Rise Up, Fly-Over

“Architecture’s responsibility should extend beyond our own labor as architects. We must think about both the users of the final product and the craftspeople who build projects.” — Patricia Acevedo Fuentes, 2021 Bush Fellow

This was the core message of South Dakota State University’s Building Arts and Labor Symposium, a day-long exploration of the industry’s relationship (or lack thereof) to the individuals most affected by the design, build, and completion of architectural projects. The symposium built on the practice and scholarly work of Jessica Garcia Fritz and Federico Garcia Lammers of LAB_OR, which examines architectural contract documents as a guide to understanding architecture’s relationship to its stakeholders. Most of the participants—including a union leader, a professor, a fellow, and a community advocate—were South Dakota–based, and spoke passionately about the need for a re-ordering of architectural practice in the Great Plains.

Peggy Deamer, Professor Emerita of Yale Architecture, began the symposium with a keynote focusing on labor and architectural contracts. From there, the panelists shared stories and insights into community-based efforts to bring positive change to South Dakota. Union leader Kooper Caraway championed the growing presence of unions, as well as international examples of vernacular design repurposed into 21st century workers’ housing that could be used in the States. Architectural instructor Brett Grinkmeter laid out futures for entry into architectural college and alternative models for post-secondary education. New Bush Fellow Patricia Acevedo Fuentes discussed her architectural work advocating for users in non-urban contexts. Of particular interest, however, were the representatives from Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation, Lynette Killsback and Lynn Cuny. Together they shared the organization’s work to foster community in South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation through providing Lakota youth with soft skills and job training in the construction and architectural professions.

As a native of the Great Plains, this symposium underscored a growing feeling inside myself: Our region does not need acknowledgement, much less validation, from the coastal institutions. We have everything we need to do great architecture right here.