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CAREERS
Architects are modern-day alchemists. But their task is harder than changing base metal and gold. They combine the mathematical and scientific knowledge of engineers with the intangible flair and design skills of artists to transform dreams into concrete, steel, and glass reality. We work, live, and sleep in their creations. And yes, we often take the solidity and function of a building for granted.
Throughout this century, African-American architects have also contributed to the nation's skylines. The present generation of black architects follows a path created by unsung predecessors, who excelled at both public and private work. Julian Abele, for example, designed both the Widener Library, a centerpiece of Harvard University, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Another was Paul Revere Williams, who designed Hollywood homes for Lucille Ball, William Holden and Barbara Stanwyck.
Recently, BE visited architects who have designed blueprints for success despite a weak economy. They include; a Boston-based firm whose designs have won national awards; an Atlantan using joint ventures to expand business; the nation's first licensed black female architect, now a principal architect a major firm; a Harlem 

BLUEPRINTS FOR SUCCESS
Black architects are forming joint ventures and increasing their interior design and corporate work to survive in a slumping market.

architect who designs with a social conscience; and a North Carolina architect who left a partnership to set up his own firm. 
Black architects, however, have to work and learn their craft. In 1989, Robert Traynham Coles, then the Langston Hughes Distinguished Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Kansas, talked about the hurdles that must be overcome by those who want to be architects.
Coles, who has had his own firm for 27 years, didn't talk about the $10 billion plus spent on architectural services in 1989 or the $200 billion paid for materials, labor and other costs. Instead, Coles discussed how the black architects' ranks have shrunk during the past 20 years. All firms suffer if the national economy dwindles, he said, but black architects risk bankruptcy. "Those who are in practice focus on public works," he said and "as public construction shrinks, as affirmative action is struck down, black architects are increasingly threatened." 

Donald Stull and David Lee of Stull and Lee Inc. sit in front of the Ruggles Street sub-way entrance. The geometrically-influenced design captured a presidential Design Award for the architectural firm.

The scant data on black architects is not reassuring. Between 1987 and the end of 1988, Department of Labor figures says the total number of architects grew from 143,000 to 157,000 but the number of blacks architects plunged from 6,000 to 3,300. These figures are not precise, however; the data is self-reported and a variety of other fields may be included. Downbeat data also comes from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the main industry organization and the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which certi-

BY DONNA WHITTINGHAM-BARNES