Kimberly Dowdell: Pursue Societal Change Through Design

Here, HOK marketing principal Kimberly Dowdell, AIA, describes her observations about the profession at large, as well as her initiatives, in the past year.

There has been a more concerted effort to think about and discuss equity, with a focus on intentionality to include diverse voices in decision-making. Clients, students, communities, and citizens are asking us about how we approach equity, diversity, and inclusion on a much more consistent basis than pre-2020.

Firm Change
HOK has had the advantage of building from a very solid foundation of thoughtfulness around these issues so, for us, it was a matter of bolstering our existing efforts. We established our formal corporate social responsibility program more than a decade ago and our firmwide Diversity Advisory Council shortly thereafter. Thus, when George Floyd was murdered and the world reacted with a demand for greater recognition of injustice and action toward equity, our leadership was poised to respond quickly and effectively. We held town hall meetings in many of our offices and developed initiatives that were or are aimed at providing greater opportunities for people of color in our industry. That is one area where we have influence in the full scheme of things within society—and we’re leveraging the strength of our brand to raise awareness of ways to improve our industry.

The Power of Architecture
Because I have considered design as a tool for societal change since the beginning of my career, I don’t view my role in architecture as changed—but I’m energized that the rest of our profession is starting to embrace the power of design. I’ve seen architecture from that perspective since I was 11, so these conversations are a bit overdue. When I was in college, I developed the concept behind Social, Economic, Environmental Design (SEED); nearly two decades later, I can start to engage a broader swath of leaders in this conversation. I look forward to how the conversations around the power of design as a societal change agent evolve with more resources and focused attention, an outcome of the events we witnessed in 2020.

I look forward to how the conversations around the power of design as a societal change agent evolve with more resources and focused attention, an outcome of the events we witnessed in of 2020.

As the immediate past president of the National Organization of Minority Architects, I can now look at my two-year term with about six months of time and space away from being in the driver’s seat. It was incredibly meaningful for me to start my role in 2019—when things were relatively “normal”—and then successfully usher us through the most bizarre, traumatic, and disorienting years that anyone has ever experienced. Having more than doubled our membership, hired three full-time staff members, and significantly raised the profile of NOMA going into its 50th year would have to be the highlight of 2020, especially since that was enabled by the support I received from HOK’s leadership to do what needed to be done on behalf of NOMA. Not many businesses would offer that amount of flexibility, so I commend our executive committee for facilitating that once-in-a-career opportunity, which also translates into a marked improvement in our profession’s responsiveness to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Step Up
Simply put, do something. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. If you want to start a diversity council at your firm, do it and figure out the details later. If you want to get more involved with supporting your local community, do it. Create a budget to facilitate some of these items so that they can be sustained from year to year. AIA and NOMA provide many opportunities to engage as part of a larger professional movement in this direction, so join both and get active.

As told to Wanda Lau via email. The views and conclusions from this author are not necessarily those of ARCHITECT magazine or of The American Institute of Architects.

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