BRANDON CARLOS NEWTON
University of South Florida, School of Architecture and Community Design
SAY IT LOUD - FLORIDA Exhibitor
Florida Based Designer
Who or what inspires you professionally?
Individuals who have inspired me to address the issues occurring in disenfranchised communities are Killer Mike, Dr. Ben Yosef Johannacan, and Kwame Ture. Their wisdom and insight provide understanding as to how certain issues can be solved.
BRANDON CARLOS NEWTON
Bio:
The Great Designer Brandon Newton is an Urban and Community Design graduate student with a passion to equip destitute communities with sustainable tools to empower themselves. Brandon established two collegiate architectural organizations that raise awareness about social issues that plague disenfranchised populaces and addresses the lack of representation of minorities within architecture.
How did you first learn about architecture and when did you decide that built environment profession was an area of interest for you?
As I have matured and become more enlightened about African, Caribbean, and American history, I learned that architecture can be used to facilitate empowerment, liberation, and self-determination for marginalized communities.
What do you do?
During the school year, I am a Graduate Research Assistant for the Florida Center for Community Design and Research at USF. Over the summer of 2023, I interned for Wannamacher Jensen Architects, Hoffman Studio in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
What excites you in the work you do?
The opportunity for architecture to be a catalyst for change and healing for anyone who has the chance to experience it. Architecture is also exciting because design can liberate and address social issues occurring in marginalized communities.
Who or what inspires you professionally?
Individuals who have inspired me to address the issues occurring in disenfranchised communities are Killer Mike, Dr. Ben Yosef Johannacan, and Kwame Ture. Their wisdom and insight provide understanding as to how certain issues can be solved.
What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?
My proudest accomplishment is chartering two student organizations in the school of architecture at USF, one of them being a NOMA Chapter. Both clubs address social issues through design and the under representation of minorities in architecture.
Featured Project Name:
Wydah: Healing Through Returning
Featured Project Location:
West Tampa, Florida
Featured Project Completion Date:
May 2023
Role in Featured Project:
Creator and Designer (Master's Thesis Project)
Featured Project Description:
Wydah, located in West Tampa, Florida, uses ancestral foods of West and Central African origin, spiritual values, and architectural motifs to reconnect descendants of West and Central Africans back to their heritage and provide them with a place of belonging. The name "Wydah" is after Ouidah, Benin which was the port city where over 1 million slaves left Africa to never return. Wydah will provide a place for descendants of slaves to return home and spiritually reconnect with their ancestors through architecture.
