Oscar Harris, FAIA and NOMA Host Empowering Panel Discussion for African American Architects

On June 12, 2014, renowned Atlanta architect Oscar Harris led a discussion on mentoring the next generation of Atlanta’s Architects of Color at the historical APEX History Museum. Oscar was joined by fellow Atlanta architects, Ranal S. Harris, Jr., Christopher Goode, Monica Fenderson, Cheryl McAfee, and moderator Garfield L. Peart, President of the Atlanta Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects.

This sold out event led to a lively panel discussion surrounding the history and progression of minority presence in the architectural field, particularly focusing on opportunities within Atlanta. The audience was comprised of students and rising architects who were given the opportunity to ask their own questions to the panel of experts and gain first hand advice. The conversation evolved over the course of the evening from where we have been to where we are going. Panelists offered their inside observations into the declined presence of minority architecture firms and opportunities for architects of color in Atlanta and provided insight into the steps that must be taken to improve their involvement.

Oscar’s hope in organizing this event is to create an open and ongoing dialogue about moving forward and supporting each other collectively in order to carve out a place for architects of color in Atlanta’s growing architectural industry. 

"Oscar: The Memoir of a Master Architect" Book Released

Renowned African American architect responsible for some of Atlanta’s most iconic buildings has been selected to receive the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Service Award from the Atlanta Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. Oscar Harris, FAIA is being awarded for his outstanding commitment to service and mentor low-income urban youth.

From his days as a young boy from a unique, supportive, community in Pittsburgh through his struggles to become one of the nation’s leading architects, Oscar Harris has seen it all and overcome seemingly impossible odds. Throughout his career, Oscar has struggled to bring diversity and equality to one of America’s most exclusive industries. Through his “give back and pay it forward” philosophy, Harris founded the Atlanta Center for Creative Inquiry, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to mentor, educate, and develop creative abilities in youth to promote greater diversity in the architecture, engineering and construction professions.

This year the Atlanta Center for Creative Inquiry celebrates ten years of servicing youth in the Atlanta area. Under this unique program, metro Atlanta high school students are exposed to creativity, design, art, architecture, real estate development, construction and entrepreneurship. ACCI operates through partnerships with leading industrial companies and professionals who provide students with the opportunity to explore the process of how projects are executed, from the initial vision to the final construction.

“Oscar Harris clearly is an example of an African American entrepreneur at his best. He has inspired, educated, and enlightened youth to take the challenge of accepting leadership roles at a young age” says Paul Sparks, a past ACCI student who is working on his PHD in Engineering at Stanford University.

Oscar L. Harris Jr., FAIA, is one of the most inspiring and creative architects of our time. As a legacy to the famous historic city of Atlanta, he has created commanding architectural designs that help shape the skyline of America’s most popular southern metropolis. His iconic work provides a structural record of Atlanta’s culture—its people, its politics, its hardships, and its victories.

Oscar Harris’s recently released book, Oscar: Memoir of a Master Architect is now available at www.sugartop.co.