Scholarship Creats Pathways for Emerging Black Architects

ZGF is a leading architecture, interior design and urban planning firm with offices in Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Washington DC and Vancouver, BC. The firm is acclaimed for its groundbreaking work on sustainability, which includes designing the nation’s first LEED Platinum^® lab building.

Steven Lewis, Principal, ZGF

Each year, two students who identify as Black or African American and are enrolled in an accredited architecture or design program receive scholarships to help cover university tuition and fees. Recipients are also offered a paid internship with ZGF, providing valuable professional experience and mentorship early in their careers.

As Braulio explains, the goal extends beyond financial assistance:

“It’s really about supporting an individual who could not only increase social representation in the architectural and allied professions, but could also potentially impact the practice of architecture and the form of the built environment in a way that promotes more equity and justice for all.”

For ZGF leaders, increasing representation in architecture is ultimately about broadening the range of perspectives that shape the built environment.

Steven Lewis, a principal at ZGF, notes that architecture plays an important role in how people experience places and communities. Inclusive design can help create environments where more people feel represented and welcomed.

“When you walk into a place or a space, in order to feel like you're welcome there and that you belong there, you have to see yourself reflected in some way, shape or form,” he says. “There are very literal ways to do that through imagery and graphic design, and other ways to more subtly—and perhaps more spiritually—imbue a space with principles and characteristics that harken back to social ways of living among groups of people from Africa and so forth. And that holds true for any culture that has distinctive practices.”