Roberta Washington


Roberta Washington is an American architect. She is the founding principal of Roberta Washington Architects, one of the only architecture firms in the United States led by an African-American woman. She is a Commissioner on the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Early life and education

Washington became interested in studying architecture after a chance encounter with a neighbor who was an architect. For a grade 8 project, she was required to write about three professions she was interested in. Missing a third person to interview, her mother suggested the next door neighbor, whose description of architecture inspired her.
Washington received her bachelor's degree in architecture from Howard University. She received a full scholarship along with 25 other African-American students from Columbia University as a response to its campus riots in 1968. There, she earned her master's degree in architecture. After earning her master's degree, she spent four years working on hospital and housing projects in Mozambique.
During her education, she was active in organizations including the Women’s Caucus at the AIA and Alliance of Women in Architecture. Forming bonds with fellow architects helped inspire Washington to work to ensure legacies of blacks and women aren’t lost. To note, she has been researching and writing about Beverly Loraine Green and Georgia Louise Harris Brown since 1997.
In 1983, she founded Roberta Washington Architects.
She served on Community Board 10 in Central Harlem where she was chair of the Housing Committee and co-chair of the Land Use Committee. In 2007, she was appointed to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.