Social Justice Building Designer Honored as Architect of the Year

Social Justice Building Designer Honored as Architect of the YearJeanne Gang designed Kalamazoo College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL). The journal The Architectural Review has awarded her its Architect of the Year award, citing both excellence in design and working sustainably and democratically with local communities. The article reads, in part, “The Architect of the Year award celebrates Studio Gang’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College, Michigan, which took a novel tri-axial form. The first building purposed for social justice, Gang’s democratic and participatory design process involved the organization, students and public who now work from the Center.”

The ACSJL works to develop emerging leaders and sustain existing leaders in the fields of human rights and social justice. As a learning environment and meeting space, it brings together students, faculty, visiting scholars, social justice leaders, and members of the public for conversation and activities aimed at creating a more just world.