Oct 31, 2019 _ news

Changing the Face of Design: GBBN and NOMA Share Happy Hour

The Pittsburgh Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA PGH) recently joined GBBN’s Pittsburgh office for a design happy hour.

During the well-attended happy hour, NOMA PGH President and Treasurer, Alicia Volcy and Riccardy Volcy, addressed the state of diversity in the architectural profession. While recent years have seen increasing diversity, significant challenges remain. For instance, NOMA PGH reported that out of 8,741 registered architects in Pennsylvania, only 47 are African American.

NOMA PGH’s officers discussed their organization’s initiative to address this situation, Project Pipeline, which exposes young people of color to architecture while also supporting budding minority architects in college and in their early careers. As part of this effort, NOMA PGH is partnering with Beyond the Built Environment to host Say It Loud Pennsylvania, an exhibition that will feature the work of diverse design professionals at GBBN’s Edge Gallery during the month of November.

But this is just one of many ways in which members of our office have supported NOMA’s mission, including Melanie Ngami. After attending NOMA’s national conference, Melanie has become increasingly involved in Project Pipeline. “It’s really inspiring to see that you can actively engage people to look at architecture as something that can be positive,” she says, “so, it is not just an unsightly construction site that then turns into an inaccessible space.”

Melanie’s work on Sorrells Library will be featured in Say It Loud’s Pittsburgh exhibition. Read about Sorrells Library here.

Learn more about Melanie here.