Space is not meant to be a capitalistic tool for turning profit or for controlling those deemed less desirable. Yet, throughout history in the United States, that is what space has been manipulated as. Black space can depict painful, joyous, complicated, confused, loud, incomplete stories that have been and remain severely curtailed always and in all ways. However can black space also be used as a tool for black people to fairly build equity in their own communities?

This studio will investigate African American living rituals through the lens of the single family house, and how to appropriately design for these highly distinctly cultural nuances. While understanding and contributing to a specific design aesthetic for the Albina district that expresses the  historical and cultural moments that define their community. This studio not only explores the social conditions of black space but how to amplify it through linguistics, design, and economy.
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University of Oregon
INSTRUCTORS:
Robert Clarke, Visiting Assistant Professor, Wilson Smith III Visiting Faculty Fellow for DSJI
Cleo Davis, Visiting Professor of Practice
Kayin Talton, Visiting Professor of Practice