Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Award

The Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Award was established in 2020 to honor excellence in single built project and single design program and design programs guided by the conviction that access to high quality architecture is not a privilege, it is a human right.

Architecture for Social Justice is defined by the following objectives:

To engage a broader cross-section of society, especially those not typically able to access architectural services
To create innovative design solutions that address complex social and economic inequities that impact these communities

About Roberta Feldman, Ph.D.

Roberta Feldman, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita at the University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Architecture. As an architectural activist, researcher, and educator she is committed to democratic design. Feldman’s work is grounded in the conviction that high quality design is a meaningful and necessary component of an equitable and sustainable society. Her expertise in such work has been recognized nationally and internationally.

CHICAGO, IL

POPCourts!

Lamar Johnson Collaborative
Westside Health Authority

POPCourts! is a 7,000 sf community plaza in the Austin Neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side. Born out of the pandemic and civil unrest, it provides a community anchor and safe space where residents can enjoy the outdoors.

POPCourts! contains three zones, “Courts,” each serving a variety of community functions. The programming is flexible, allowing activities to “Pop” up and transform over time.

The basketball court doubles as a community plaza. The gravel drive hosts food trucks and farmers markets, and the shaded lawn provides casual seating. Artwork brings the project together, figuratively and literally, with a pop-art theme.

CHICAGO, IL

Sounding Boards Garden at Harmony

Eastlake Studio
Pastor James Brooks, Harmony Community Church

Sounding Boards, founded by members of Eastlake Studio, is a non-profit organization that amplifies the voices of progressive artists through public art. Inspired by Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the summer of 2020, Sounding Boards brought artists and business owners together to create murals on boarded-up storefronts. As the murals quickly went up around the city, they became vibrant reminders of the ongoing struggle for equality and the hope for a better future.

In 2021, Eastlake Studio designed Sounding Boards Garden, a public park next to North Lawndale’s Harmony Community Church to house the previously commissioned murals. The semi-enclosed garden preserves the artwork, historicizing the summer of 2020 and celebrating the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement, while also providing the neighborhood with a safe space for conversations, performances, and mourning.

Illinois

The Harbour

OKW Architects
The Harbour

The Harbour is a non-profit shelter for young women experiencing homelessness. The original structure had long suffered from deferred maintenance and dilapidation, to the point that it was becoming increasingly unsafe for the young women that lived in it.

After a successful fundraising campaign with help from Designs4Dignity, the new Harbour is a single-family home with an institutional backbone. Tucked away from the main road, the house opens to a bright, airy, and inviting common area that serves as the nexus for two wings of bedrooms and offices, with a patio and yard unfolding to the rear.