Architect Damaris Hollingsworth on how buildings can be welcoming

As a first-generation college student in São Paulo, Brazil and later as an immigrant to the United States, architect Damaris Hollingsworth knows what it’s like to enter new spaces and wonder if you belong.

That’s why she focuses on making inclusive and welcoming spaces as an architect here in Minnesota. Hollingsworth is the founder and principal architect of the Twin Cities firm Design by Melo at a time when only a quarter of licensed architects in the U.S. are women and two percent identify as Black.

In the last few years, Hollingsworth has won major recognition for her buildings and efforts to support diversity in the design field. She received the 2020 Young Architects Award from the national American Institute of Architects. Last year, the Minnesota Real Estate Journal named her 2022 architect of the year. 

MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with Hollingsworth back in June about her journey to becoming an architect in Minnesota and about the inclusive perspective she brings to design as a woman and an immigrant.

Useful resources

• Design by Melo website

• National Organization of Minority Architects

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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.