What do architects have to do to make a living? 
Paul R. Williams, the Black architect who designed Los Angeles International Airport, is said to have routinely accepted smaller commissions that had been rejected by others. Architecture is a competitive profession, and today's African-American architects stand on the shoulders of pioneers like Williams.
Paul R. Williams, the Black architect who designed Los Angeles International Airport, is said to have routinely accepted smaller commissions that had been rejected by others. Architecture is a competitive profession, and today's African-American architects stand on the shoulders of pioneers like Williams.
The Directory of African American Architects claims nearly two thousand entries in their online database. One young man who caught our eye is Ian Mark Smith, AIA, R.A. of id-dg (Ian Smith Design Group). After graduating from Yale University School of Architecture (1997), Smith apprenticed in Philadelphia with Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi. Every generation's pathway to success is to study with the masters. Grow a portfolio and success will come.
Photo of LAX Theme Building designed by Paul R. Williams ©2006 brewbooks, flickr.com, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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