In this presentation, Germane Barnes and Shawhin Roudbari will share their respective work on black occupations of space and white hegemony. They present the intersection of their work as the basis of the forthcoming special issue of MAS Context, where they work with collaborators to interrogate architectural expressions of vigilantism.
Shawhin Roudbari
Shawhin Roudbari is an assistant professor in Environmental Design at the University of Colorado Boulder. In his research, Shawhin studies ways designers organize to address social problems. He bridges sociological studies of social movements and race with architectural theory. In addition to leading the transdisciplinary dissentxdesign research group, Shawhin is a founding member of the Spatial Justice Design Collective, which uses design and theory building to investigate how dissent and counter-hegemonic tactics play out in space. His work contributes to theories of contentious politics in the spatial professions and employs ethnographic methods. His research projects are supported by the National Science Foundation and his groups’ work is published in architectural and sociological journals.
Germane Barnes
Germane Barnes’ research and design practice investigates the connection between architecture and identity. Mining architecture’s social and political agency, he examines how the built environment influences black domesticity. He is the former Designer-In-Residence for the Opa-locka Community Development Corporation, where he led a multi-site urban revitalization project. He is currently the Director of the Community Housing Identity Lab (CHIL) at the University of Miami School of Architecture. Learning from historical data and perspectives from within architecture as well as cultural and ethnic studies, CHIL posits that the built environment is manipulated by factors that extend far beyond conventional construction methods. His design and research contributions have been published and exhibited in several international institutions. Most notably, The Museum of Modern Art, Pin-Up Magazine, The Graham Foundation, The New York Times, Architect Magazine, DesignMIAMI/Art Basel, The Swiss Institute, Metropolis Magazine, Curbed, and The National Museum of African American History where he was identified as one of the future designers on the rise.