We recently had the chance to connect with Germane Barnes and have shared our conversation below.
Germane, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
Thank you for having me and thank you for the opportunity to share a bit about the practice and myself. I can fortunately say that I am pretty visible in architecture and design so there is a bit of difficulty in keeping some things private. However, I’m very proud of helping young Black designers thrive in a field that has notoriously excluded them. This comes from my role as Director of the Master of Architecture program at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL. As someone that did not have any Black professors, or teaching assistants for that matter, as a student in undergrad and graduate architecture school, being able to be a resource is very rewarding.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Germane Barnes and I am a Chicago-born, Miami-based licensed architect, designer, and founding principal of Studio Barnes a research and design practice that investigates the connection between architecture and identity, examining architecture’s social and political agency through historical research and design speculation. I am also an Associate Professor and Director of the Master of Architecture Graduate Programs at the University of Miami School of Architecture.
My work has recently been exhibited in the Art Institute of Chicago, MoMA Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America, and the 2021 Chicago Architecture Biennial. I am also a winner of the Architectural League Prize and a Rome Prize Fellow at the American Academy in Rome. I was selected in the inaugural cohort of The Dorchester Industries Experimental Design Lab created by Theaster Gates and sponsored by Prada. I am eternally grateful that my work has also been featured and acquired to the permanent collections of international institutions most notably San Francisco MoMA, LACMA, The New York Times, and The National Museum of African American History and Culture. My project, Griot was widely published, as a participant in Biennale Architettura 2023, Laboratory of the Future.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
I think the most formative moments for me were in elementary school riding the school bus early in the morning. I grew up on the far west side of the city between Garfield Park and Austin neighborhoods. My elementary school was far north west. My daily commute was an hour there and an hour home and it was during this time, looking out the window, I learned about spatial inequity and architecture. As a kindergartener I had no idea that these constructed spaces held so much joy and trauma but I distinctly remember seeing the varying housing typologies across Chicago’s city limits and it exposed me to the beauty of design as well as its more problematic instances. You could say it is what inspired me to pursue architecture as a career.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
First, “you’ll be ok”. I would never share what I accomplish to my younger self because that is selfish, and the journey is the best part. Then I would tell him, “you’ll never suffer from imposter syndrome, you have a significant amount of irrational confidence and you can thank mom and dad for that. However, be weary of survivor’s guilt. You can’t save everyone and sometimes you have to look out for yourself first. The people around you who demand a lot but do not pour back into you will learn to adjust. Otherwise you will always be in service of others at the expense of your own well being.”
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
The biggest lie, in my opinion, is that people care about vulnerable communities when they are designing. The majority of designers DO NOT CARE. They pretend to be caring practitioners when in reality they’re selfish and only care how they can promote themselves. Community oriented design is hard work, and it is slow and it is unrelenting and often times it does not come with a pat on the back. And many people prey on projects like this for the positive press but are terrors behind the scenes and do not truly care about the local constituents beyond how they serve them. It’s an unfortunate reality.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days.
I am extremely excited about the work we’re doing at the moment. We are very privileged to be seen as a leader in spatial justice design. I think I am most excited about our project with Blacks In Green, the stewards of the Emmett and Mamie Till-Mobley house. They are converting this historic home into a living museum and we are the designers who will bring their vision to life. The meetings with his remaining relatives have been illuminating and I feel inspired every day as this is such an important project to a community that I am apart of.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.germanebarnes.com
- Instagram: germane.barnes
Image Credits
Seza Studios, Zach Balber, Mark Waite Photography, Concentrico Festival, Art Institute of Chicago, CEPODS, 10 North
