Sekou Cooke
Born
Jamaica
Education
OccupationArchitect

Sekou Cooke is an American-Jamaican architect, author and educator, and is associated with the style of Hip-hop architecture. He is the Director of the Master in Urban Design program at UNC Charlotte[1] and principal of Sekou Cooke Studio. Cooke is one of the founding members of the Black Reconstruction Collective.[2]

Experience

Cooke was born and raised in Jamaica and received a B.Arch from Cornell University and a Master of Architecture degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design.[3] He is a licensed architect in the State of New York. Prior to his tenure at UNC Charlotte he was an Assistant Professor of Architecture at Syracuse University.[3]

Awards

Cooke received a Faculty Design Award in 2020 by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) [4] and a Graham Foundation Award in 2018 for his project 'Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture'.[5] He is the recipient of the 2017 Architectural League Prize.[6] In 2021 he was named the W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute fellow. The fellowship is awarded by the W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute at the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University.[7]

Work

Cooke is the author of the book 'Hip-Hop Architecture' published by Bloomsbury in 2021.[8] His book references the impact of hip-hop culture on the discipline of architecture and the built environment. The content formalizes a close reading of existing and historic design paradigms within creative fields and its impact on underrepresented and black communities.[9] His body of work was shown during a solo exhibition at the Center for Architecture in New York in 2018.[10]

Cooke's selected work is part of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and was included in the 2021 'Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America' exhibition alongside Walter Hood, Germane Barnes, V.Mitch McEwen, Emanuel Admassu and others. It was the first exhibition in the history of MoMA featuring only African-American designers, artists and architects. His project 'We Outchea: Hip Hop Fabrications and Public Space', examined and highlighted the historic demolition of African-American communities by former city planners of Syracuse, NY.[11]

In 2020, Cooke was invited alongside Refik Anadol and Rael San Fratello to envision a memorial for the COVID-19 pandemic. Cooke's proposal named 'Unmonument' was a theoretical approach shifting the notion of a static monument toward the application of in-flux processes instead.[12]

In 2021, he was part of a new pilot program created by the City of Los Angeles to design Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU). Initiated by L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti, the program asked a group of selected architects to envision and design housing units to tackle the cities rising needs for affordable housing while enhancing the city's architectural design ambitions.[13][14]

Opinions

Cooke had noted Mike Ford claims the origins of Hip-hop architecture lay with both Le Corbusier and Robert Moses, Cooke himself attributes the public works in New York City by Moses were by far the most important foundation.[15]

Bibliography

  • Cooke, Sekou (2011). Hip-hop architecture. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts. ISBN 9781350116153. OCLC 1242741820.

References

  1. ↑ "Sekou Cooke will lead the Master of Urban Design program at UNC Charlotte". The Architect’s Newspaper. 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  2. ↑ Kimmelman, Michael (2021-03-11). "How Can Blackness Construct America?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  3. 1 2 Syracuse (May 2021) [2015]. "Sekou Cooke — Assistant Professor". Syracuse University School of Architecture. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021.
  4. ↑ "2020 Architectural Education Award Winners". Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  5. ↑ "Graham Foundation > Grantees > Center for Architecture". grahamfoundation.org. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  6. ↑ "The Winners of the 2017 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers". www.architectmagazine.com. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  7. ↑ "Architect and researcher Sekou Cooke joins the W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute as a 2021-2022 fellow". Archinect. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  8. ↑ Magazine, Wallpaper* (2021-04-12). "Architecture books to inspire shelf love". Wallpaper*. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  9. ↑ Felicori, Bianca (2021-04-19). "Hip Hop Architecture: A Volume for the Voiceless". ELLE Decor (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  10. ↑ "10 Black Architects Making History Today - Architizer Journal". Journal. 2021-02-22. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  11. ↑ "Jay Cephas on "Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America"". www.artforum.com. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  12. ↑ Bogost, Story by Ian. "How Will the Future Remember COVID-19?". The Atlantic. ISSN 1072-7825. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  13. ↑ "Los Angeles Unveils ADU Prototype Designs". www.architecturalrecord.com. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  14. ↑ "Los Angeles launches bold new ADU program to combat housing shortage". The Architect’s Newspaper. 2021-03-09. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  15. ↑ Cooke, Sekou (2014). "The Fifth Pillar: A Case for Hip-Hop Architecture". Harvard Journal of African American Planning Policy. John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014.
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