Roberta M. Feldman facts for kids
Roberta Feldman is an American architect and educator. She is Professor Emerita at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Architecture. She worked with Chicago housing and community organizations to revitalize and preserve low-income neighborhoods.
Feldman received her PhD at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
Career
Feldman spent her academic career at the School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Chicago. She was the co-founder of the City Design Center at the University of Chicago in 1994, an interdisciplinary center that encompasses research, design, and community engagement. Her works are based on communities methodological approach of participatory design and action research. During her time in university, she served as Director of Architecture Graduate Studies and Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
Feldman, along with her colleagues Bryan Bell, Sergio Palleroni, and David Perkes, received a grant from the 2011 Fellows of the American Institute of Architects' Latrobe Prize to study public interest strategies in architecture in the U.S. and internationally. Their report, "Wisdom From the Field": Public Interest Architecture in Practice, describes the work of 100 public interest design and research practitioners and 50 of their community and governmental partners, particularly focusing on 'how to' engage in this type of work.
Feldman's research has focused on affordable and public housing design. She has served on the boards of the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, the Environmental Design Research Association, and the National Public Housing Museum.
Awards
In addition to the awards she has won, Feldman also has an award named after her: the Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Award, established in 2020 and awarded by AIA Chicago.
- Association for Community Design Award for Excellence, 2001
- EDRA/Places Research Award, 2005
- Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Collaborative Practice Award, 2007-2008
- AIA Chapter Distinguished Service Award, 2008
- ACSA Collaborative Practice Award, 2008
- EDRA/Places/Metropolis Award for Research, 2008
- ACSA Service Award, 2011
- Latrobe Prize with Sergio Palleroni, David Perkes, and Bryan Bell, 2011
- The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Collaborative Practice Award with Charles Leek. 2011
- Environmental Design Research Association Career Award, 2014
- Women in Architecture award, 2016
Selected publications
- co-author of The Dignity of Resistance: Women Residents’ Activism in Public Housing with Susan Stall.