• Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
      • Hair News
      • Natural
      • Relaxed
      • Transitioning
      • Weave
      • 4C
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Money & Career

Building Their Destiny: These Black Women Are Charting A Path In Design And Architecture

Within the $17.5 billion industry, a mere 2.3% of interior designers in the U.S. identify as Black or African American.
Building Their Destiny: These Black Women Are Charting A Path In Design And Architecture
By Jasmine Browley · Updated May 14, 2022

Black female architects are a rarity. 

Archinect reported that less than 1%  of licensed US architects are Black women. Additionally, within the $17.5 billion industry, a mere 2.3% of interior designers in the U.S. identify as Black or African American. 

During an interview in February 2019, Tiffany Brown of 400 Forward told Essence Magazine she was “on track to becoming one of 452 licensed Black women architects in the United States.” The following year, it was announced that the milestone finally reached 500.

Although that’s a significant step forward, it’s still disparate. Despite the stark numbers though, Black-led design firms are seeing an uptick than in previous years. Here are the women who are breaking through in the architectural and design space that you should know. 

01
Malene Barnett
As the founder of Black Artists + Designers Guild (BADG), Malene Barnett said she aimed to foster a space for Black creatives “seeking community, collaboration, and creative support.” According to her bio, she is interested in finding ways to define the black narrative while raising awareness about racial inequality in America. Her artistic practice is inseparable from her work as an activist. Through her sculptural ceramic tiles and vessels, mixed media paintings and handwoven rugs, she shares her African heritage with a global audience. She has been featured in publications like New York Magazine and Elle Decor, and has been invited to speak by MSNBC and TEDx. Malene’s clients include Marriott, Viacom, Saks, WeWork, Avalon Communities, and the MetLife Building.
Building Their Destiny: These Black Women Are Charting A Path In Design And Architecture
02
Hannah Beachler
The Academy Award-winning production designer said she knew she had a connection to aesthetics from an early age. The daughter of an architect and interior decorator, she said the design was a huge part of her life on a day-to-day basis. Now, she’s pouring her talent into movie productions like Fruitvale Station, Moonlight, Creed, and Black Panther to life and Beyoncé’s LEMONADE and JAY-Z and Beyoncé’s OTR II Interludes.
Building Their Destiny: These Black Women Are Charting A Path In Design And Architecture
03
Mariam Kamara
When she established design firm Atelier Masōmī in 2014, she said it was guided by sustainability, and encouraging progressive community-minded projects with ecological solutions. “One can sometimes feel invisible and isolated when producing architecture from a base like ours, in Niamey, as opposed to being somewhere in the West,” she said in an interview with the Architectural Digest. She said that her mission is to provide people with a better quality of life through the spaces that she designs. “I believe that architecture can be a tool for social, environmental, political, and economic change,” she said. “I always try to ensure that our projects can contribute to all, or most, of the above in a positive way.”
Building Their Destiny: These Black Women Are Charting A Path In Design And Architecture
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now