DONALD P. RYDER
Bond Ryder & Associates
African American AIA Fellow
SAY IT LOUD - Washington DC Exhibitor
New York Based Designer
Bio:
Ryder was a major force in ensuring our students were served in the best possible ways — academically, professionally, and personally and was an able and responsive design studio leader as well as a deeply knowledgeable teacher of building technology and professional practice.
DONALD P. RYDER
Bio:
Donald P. Ryder was a pioneering Black architect and partner from 1969 to 1991 in the esteemed firm of Bond Ryder & Associates. His principal works include, in New York, the Towers on the Park apartments on Frederick Douglass Circle (1990), Battery Pointe and The Soundings Apartments on Rector Place in Battery Park City (1987), the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (1978), as well as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Social Change in Atlanta (1981). Widely revered as a teacher at the CCNY Spitzer School of Architecture, he was a stalwart fighter for increasing access and opportunity in the architecture profession for underrepresented groups. Working alongside J. Max Bond, who served as dean for nearly a decade, Ryder was a major force in ensuring our students were served in the best possible ways — academically, professionally, and personally. Ryder was an able and responsive design studio leader as well as a deeply knowledgeable teacher of building technology and professional practice. He was highly effective in integrating these subjects and bringing his students to a high level of understanding and achievement. His success in the classroom was a direct result of not only his considerable knowledge and broad professional expertise, but also his empathy for, and commitment to students.
Year of Elevation:
1984
Featured Project Name:
Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change
Featured Project Location:
Atlanta, GA
Featured Project Completion Date:
1981
Role in Featured Project:
Co-founder of design firm
Featured Project Description:
The King Foundation commissioned the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change, which today attracts over 650,000 visitors each year. It includes the tomb of Dr. King, the Freedom Hall (containing an auditorium, gift shop, exhibit hall and meeting rooms), the Archives and Administration Building, home of the world’s largest primary source collection on the Civil Rights movement, Freedom Walk, a barrel-vaulted colonnade the length of the site, and the Chapel of All Faiths.
