Join the New York Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (nycoba | NOMA) and the AIANY Diversity & Inclusion Committee for the 2019 J. Max Bond Jr. Lecture. Established in 2010 as a joint collaboration, this is an annual design talk in memory of J. Max Bond, Jr., FAIA, NOMA, an architect, advocate, teacher, and trailblazer of his time. The Bond Lecture addresses issues that were important to Max Bond: equity, inclusive design, communities, and global cultures, in particular Africa (Ghana).
This year, our honored speaker is Zena Howard, FAIA, a Principal and Managing Director of Perkins and Will North Carolina Practice. A graduate of the University of Virginia, she was mentored by Phil Freelon. Howard is a design leader, strategist, educator, and mentor in the profession who was elevated to the AIA College of Fellows last year. She is well known for her role on the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. She is also creating a legacy as a leader in the transformation of neighborhoods through community-engaged urban design practices. Her unique approach includes the conception of what she terms “Remembrance Projects,” which apply community engagement principles to infuse historical context into built work. Howard’s work on urban futures aims to repair and renew communities of color damaged by ill-conceived urban renewal projects of recent decades. In our time of continued challenges to communities, including gentrification, disparities of resources, and imposed historical amnesia, we must look to Zena’s work for inspiration and guidance to build and heal.
This year, we are grateful for our additional partnership with the J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures and space support from Parsons School of Design.
