One percent of the nation’s architects are African American, and that sort of disparity only changes slowly. Yet change it does, and James Harrison (A’93) is the face of that change.

While growing up in Houston, Texas, Harrison met John Chase, the first African American to receive an architecture license in the state of Texas. As a boy, Harrison would share his drawings with Chase, and Chase’s mentorship led Harrison to pursue architecture.

After a career that passed through Chicago, Dallas, Oklahoma City, and Raleigh, N.C., Harrison returned to his hometown and took a position with the man who used to look at Harrison’s high school sketches: John Chase.

Harrison’s inner sense of purpose and community service motivates him “to create an environment that is going to have a positive effect on the world that we live in.” This creed is reflected in the educational facilities that he designs. One building design in particular, Lockhart Elementary School, brought him closer to his roots than he ever anticipated—to the street where he grew up.

The results of his work have led to recognition from his peers. His firm, HarrisonKornberg Architects, along with collaborator FPBA, recently received a National Design Award from the Society of American Registered Architects for their work on the National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing at Texas A&M University. Their renovation design of the Gragg Building in Houston also recently won a Heritage Award from the Urban Land Institute.
—Andrew Swensen