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Nina Cooke John

@ninacookejohn

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Architect | Mother | Creative | https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14784-flexible-sole-practitioner-nina-cooke-john

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📢 We're excited to announce a new initiative for FDC members! This fall and winter, alongside our regular monthly member meetings, we will be holding additional discipline-specific meetings for members who are architects, makers, or interior designers.⁠
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FDC Strategic Advisory Board Member @ninacookejohn will host our first meeting for FDC architects on October 28—a chance for the architect members of the FDC to team up and meet each other, share best practices, and learn from fellow women architects. Members, log in to your account for more information! ⁠
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Nina is the founder of Studio Cooke John, a multidisciplinary design studio that values placemaking as a way to transform relationships between people and the built environment. Working at the scale of the human body, individually or collectively, in the home or on the street, she responds to how we use space in our everyday lives, whether in the family unit or as a community. Nina is also the incoming president-elect of National Organization of Minority Architects. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Dwell, NBC’s Open House, the Center for Architecture’s 2018 exhibition, Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture and PBS NewsHour Weekend.⁠
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Not a member? If you’re looking to connect with leading architects in the industry, head to the link in our bio to learn more and become a FDC member. 📲

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Black Women in Architecture Brunch NYC 🖤
We are still smiling thinking about the BWA Brunch! There was something really special about bringing so many incredible Black women in architecture, design, construction, and our allied professions together in one room.
And honestly, where we gathered always make it even more meaningful. This year’s NYC BWA Brunch was hosted at McKissack, recognized as the first Black-owned architectural firm in the United States, with a legacy dating back to 1905. To be surrounded by that history while celebrating the Black women who are continuing to make history in our profession today felt incredibly full circle.
In partnership with the Black Women in Architecture Network, we spent the afternoon eating amazing food, meeting new people, reconnecting with old friends, sharing stories, and joining Black women across the country for the national BWA program. It was such a beautiful reminder of how important it is for us to have spaces where we can simply come together, connect, celebrate one another, and be seen.
A very special thank you to Cheryl McKissack Daniel, Lizzie Archer and the McKissack team for welcoming us into such a historic space and making our community feel at home.
And we could not have done this without the people and organizations who believed in this event. A HUGE thank you to our sponsors and partners: McKissack, Thornton Tomasetti, Acoufelt, Chef Callender, Allison Lane, TONAB Architecture, SRW (Sabir, Richardson & Weisberg), Studio 397, AARIS Design Architects, and AECOM.
Your support helps us continue creating opportunities not only for the professionals in our community, but also for the students and emerging designers coming behind us. We are so grateful that you continue to invest in this community and in the next generation.
And of course, thank you to our volunteers and everyone who showed up and poured into this day. These events truly don't happen without people willing to give their time, energy, and love to make them special.

Until next time!

#NYCOBANOMA #BlackWomenInArchitecture #BWANetwork #McKissack #NOMA #BlackArchitecture

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Let’s talk about the future of placemaking. 🎙️

In this episode of FUTURE OF XYZ, acclaimed architect and artist Nina Cooke John (@ninacookejohn) joins us to talk about the practice of placemaking “as a way to transform relationships between people and the built environment.”

In this remarkable discussion, Nina shares her detailed perspective on how a “legacy becomes living,” why people get “excited about the gathering,” when art makes architecture “playful and energetic,” and where design increasingly responds to the cultural abundance of a particular locale rather than generalized sameness.

Don’t miss this creative conversation with one of the world’s leading visionaries in the built environment.

🎧 Tune in now! Link in bio, or listen on your favorite podcast app, surroundpodcasts.com or watch on YouTube.

Enjoyed the episode? Leave us a review.

#FutureOf #Podcast #iFDesign #Design #Architecture #BuiltEnvironment #Urbanism #PlaceMaking @studiocookejohn

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The Story of Art In America closed out the day with Nina Cooke John, the artist and designer behind “Shadow of a Face,” the Harriet Tubman monument standing in Harriet Tubman Square.

Hearing directly from the person who designed a piece of public art with that much weight and history behind it was a powerful way to end the day. 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

#HarrietTubmanMonument #ShadowOfAFace #Newark #thestoryofartinamerica

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What a day! 🤎

On August 8, NYCOBA|NOMA welcomed our young designers to Union Square for this year’s Project Pipeline Design Camp at Parsons School of Design at The New School.

Throughout the day, campers explored architecture through the lens of community and social equity, developing their own ideas through sketching, plans, elevations, and model making. We ended the day with students proudly sharing their designs and the thinking behind them.

This year is especially meaningful as 2026 marks 20 years of NOMA Project Pipeline nationally For two decades, this program has helped young people see themselves as future architects, designers, and changemakers and we are proud to continue that work here in New York City.

A great big thank you to Mark Gardner and Parsons School of Design at The New School for partnering with us and graciously hosting this year’s Project Pipeline Design Camp. We are so grateful for your support and for creating a space where our campers could learn, design, and imagine.

A huge thank you to our Project Pipeline Chairs, Alyssa Clayburn and Anny Chan, for the time, care, coordination, and energy they poured into making this year’s camp possible. So much goes into creating a day like this, and we are incredibly grateful for their leadership.

We also want to thank our Brownstone Sponsors: SOM, @allisonlanearchitect , and MG2, along with all of our NYCOBA NOMA sponsors, for continuing to invest in our chapter and the next generation of designers.

And of course, thank you to our volunteers, committee members, families, and everyone who helped bring the day together. We could not do this work without you.

Here are a few moments from this year’s camp. We are already excited for what’s next!

#NYCOBA #NOMA #ProjectPipeline #nomaprojectpipeline

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Refugium (partial) sighting on Governors Island!
We missed you @sarahfairchildstudio & @patteloper
@ninacookejohn
Negar Ahkami

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Full conversation drops Tuesday on YouTube. Link in bio.

#BlackArchitect #BlackArchitects #Architecture #BlackDesign #DesignJustice #NOMA #AfricanAmericanArchitects #BlackHistory #BlackExcellence #BuiltEnvironment

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Launched a new website as well

www.black-architect.com

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Congratulations to Sharon Prince, our CEO and Founder, on being honored with the Innovative Executive Award at the Bevy Leadership Awards ceremony on April 16 at The Shed in New York City.

This prestigious evening, held by @bwaf.nyc celebrated leaders who are reshaping our systems and spaces, and transforming the future of the built environment.

A visionary humanitarian and entrepreneur, Prince is redefining architecture’s ability to create more grace and peace. What began as a groundbreaking vision ten years ago is now an award-winning cultural and humanitarian center that connects people to nature, the arts, justice, community, and faith.

As the leader of the @dffmovement, and co-founder of Certified B Corp @sharegracefarms, Prince is harnessing the built environment to eradicate forced and child labor from building materials supply chains.

We were delighted to see @julia.gamolina Founder and Editor-in-Chief, @madamearchitect, Design for Freedom Working Group member, and juror for the landmark @acsanational 2025 Design for Freedom student competition, be honored with the Media Engagement Award.

Learn more about the 2026 Bevy Leadership Awards - link in bio.

Photos by Samual Lahoz
(Captions in Comments)

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The materials in art carry a story before the artist even touches them.

Had the pleasure of attending the Design for Freedom Summit (@dffmovement) at Grace Farms Foundation (@gracefarmsct) last month.

What stayed with me most: the materials in an artist’s practice must be values aligned. Where it comes from, who made it, how their communities are protected. When aligned, it deepens meaning beyond aesthetics.

At @goodblackart we’re thinking about this, and it connects directly to 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 Episode 2. Intentionality doesn’t stop at the wall. It extends to the hands that made the materials.

Congrats to founder Sharon Prince and her team for building something so intentional.

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Starting 𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘚 𝘍𝘙𝘐𝘋𝘈𝘠 (April 10, 2026) @harriettubmansquare will 𝗖𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗘 for a comprehensive improvement project! Enhancements to include a playground, amphitheater-style seating, improved pathways, and a new comfort station…all while preserving our beautiful mature trees 🌳 TheShadow of a Face monument by @ninacookejohn will remain 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 while the park undergoes these upgrades!⁣
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We’re so excited and can’t wait to welcome you back to a more vibrant, accessible, and resilient community space (swipe for some renderings) 💚 #NCPF #Newark #NJ #DowntownParks #HarrietTubmanSquare

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The is my first time attending the Design for Freedom Summit at Grace Farms Foundation - and it was a blast!

Grace Farms is a nonprofit dedicated to pursuing peace through nature, arts, community, justice, and faith. The Design for Freedom by Grace Farms initiative challenges the design industry to eliminate forced labor from building materials and supply chains globally.

I had a painting ‘Lithologic’ in the Every Fiber: Pigment, Stone, and Glass exhibit there along side ‘Material Clarity’ by Nina Cooke John, Steve Webb’s ‘Stone Space Frame’, a portrait of activist Nasreen Sheikh by Hannah Rose Thomas (using our AMD pigments - yay!), and a sound installation with music by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The amazing space was even designed by Studio Cooke John Architecture + Design - Nina is a force!).

Nina, Steve, and I were all on a panel together moderated expertly by Chelsea Thatcher. I was proud to feature our partnership with @gamblincolors, @ruralaction, @true_pigments, @ohiodnr, and @ohio.university. I learned a lot from Nina and Steve’s efforts and enjoyed sipping Grace Farms teas all the while, thank you Adam Thatcher @sharegracefarms

It was invigorating examining the human impacts of material supply chains and from the art perspective I think Phillip Collins of @goodblackart summed it up nicely when he posted: “narratives and materials in an artist’s creative practice must be values aligned. The medium, the material, where it comes from, who made it, and how their communities are protected all matter. When aligned, they deepen meaning in ways that go beyond aesthetics.” Spot on.

There were so many great speakers throughout the day and a few that spurred ideas for our Pollution to Paint project were Dr. Mae-Ling Lokko @maelokko - Founder of Willow Technologies and the @yalecea team with the very cool Carver Color Lab, Dr. Jha D Amazi @jhadamazi - Director of the Public Memory & Memorials Lab at MASS, and Cindy Dyer at the McCain institute who was Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

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