to see a spectacular skyline every week in every season….it just does something to you.
Now coming up, I had no one in my immediate family, or in my entire family really that I could look to for answers about this field. I mean…I grew up on Stevie Wonder, Stony Island, Harold’s, and juke mixes. I didn’t grow up on Frank Lloyd Wright, IIT Appreciation, and form follows function so the collision between my world and the world of architecture sounded something like the Big Bang Theory. Now while both of my parents were supportive of my career choice, they were somewhat stunned by it because…I mean…curve ball. Now being a little ways removed from seven, as I reflect back from then until now I do wish there was someone or something that could have helped advise me through the years.
You know…someone to drop in every now and again to say things like look into Revit right from the jump, check these books out because it’ll help you visualize x,y, and z better. Or hey my pretty, melanin filled face…you might feel discouraged at times having so few peers that look like you, but be encouraged…others are out there just like you. Keep pushing. You know…stuff like that. So in taking direct inspiration from that desire I present you all with BLARCH DAILY, guidelines and advice from young, Black, and aspiring architects like myself and other practicing architects. As I cross these bridges so will you.
My hope is that through this blog series architecture will become a less scary and mythical topic for other aspiring faces of color. I hope that you get inspired to ask questions, figure out how to get involved, challenge the status quo, and etc. Anyways….my name is Kiera and I plan on not being the only black aspiring architect you know.
Stay tuned.
KT