Program expands architecture training for city students

As an experienced real estate developer, a trained economist and the son of a Howard University professor, Christopher Flack was troubled to see so few African Americans securing careers in architecture.

Just two percent of licensed architects in the U.S. are Black while Black women constitute only 0.4 percent of architects, according to the National Council of Architecture Registration Boards.

So, in 2021, Flack established the Baltimore City Youth Architectural Design Collaborative (BCYADC) to provide students, ranging from sophomores to seniors, with opportunities to learn design skills and explore careers in architecture.

Through a partnership with Nesmith Design Group and Open Works, BCYADC provides multi-year, after-school and summer training sessions that cover basic and intermediate design and construction principles, AutoCAD, REVIT, code requirements, the fundamentals of residential and commercial projects, and the history of Black Architects in America. The program also requires students to complete their own designs for a residential and a commercial project, and helps students prepare portfolios for college applications.

Last year, the BC&E Foundation awarded BCYADC a $2,000 grant to support that education.

The program is succeeding, Flack said, due partly to its growing partnerships with local architecture firms that help with instruction and offer job-shadowing days to students.

In addition, “students from Morgan State’s School of Architecture and Planning have volunteered to serve as instructors and mentors and help students with their design projects,” he said.

Preparation for the students’ residential project includes a brief historical analysis of Baltimore residential historic designs and housing inventories, and instruction on the use of AutoCAD and REVIT in residential design.

Before graduating from the program, students are expected to develop a residential floorplan, exterior drawings of walls and elevations, and an interior design that includes images of kitchen and dining rooms, a bathroom layout, as well as windows, doors and other details. The students must also demonstrate their designs comply with building codes.

Later in the BCYADC program, students create a design for a commercial project that is reflective of and relevant to the communities where they live. The chosen project (in 2024, it was a community welcome center) must meet the public’s needs, strive to include sustainable elements, and incorporate elements of Baltimore’s history and character.

Students present their designs at BCYADC’s annual Topping Off ceremony.

“This curriculum fully engages the students,” Flack said. “When they get a grasp on the design principles and the technology, they become passionate about sketching and modeling and design.”

The process helps some students recognize the significance of some academic

This spring, eight students graduated from BCYADC and were accepted into college architecture programs, he said.

Positive response to the BCYADC, both from students and architecture professionals, is fueling growth in the program.

In addition to conducting STEM training, modeling competitions and other activities over the summer, BCYADC will be searching for a new, central location for its training in order to become more accessible to students all over the city.