HT1202 Module3: Instructor: Jack Travis, 10 Principles of Black Cultural Design Investigation

COURSE SYLLABUS

HT1202 – 10 Principles of Black Cultural Design Investigation

Instructor: Jack Travis, FAIA, NOMAC, RA, JTA Jack Travis Architect + Adjunct Professor of Interior Design, NYC

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Course information and assignments provide opportunities for investigation within the built environment, with a unique focus on the importance of visual language and cultural intervention across project typologies of varying scales and scope, in response to social context, site, and program.

Students will engage in broader discussions around environmental design, equitable development, environmental justice, and visual cultural language.

This course introduces students to concepts for developing new African architectural languages, inspired by the culture and technology of both traditional and contemporary African societies. The course surveys the African and Diaspora built environment, emphasizing design practices that are culturally and environmentally sustainable. Students will also be introduced to the research initiatives of CPDI Africa.

Adapting the 10 Principles of Black Cultural Design Aesthetic Investigation, students will study cultural and historical narratives as preserved through architectural heritage and urban landscapes, and learn to apply that knowledge in contemporary, meaningful ways.

Process notation and illustration are critical throughout the course, enabling each student to evaluate their understanding of the content and materials presented in each session.

As African and Diaspora societies embark on major infrastructure and redevelopment projects in the coming decades, designers must prioritize more realistic, “home-grown” models inspired by African culture, contributing to the development of a modern African architecture that preserves heritage.

COURSE OUTLINE

BRIEF

This course is designed as an introduction to the principles applied by the instructor and their use in generating form and place-making within the built environment.

• Students will gain the knowledge required to recognize, define, and critique current conditions in modern architecture, interior design, and urban design.
• Students will be better positioned to integrate meaningful elements of Black cultural expression into their work.
• The course challenges the assumption of Eurocentric Western values as universal, highlighting the legacy and contributions of people of African descent in shaping communities globally.
• It showcases built works and investigates diverse approaches through which African and Black cultural design concepts express visual identity within constructed landscapes.
• It evaluates African design development through a multidisciplinary lens, using conceptual and intuitive methodologies while discussing key theories and influential figures.
• It examines the impact of visual cultural identity in design within academia and professional practice, particularly in urban design, architecture, and interior design.

COURSE MODULES

MODULE ONE

Design Culture / Black Culture – Definitions

The first session provides an overview of the course and introduces the importance of visual language in expressing cultural identity in projects for people of African descent, both on the continent and in the Diaspora.

The instructor presents his philosophy, its origins, and the strategies used to define a Black cultural aesthetic in both practice and teaching. Foundational definitions are introduced to clarify the design process.

MODULE TWO

10 Principles – Criteria for Investigation

All ten principles are presented as essential tools for developing Black visual language in formal and spatial design.

Each principle is compared with broader frameworks, including environmental design, sustainable design, and universal access design.

MODULE THREE

Process – Examples

This module emphasizes the importance of graphic representation, technique, and communication.

Examples of process drawings, modeling, notation, and dimensioning are presented, highlighting that documentation of the design process is as critical—if not more so—than the final product.

MODULE FOUR

Product – My Work

The instructor presents over 35 years of professional work across more than seventy projects.

These projects, spanning residential, commercial, educational, institutional, and mixed-use typologies, demonstrate the application of the ten principles in shaping form and space through a Black cultural aesthetic.

MODULE FIVE

Pedagogy – Student Work

This module showcases student work collected from six design schools over 25 years of teaching.

The work highlights the integration of Black cultural themes and strategies in both the design process and final proposals.

MODULE SIX

Praxis – 10 + 10 Projects

Two sets of global projects are presented and discussed:

• The first set includes works by non-Black architects that express an intuitive sense of Black cultural identity
• The second set includes works by Black architects, primarily in Africa, that challenge Western design ideals and express distinct cultural perspectives