“ARCHITECTURE HAS the potential to contribute to the health, wealth and well-being of people everywhere”, says architect Elsie Owusu.

In her career of nearly 50 years, she has been a creative force: making buildings and urban design to serve people and communities. As a director of a the vibrant company JustGhana, Owusu is collaborating with artists and artisans to create “a modern African vernacular” for rural villages.

Owusu has dedicated her professional life to dismantling the persistent challenges in architecture – inequality and barriers to inclusivity and diversity.

“Discrimination on the basis of race, gender and ethnicity in UK architecture, construction and planning is well researched and documented. We find ourselves discussing the same shortcomings, time and time again”.

So is it  time for a reboot?” Owusu’s efforts in this field led to the award of an OBE in 2003 for services to architecture as the Founding Chair of the Society of Black Architects (SOBA).  Nearly 30 years after SOBA was launched by a group of (then) young BAME architects and students, surveys and reports highlight the woeful state of racial inequality within the profession – and continue to make depressing reading. In 2020, a report in Architects’ Journal (AJ) stated:

“Architecture is systemically racist. So what is the profession going to do about it? Findings from the AJ’s race diversity survey show the profession has a serious and seemingly worsening problem with racism, creating obstacles at every level for those from a non-white background. Why is this happening and, more importantly, what are the possible solutions?”

The construction industry is beset by institutional barriers on all sides –  be they obstacles to entry for talented young students of colour, women in general, or through the lived experience of discrimination and harassment of those with disabilities or different identities who are determined to enter the ranks of the profession

There also are the recently well-publicised inequalities in the tendering, competition and commissioning processes which lead many black architects to be so sceptical that they do not even enter the debate, – and the damaging effect that this has on diversity and sustainability in the built environment.

Owusu argues that the legacy of the British Empire can be transformed, through collaborations in the modern-day Commonwealth –  in terms of arts and culture; science, technology and international exchange.

London, for example, is rich, diverse and cosmopolitan – inhabited by people from of varied cultures – the real wealth of the City. And yet, the environment is mainly designed by and for – white, middle-aged men of limited class and type. “A self-perpetuating oligarchy,” Owusu points out “defined as power in the hands of a small minority. This impoverishes us all”.

Architectural education is a long and expensive process, with a minimum of seven years to qualify. The training is full of trip hazards: bachelor’s degree, then a master’s degree, after which students must find a firm willing to give two years of work experience. The training costs often amount to £100k or more – so limits the profession to the wealthy and privileged. Owusu’s company Architecture Incubator  and a newly launched initiative ‘Architecture Welcomes Everyone’ attempt to help students break out of this vicious cycle. She has received support from the Prince’s Foundation and many former students have started ventures of their own – one recently awarded an MBE.

“Experiment and innovation can be stifled by the systemic failures. Young people are desperate for opportunities to apply the talents and  diverse perspectives necessary for a more holistic approach to modern design,” says Owusu. 

Last year she facilitated the award of £30,000 by RIBA to the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation, a new initiative by Baroness Doreen Lawrence. As a result, two new BAME bursaries and an academic fellowship were created at the London School of Architecture (LSA).

This is a successful and happy outcome of decade-long,  an often bruising and contentious engagement with architecture’s professional institution, RIBA, which she once described as “An old boys’ club”.

She recognises that RIBA and the profession are changing, but slowly.

In her new incarnation Owusu’s development company ArtistConstructor Ltd is proposing to build “exemplary” ecohomes in Sussex.

The scheme has received a groundswell of support from local councillors, residents, the arts community, environmentalists – as well as leading architects including Sir David Adjaye OBE, the first black architect to win one of the the profession’s highest accolades, the RIBA Royal Gold Medal.

The reluctance to grant permission, Owusu believes mounts to institutional discrimination, based on selective and unfair application of government guidelines by planning officers. Groundhog Day?

“Officers claim to be concerned about “loss of open space”, the Government has ruled that development would  cause “no significant” environmental harm on this fly-tipped, redundant site.” 

While rejecting proposals from two BAME applicants on this small redundant site, the council granted permission for another 210 “standard” new houses by white developers, on large areas of nearby land – a total of 400 houses in all.

Owusu said: “I’m delighted that four members of the planning committee voted to overturn the officer’s recommendation.

“Sadly, we lost by two votes. Some Committee members were concerned about the lack of private family gardens.

“We believe communal gardens are an important and attractive feature. However, this is an issue which can be resolved positively with clever and creative landscaping design.”

A Crowdjustice crowdfunding appeal launched by Owusu in support of her fight to get the decision overturned smashed through its initial fundraising target within days and donations continue to flood in.

As a black, female architect, campaigning for equality, diversity, inclusion and sustainability in architecture and the built environment, Owusu argues that it is time to end systemic discrimination in UK planning.

Government and local authority guidelines, she says, should be applied impartially and fairly, regardless of ethnicity, gender, age, disability or culture.

“My designs are climate-friendly, particularly adaptable for families caring for those with children with disabilities and elderly people with dementia. Many families are looking for new ways to live in a sustainable manner, appropriate to the 21st and 22nd Centuries.”