Robert Traynham Coles, FAIA

“I believe that because architects have the ability to see things as they can be, they have a special task, which goes beyond simply designing the physical environment. They must be activists involved in the social and political life of the community. They must address their efforts to change in these areas as well, so that people can make the needed adjustments to an increasingly challenging and rich urban world. They must, in their works, build the demonstrative alternative to the way we live today. They must be initiators as well as implementors – leaders, more than followers. They must truly be revolutionaries who see their architecture as a broad movement to enhance the quality of life of urban people.”
                                                                        -- Robert Traynham Coles, 2004

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This richly-illustrated book is a success story of inspiration and hope that carried Buffalo-born Robert Traynham Coles, the African American son of a postal worker, through a 50-year career as an architect. When a high school teacher sought to discourage him, telling him there were no opportunities for Negroes in architecture, Coles became determined to prove him wrong. His native ability and perseverance propelled him through a master’s degree from M.I.T. to opening his own firm in 1963 and leading to senior positions in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the AIA College of Fellows.

Coles battled racial discrimination throughout his career, leading him to commit to “an architecture of social conscience” and making his profession “look more like the society it has to serve.” His efforts won Coles numerous awards, including the AIA’s Whitney M. Young, Jr. Citation for service to the profession. He was the first AIA Vice-President for Minority Affairs, a founding member of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), and the first African American Chancellor of the AIA’s College of Fellows.
Coles’ continual goal was to create more humane, inspiring urban spaces. His buildings ranged from small, residential structures to major, public, developments. Some, including his home, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011, and his master’s thesis, the John F. Kennedy Recreation Center in Buffalo, have been described as gems of mid-century modern architecture. Other commissions ranged from transportation complexes, to schools, to municipal administration buildings.

Coles’ book, written in collaboration with historian friend William Siener and based on articles about his career, personal recollections and extensive records of his firm, documents his architectural legacy. A correspondingly important purpose is to continue his campaign to inspire more young minorities and women to follow a career in architecture.

Architecture + Advocacy was recently reviewed by Kirkus Reviews. The full text of the review may be read here.

In January, 2017, Robert Coles was interviewed by the
MIT Alumni Association, an Office of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The full audio of that podcast may be heard here.

For more information about the book,
download this 8-page brochure.

To order Architecture + Advocacy  at $39.95 + tax and s/h, visit:

 www.buffaloartspublishing.com.

Below are a few of the 90 images of Coles' work contained in the book.

Robert & Sylvia Coles Residence
321 Humboldt Pkwy, Buffalo, NY

Frank Reeves Center for Municipal Affairs Washington, D.C.

John F. Kennedy Center
Buffalo, NY

Providence, Rhode Island Railroad Station
Providence, Rhode Island

Frank E. Merriweather, Jr., Branch Library
Buffalo, NY

Natatorium, Alumni Arena
SUNY at Buffalo, NY