The first African-American graduate of the School of Architecture at Washington University will make his first significant return to lecture at his alma mater 6:30 p.m. Thursday, September 19 at Steinberg Auditorium on WUSTL’s Danforth Campus.
Richard Franklin will speak on the “Trichotomy of One Architect” in a lecture sponsored by the St. Louis chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), the St. Louis chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art at WUSTL.
“This is really his first time coming back to the school,” said Charles Brown, vice president of NOMA St. Louis and an adjunct professor at the university. “He represents the age of the very dawn of inclusion, not only at the architecture school but for the overall professional landscape.”
Franklin, a member of AIA and principal of Franklin Associates, earned a BA with a major in architecture in 1970 and a master’s in 1974. His long list of projects includes the restoration of the Apollo Theater in Harlem, Strivers Gardens Apartments, the construction phase of the September 11 Memorial Museum at the World Trade Center site, and collaboration with the design team for the Smithsonian Museum of African American History.
“Richard will speak on his decades of portfolio, such as renovating the Apollo Theater and managing construction of the World Trade Center museum; his experiences being one of a few African Americans in the academic environment at Washington University, and then and one of the professional pioneers to collaborate with Karl Grice, Charles Fleming, Michael Kennedy Bill Watkins and others; and his role as an advocate for emerging designers and college students through AIA and NOMO,” Brown said.
“We really want to celebrate what his milestone meant, the legacy he’s left and promote advocacy of our community getting more involved in architecture and urban planning.”
An event pre-reception begins at 6 p.m. The event is free for members of AIA, NOMA and Washington University. It is open to the general public with a $5 admission fee.
