SpaceLab’s co-founder and CEO Karen Burton is an educator, historian, and diversity and inclusion advocate in the architecture and construction industry. Along with her colleague Saundra Little, AIA, NOMA, she founded Noir Design Parti, a Knight Arts Challenge winning project that chronicles the projects and career journeys of Michigan’s African American Architects. On Feb. 17, an interview with Karen will air on Michigan Radio where she will introduce listeners to Donald White, AIA, the first Black graduate of the University of Michigan’s College of Architecture and Michigan’s and Alabama’s first licensed Black architect.
Karen and Saundra will discuss the role of Black architects in Detroit’s design history to students in the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP) on Feb. 15, and on Feb. 21 at 5:30 PM, they’ll lead a panel discussion with five of Detroit’s leading architects at The University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture.
Karen will also be a panelist on the topic “Revitalizing ‘Main Street'” at the 10th Annual Detroit Impact Conference, the flagship event of the Detroit Revitalization and Business (DR&B) Club at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
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