Media Mentions

UB architecture professor Charles L. Davis II was featured in The Crimson, the student newspaper of Harvard University, to discuss his research on antiracist architecture in an online lecture hosted by the Graduate School of Design. His lecture, entitled “Cannon Fodder: Debating the Racial Politics of Canonicity in Modern Architectural History,” called for an antiracist framework when viewing architecture both in the past and the present.

The Washington Post reviewed “Hitler’s Northern Utopia,” a new book by Despina Stratigakos, professor of architecture in the School of Architecture and Planning. “Drawing from a staggering trove of archival letters, maps, plans and diaries, Stratigakos’s ‘Hitler’s Northern Utopia’ gracefully juxtaposes the oppressor’s dream with Norway’s brutal reality as she examines the country’s occupation and the labor force that worked on building the Nazi fantasy state that never was,” the reviewer writes.

Henry Louis Taylor Jr., professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and director of UB’s Center for Urban Studies, wrote an opinion article for NBC News titled “Breonna Taylor’s death and racist police violence highlight danger of gentrification.” In the article, Taylor wrote: “Breonna Taylor is just one of many Black women and men who have been killed by police recently. But her death highlights a distinct genre of racially motivated police aggression, harassment and violence that has emerged over the past two decades. White in-migration to cities has created places where dangerous encounters frequently occur between Blacks and the police.” The article also appeared in DNYUZ.

An article in Dwell on accessible design quotes Jordana L. Maisel, senior research support specialist at the IDEA Center at UB. Maisel says “the current ADA standards don’t meet the needs of the majority of the population that has disabilities,” according to the article. “She points to turning radii in bathrooms, reach dimensions for coat hooks, and knee clearances under sinks and tables as specific requirements that don’t actually serve most wheelchair users, for example.”

Henry Louis Taylor Jr., professor and director of the Center for Urban Studies in the UB School of Architecture and Planning, appeared on Marketplace, a syndicated radio program broadcasted to 14 million listeners on more than 800 public radio stations nationwide. The segment focused on why Black people are more likely to be denied mortgages. Traditional measures of risk like debt-to-income ratios disproportionately hurt Black borrowers, said Taylor. “They’re not going to do well on that because of the low incomes that they have traditionally and because of the debts that they acquire just trying to make ends meet,” he said.

The World Economic Forum’s story on climate refugees quoted Henry Louis Taylor, a professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, for its story on Buffalo as a haven for those displaced by climate change. “We could easily accommodate another 200,000 or more residents in this city,” Taylor said. “But for Buffalo to do this in an equitable way, we have to completely reimagine the way we’re building this city… dismantling that racist legacy, and creating a new city 

An article on the revival of architectural terra cotta in Metropolis Magazine features the Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop, a multi-year research partnership between UB and Boston Valley Terra Cotta focused on terra cotta facade prototype development.

An article in Architect Magazine on extreme weather events and their impact on the resilience of the built environment quotes UB architecture professor Nicholas Rajkovich and cites his research on "Adapting Buildings for a Changing Climate" as a guide for professionals and policymakers. 

The Buffalo News reports on how Buffalo organizations plan to use food to empower people and build a new economy that benefits working-class residents. It mentions the groups are working with UB’s Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab, which is led by Samina Raja, professor of urban and regional planning.

The Buffalo News reports that Dennis Maher, clinical professor of architecture in the UB School of Architecture and Planning, and his students have been studying old architectural renderings and blueprints designed by August Minks who, as part of A. Minks & Son Architects, designed nearly 40 buildings in Buffalo more than a century ago. Maher bought the documents for $20 at an estate sale in Grand Island. "I've been collecting things for 20 years," Maher said. "The essence of a lot of my work is repurposing found things, and also thinking about the built environment. I was basically unfolding and unfurling the drawings and realizing what a treasure trove this is."