June Jordan’s visionary practice reimagines the role of the built environment in creating just futures. Deeply committed to human rights and political activism, sheused language to design a model for pedagogy and activism centered on ecology, care, and justice. While Jordan’s literary contributions reflect her work as a poet, author, teacher, and activist, what does it mean to call June Jordan an architect?
Architecture is a form of storytelling. Using words as a medium, Jordan proposed designs ranging from the townhouse-scale interventions in her book, His Own Where, to the urban-scale, collaborative vision of “Skyrise for Harlem.” In 1970, she was awarded the Rome Fellowship Prize in Environmental Design. At all scales, Jordan’s work invites us to challenge and redefine prevailing socio-spatial constructs towards dignified spaces for all communities.
The sixth Womxn in Design and Architecture (WDA) conference at the Princeton School of Architecture (SoA) honors the life