HOWARD. H MACKEY, SR.
NOMA, AIA
African American AIA Fellow
SAY IT LOUD - Washington DC Exhibitor
Washington DC Based Designer
Bio:
A notable registered architect passionate about helping communities in need, Mackey administered a U.S. Department of State Foreign Operations Administration aided-self-help housing program in British Guiana and Surinam, during his tenure at the University of Maryland, College Park, while on a sabbatical in the 1950s.
HOWARD. H MACKEY, SR.
Bio:
Howard Hamilton Mackey Sr. joined Howard University in 1924 as a faculty member of the Department of Architecture and was named acting head of the department in 1929. Mackey took a sabbatical in 1936 to pursue his master’s in architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. When he returned to HU in 1937, he was promoted to associate professor and associate dean of the School of Architecture and Engineering. During his tenure of almost fifty years at HU, Mackey received many accolades, including his elevation to the College of Fellows of the AIA in 1962 and the prestigious Whitney M. Young, Jr. Award in 1983 for his influence on African American architects. Mackey was referred to by colleagues and students as “the Father of Black architects”. A notable registered architect passionate about helping communities in need, Mackey administered a U.S. Department of State Foreign Operations Administration aided-self-help housing program in British Guiana and Surinam, during his tenure at the University of Maryland, College Park, while on a sabbatical in the 1950s. Through his private architecture practice, his efforts for the program resulted in the designing and building of approximately 4,500 low-cost homes for government public housing programs. By 1970, Mackey had helped establish a program in city planning with a Ford Foundation grant of $400K. He retired in 1973 as dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, which is now part of the College of Engineering and Architecture.
Year of Elevation:
1962
Featured Project Name:
Howard University School of Architecture and Planning
Featured Project Location:
Washington, DC
Featured Project Completion Date:
1937
Role in Featured Project:
Founder and Dean
Featured Project Description:
Under Mackey’s leadership, HU became the first HBCU to have an accredited architecture program. His hard work and dedication completely transformed the Department of Architecture from an enrollment total of three students into a body of 164 students from across the globe. The Howard H. Mackey Building, located at 2366 Sixth Street, NW, which currently houses the Department of Architecture, the Office of the Dean, and many laboratories, was formally named posthumously in the late 80s.
