NOMAS

The National Organization of Minority Architecture Students is an organization that is dedicated to increasing diversity and nurturing a community of students from marginalized backgrounds in the field of architecture. This community serves as a resource for professional development, guidance, and opportunities for students. This year, our chapter has attended the 2023 NOMA conference held in Portland Oregon. To cover the costs of travel, we are in need of raising the funds necessary for travel and accommodation expenses while attending the conference. This fundraiser aims to make up the gap in funding for sending 10 students to Portland, Oregon to attend the conference in-person; covering air travel, hotel, and conference costs, as well as supplement our funds for next year's conference.

The Cornell University Chapter of NOMAS serves as an organization that creates a supportive space for  young creatives and innovators that is free of bias. We are dedicated to building unity among individuals within the profession of architecture, regardless of race, ethnicity, or creed. We serve as a resource to students for mentorship, scholarship, and much more.

The Conference

The National Organization of Minority Architects held their 52nd annual conference in Portland, Oregon from Oct 11 to Oct 15. This conference provides students with access to lectures, graduate schools and internship fairs, and networking opportunities with both professionals and students. This year, the conference brought together a record-breaking 1200 professionals and students from 39 universities across the country. 

The challenge for this year's competition is to create a mixed use development in the historically black neighborhood of Albina that "encompasses mixed income housing, commercial/retail tenants, and community space," with an emphasis on "providing a solution that simultaneously sustains and grows the community".

This past summer, the project has gone through an iterative process of research, design solutions, and critique before we attended the competition. The hard work we put in to this project was then showcased at the student design competition, where we then presented to a panel of judges ranging from professionals within the field of architecture to community leaders. We are excited to announce that Cornell University placed 1st nationally!

Through NOMAS and the conference we were able discuss and explore issues and topics such as cultural and socioeconomic integration, sustainability, social justice, economic vitality and opportunity. There are many communities that have been denied the resources to succeed and through discourse and action this organization and its members have begun to take steps towards implementing the necessary change within these communities through architecture.

Impact 

With your help, we will be able to continuously send students to participate in the NOMA conference and design competitions in the future. We will reap an unimaginable amount of benefits from being exposed to this national network of professionals. From the competition to the lectures and mentorship, the knowledge we will get will help us to navigate not only our education, but also careers in the field of architecture. NOMAS also extends beyond the conference and into the daily lives of students in the Cornell Community. That is why each and every donation is important; by donating to our cause you are helping secure a foundation of knowledge and resources in the lives of young architects and designers who may not have had these opportunities otherwise.