Designing Spaces for Racial, Social, and Cultural Equity
Established in 2017, Colloqate Design is a multidisciplinary Non Profit Design Justice practice focused on expanding community access to, and building power through, the design of social, civic, and cultural spaces. Our mission is to intentionally organize, advocate, and design spaces of racial, social, and cultural equity.
colloquial + locate + collocate: colloqate
col·lo·qui·al : kəˈlōkwēəl/ adjective (of language) used in ordinary, informal or a familiar conversation; not formal or literary. Conversational. Informal
lo·cate :ˈlōˌkāt,lōˈkāt/ verb 1. discover the exact place or position of. 2. Situate in and of a particular place. 3. place within a particular context
col·lo·cate :ˈkäləˌkāt/ verb 1. (of a word) be habitually juxtaposed with another at a frequency greater than chance. 3.place side by side or in a particular relation.
paper monuments interim report
Colloqate Design is excited to present our interim report on the Paper Monuments project! We've spent a year and a half inviting New Orleans' residents to "Imagine New Monuments for New Orleans" and you've responded with an amazing collective vision for shaping our city to celebrate and honor what matters most to you.
aRTICLE: how to mark an american atrocity
"At the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, the pain and horror of racial violence assume physical form." By Bryan Lee Jr. for CityLab
Architect magazine feature: BRYAN LEE JR. AND SUE MOBLEY, COLLOQATE DESIGN
"The goal is to establish a system of memory that explores histories that haven't been part of the main narrative." By Elizabeth Greenspan for Architect Magazine
FEATUREd: DECODING OPPRESSION THROUGH ARCHITECTURE
"While architects speak of aspirational ways that design can inspire people to be better, more empathetic citizens, design often does the exact opposite: oppress and marginalize." By Zach Mortrice for Redshift
featured: design as protest during the trump era
"Urban planners and designers were also involved in political resistance actions over inauguration weekend. CityLab caught up with Lee this week to talk about a design response to the Donald Trump agenda." By Brentin Mock for CityLab
article: paper monuments installs new posters on canal corridor
"Canal Street is the heart of New Orleans. Disinvestment in the city, its public spaces and its people has created holes in this heart. As we archive the stories of the people, places, movements, events that shape our culture, we present these unheard and obscured histories where they belong, as central to the narrative of our collective history." By Chris Daemmrich for The Paper Trail
featured: Q&A with architect and design justice leader Bryan C. Lee Jr.
"The Chattanooga component of The American Institute of Architects is bringing the Lee to town for a series of events on Aug. 14 and 15. Lee will talk about how community members and leaders can work together to design a city that’s great for everyone, not just the privileged." By Chloé Morrison for Nooga
awarded to bryan lee jr., for fighting inequality through architecture
In 2015, Lee created Design As Protest, an educational program that uses the design process to think about problems like racism, immigration, and food justice. After the 2016 election, Lee took the program national, and has hosted 32 workshops around the country that empower groups of designers, advocates, and community members to take an active role in building a better, fairer society.
In September 2018, Lee is partnering with the American Institute of Architects to hold the first Design Justice Summit, which will educate 24 young people with design tactics they can use to improve their communities. Lee is also partnering with the city of New Orleans to figure out what should replace the city’s Confederate monuments as they’re removed. So far, he’s worked with dozens of artists to create posters that express the identity and history of New Orleans for the project Paper Monuments, and will work with the city's citizens to determine who should represent them in bronze in the future.
As the fight over Confederate monuments turns deadly, New Orleans-based designer Bryan C. Lee Jr. has been working to bring artists and historians together to create new symbols across the city that are inclusive of all people though his firm Colloqate Design.
featured: Black Architects Blast AIA Over Trump Support
"The American Institute of Architects’ CEO apologized for issuing a congratulatory message to Donald Trump. But AIA member Bryan C. Lee Jr. wants more than that: He’s issued 'a call to action around designing for justice.'" By Brentin Mock for CityLab
filmmaker Luisa Dantas beautifully captured the spirit of the event in the first of many videos documenting the process behind Paper Monuments. This video is part of Surdna Foundation's ongoing video series on community engaged design.
Bryan Lee talks about "design justice" -- the idea that race, culture, and architecture are inherently connected in a way that links art to racial equity and design to cultural space.