I set up in practice with a friend soon after graduating and our work since has combined UK-based projects along with international clients, mainly in Ghana and Nigeria. Why don’t we have a moratorium on statues? Ms Owusu, 62, a founder member and the first chair of the Society of Black Architects, was made a “Riba role model” on diversity issues in June, before taking up her council position. Elsie is Vice Chair of the London School of Architecture. I suppose it’s part of the media portrayal of the black man as being a gangster, or someone who’s always up for fights.EO: If you look at the latest statistics, you see a big increase in the number of white women in architecture, and the number of black women is also increasing, while the number of black men seems to be going backwards. I have found my life as an architect to be both interesting and exciting. [5], In 2017, to mark the 25th anniversary of the murder of Stephen Lawrence, who had hoped to become an architect, Owusu launched, with the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, the RIBA+25 campaign to boost diversity in architecture,[16] a profession that was reported by Architects' Journal in 2015 to be "one of the least diverse in the UK, with 94 percent of architects defined as white", and only 4,000 of RIBA's 27,000 chartered architects being women. From the perspective of practice, we also do ourselves a commercial disservice if we don’t fish from a multicultural talent pool that also includes both men and women. [25], "Riba run like a racist 'boy's club', says leading female architect", "Interview with RIBA President Candidate Elsie Owusu", "Elsie Owusu, Vice-Chair of the Trustee Board", "Riba investigates architect's allegations of institutional racism", "Elsie Owusu collaborates with Sir Peter Blake on low energy house in Hackney", "Elsie Owusu Architects – Rendlesham Road, London E5", "Elsie Owusu Architects – House for Yinka Shonibare MBE RA", "Feilden & Mawson wins planning for west London revamp", "Championing diversity in the architecture profession", "Threats sent to architect Elsie Owusu after she said Riba was racist", "Owusu and Jones throw hats into ring to be next RIBA president", "Candidate for the RIBA Presidency: Elsie Owusu OBE", "Architect Elsie Owusu Could Be RIBA’s First Black President", "Leading architect says institutional racism has not gone away", "Africa’s Business Woman of the Year, Elsie Owusu offers advice for architects hoping to break into the region", "Ghana at Fifty: Leaders on the UK Arts scene", "RIBA Presidential Elections 2018 – Elsie Owusu", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elsie_Owusu&oldid=975111288, People educated at Streatham and Clapham High School, Officers of the Order of the British Empire, Short description is different from Wikidata, Vague or ambiguous geographic scope from December 2017, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 26 August 2020, at 19:56. I think UK architects should be proud of their achievements; after all, successfully completing seven years of education is no mean feat! What’s your experience of being a young black man in the public domain in this country?SA: Growing up in Mitcham, south London, I’d always get stopped and searched by the police, without any particular reason. What obstacles did you encounter when you were starting out?Elsie Owusu: I remember being given advice for my interview at the Architectural Association (AA) in the 1970s. What I’ve tried to do over the past five years, since I’ve been unemployed or unemployable, is to leave a trail of situations in the public domain, like leaving a series of pebbles. It’s really time that commissioners of public art moved on from making statues. If I see a situation that seems unfair or unjust, I question it and act; it’s a social obligation. We’re seeing that you can move from being perceived as a supplicant to being a leader very fast, but we’ve got to keep those doors open and let people through. There’s a sense of: “Who does this man think he is?” SA: That’s partly why we set up the POoR Collective. Elsie is Vice Chair of the London School of Architecture. People get intimidated. The alternative is to make yourself smaller in order to fit in with the structure. You rarely see young people at community consultations for planning applications, but it’s those people who are going to inherit the city. We should give people space to think about other ways that we can represent our collective consciousness in the public domain. I look at people like Elsie, and Lanre and Tara Gbolade, and the rising stars in the Black Females in Architecture network – people I can contact and who are willing to give me advice. That’s my home.” And he said: “If they think you want to stay here as a qualified black architect and work in the UK, they’ll be less likely to give you a place, because they’ll think you’re going to be competing with ‘home students’.” I took his advice and now, looking back on it, he knew what he was talking about. If you see a group of white lads out and they see a black man, there is a certain kind of physical response. I was really inspired by watching George Floyd’s brother, Philonise, speak to US Congress. Ms Owusu, 62, a founder member and the first chair of the Society of Black Architects, was made a “Riba role model” on diversity issues in June, before taking up her council position. At that age you have the energy and strength to take everything in your stride. A Specialist Conservation Architect, her projects include the UK Supreme Court, London’s Green Park Station and transport projects in Ghana and Nigeria. Experts in conservation, housing, urban planning, transport and infrastructure, both in the UK and the developing world. Elsie Owusu is a trustee of the RIBA Council and the Architectural Association. [2] She has been an elected Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Council member since 2014, and vice-chair of the London School of Architecture.[4][5]. Before, it was like “racism doesn’t happen in our industry”, but now people are starting to listen. Like other students, I often worked through the night to finish my assignments. She has been working as an architect since 1986,[6] founding her own architectural practice, Elsie Owusu Architects (EOA), of which she remains principal. [13][15], She has been a board member of organisations including Arts Council England, the National Trust of England, and the UK Supreme Court Arts Trust, as well as being a trustee of the Council of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and of the Architectural Association. Find out more about all of the RIBA Role Models. It’s part of my architectural life. There’s absolutely no reason why someone shouldn’t make a living and delight in life as an architect. In a context in which just 1% of UK architects are black, Elsie Owusu stands out as a leading light. Two designers discuss the trouble with statues, town planning, and why it’s time to stop focusing on Le Corbusier, Thu 25 Jun 2020 14.00 BST Everything you speak out on, every battle and hurdle, that’s allowing us to have an easier path. Some people can be defensive when you talk about inclusion, seeing it as an implicit criticism when actually it’s just an invitation to join the party. If I wasn’t to act humble then I’d get challenged. When I started architecture school, I was a young mother with a two-year-old daughter. [22][23], She appointed an OBE in the Queen's 2003 Birthday Honours list, and has said: "To my great pride my citation for my OBE was as chair of the Society of Black Architects. That’s what I do. Many of the men who exert most power in the profession are WHAMs, or ‘Warm-Hearted Alpha Males’. [14] In 2015 she was one of 12 to be named a "RIBA role models" in support of inclusivity and diversity. If you’re not submissive, whether you’re black or a woman, you don’t fit.SA: Yeah, there’s a culture of keeping your head down. We all share the built environment – so how come only 1% of British architects are black? Awareness isn’t enough – we need to see physical change. [5] Owusu, in partnership with Fielden+Mawson, also oversaw the accommodation of the Lammas Centre for St. Bernard's Hospital. My advice would always be: if you love architecture and design, then follow your heart and ignore anyone who says it’s impossible. In the past, people would be browbeaten and they would just go away.What effect might the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests have on architecture?SA: It’s the final straw that was needed to make everyone take notice. 'We do ourselves a commercial disservice if we don't fish from a multicultural talent pool that includes both men and women.'. We should be making a statement about our collective aspiration as a community, rather than identifying individuals that embody that. Since I saw those white police officers with George Floyd, I started thinking a bit more about masculinity in the public domain. EO: I totally agree. Learn about the opportunities and challenges in rural design today. If you go beyond and try to do too much, you’re seen as a problem. They think my voice is too powerful, when I’m just speaking normally. I n a context in which just 1% of UK architects are black, Elsie Owusu stands out as a leading light. Looking back over 40 years, I’d say every three to five years I have come across some kind of obstacle which, in retrospect, I can see as institutional discrimination. Living in Brixton, there was an international gang of young arts students living faux-Bohemian lives: we argued, designed and studied together, got involved in local politics and helped to bring up each others’ kids. I think there’s something about masculinity in architecture, and that sense of a threat. We wanted to help empower young, marginalised people and get them involved, otherwise we’ll just get the older generation of the same demographic making decisions for our communities.What piece of advice would you give each other?EO: The best advice I was ever given was: never work for people you don’t like. I am a campaigning architect. [4], In 2018 Owusu was announced as a candidate for the presidency of RIBA, nominated by more than 70 chartered architects including Sir David Adjaye OBE, Owen Luder CBE, Deborah Saunt and Yasmin Shariff, and endorsed by Baroness Doreen Lawrence. When I act proud or strong-willed, people don’t feel comfortable. The other was to always have a resignation letter ready – as Richard Rogers was reputed to have when he was working on the Pompidou Centre. If you conform to the norm and try not to be the best, you’ll be fine.EO: The glass ceiling is the least of our problems, because above that is a concrete ceiling. I see that, in the future, I could get to where they are at, as opposed to following the careers of the famous white names.EO: Shawn, I want to ask you a question. The 66-year-old architect, who was born in Ghana, co-led the refurbishment of … They are talented and highly educated men who enjoy the company of strong-minded women, including their own daughters. You feel that if you make a problem public, it might have an impact on your career. [8] As executive architect for this project, EOA has also designed houses and apartments for the Ujima Housing Association. I would like all nine-year-olds who have a fascination for buildings to be able to consider a future career in architecture. [7] EOA has worked with artist Sir Peter Blake on the low energy house, 60 Aden Grove, that was assembled in three days. [9] EOA is currently working in partnership with Symbiotica and NS Design Consultants on the living space of UK/Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare. She is also known to have co-led the refurbishment of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in 2009 and worked on Green Park tube station. When I finally get to the same point, I want to do the same. [18][19] Owusu has spoken out about issues around institutional racism and sexism within the architectural industry.