Wisco NOMA
The National Organization of Minority Architects
Wisconsin Chapter
Welcome to the Project Pipeline Summer Camp on Architecture! This immersive and dynamic program is designed to inspire and cultivate the next generation of architects. Over the course of the camp, participants will engage in hands-on activities, creative workshops, and collaborative project work that explore the fundamentals of architecture and design.
Guided by experienced professionals and educators, campers will develop essential skills in sketching, modeling, and problem-solving while gaining a deeper understanding of how architecture shapes our world. Join us for an unforgettable summer experience where imagination meets innovation, and budding architects build the foundations for their future careers.
PROJECT PIPELINE MISSION
Our mission is to empower young people to affect change in their community through design. Using the city as the classroom and connecting young people to real-world architects and planners, we foster the next generation of design professionals, civic leaders, and changemakers. We advocate for increased inclusiveness, diversity, fellowship, equity, and excellence in design.
DIVERSIFYING THE FUTURE
Moving Slowly
"We are going to have to have people as committed to doing the right thing, to inclusiveness, as we have in the past to exclusiveness. As a profession, you ought to be taking stands on these kinds of things. You are part of this society. It is not easy. I am not suggesting the easy road, but the time has come when no longer the kooks and crackpots speak for America.
The decent people have to learn to speak up, and you shouldn’t have to be the victim to feel for other people. I make no pretense that it is easy.”
Whitney Young, Jr. AIA National Convention, Portland, Oregon, June 1968
In the year Whitney Young, Jr. made his speech to the AIA, Black architects made up 1/2 of 1 percent (0.5%) of all registered architects in the United States.
In the 57 years since that speech, the number has climbed to 2 percent (2%).
However, as African-Americans make up 12.1% of the overall population, the architecture profession still doesn’t look much like the country as a whole.
With a current lack of diversity in the architectural profession, the need for programs like Project Pipeline is evident.
Only 17.2% of AIA members identify as belonging to underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, highlighting the urgency to address this disparity.
Empowering Young People
Students investigate through drawing and model building, analyze through diagramming and research, and engage through interviews. By the program’s conclusion, students present a fully realized project that addresses a social need for their city.
Two Approaches
Human Element: basic relationship principles
Action Driven: taking deliberate steps
Connecting
Mentors
Every architect has a story about who helped them along their path to the profession. We forge new connections between students, community leaders, and architects. We guide students through all stages of design with thought-provoking and fun exercises.
An assortment of people from different backgrounds—experience, education, culture—help enrich the camp program.
Designing for Community
A key focus of the camp is teaching the significance of architecture in daily life — culturally, socially, and historically. Students tackle a real project in their community and apply the tools and techniques of architects to develop sensitive solutions connected to context.
Addressing Design Justice
Whether we like it or not, our built environment is a physical record of our attitudes toward justice. The record is damning. Rather than turn away from this reality, we confront this history head on
2023 CAMP
Wisco NOMA’s inaugural Project Pipeline Summer Camp was held in 2023 in collaboration with TRUE Skool, a local Milwaukee arts, dance and music focused after-school program. Situated in HUB 640 in Downtown Milwaukee (formerly known as the Grand Avenue Mall), the program acknowledged that for many participants, this experience would be their first real exposure to design. Drawing from this shared experience, the team adopted a deliberate and collaborative approach to introduce students to architectural concepts, focusing on building fundamentals through fun exploration before advancing through design and presentation.
The first day was dedicated to establishing a framework for design thinking through discussions and creative exercises. This included a site visit to TRUE Skool, where the students would ultimately create a design. While on-site, students were tasked with identifying the architectural concepts they learned in class. Students also had the opportunity to discuss complex social issues with mentor volunteers, who taught the students about DESIGN JUSTICE and discussed its influence on architectural planning - including its impact on their after-school program.
On the second day, students began their exploration of programming and space planning by developing a schematic design for TRUE Skool. Collaborating with local mentor volunteers, students studied options using a variety of techniques, conceptual model making, sketching, and diagramming. By connecting these explorative design activities to a familiar, real-world environment, the team hoped to ignite a passion with the students by including them in the meaningful impact in their own space. One the final day, student teams presented their conceptual designs and captivated the audience with their confidence. Showcasing the students’ creativity sparked a sense of pride and achievement among the entire audience!
Although the program is an introduction to the architectural profession, Project Pipeline is a step toward building equity through opportunities within the design community-a step toward unity. By connecting these students with passionate professionals dedicated to advocacy, the program hopes to build on this introduction to architecture and spark a lasting interest in uplifting others.
Excerpt from Wisconsin Architect Magazine article by Sandra Mills, AIA and Michael Sykes, Assoc. AIA
2023 Camp Stats
2 ½ day camp
11 Students
27 Volunteers
100% Scholarships
$4,750 Raised
$0 Fee
