HUFF + GOODEN ARCHITECTS

Huff + Gooden Architects is an award-winning collaborative architecture practice dedicated to the design and exploration of architecture, also examining its relationships to culture and knowledge. The firm's work merges architectural design with landscape, urbanism, history, and cultural production.

History

Formed in 1997 and led by Principal Mario Gooden, the firm has won numerous design awards, citations, and recognitions, getting featured in journals and publications including:

Huff + Gooden Architects' work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAi), the International Exhibition of Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy, the Municipal Arts Society in New York, and the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.

In 2005, the firm curated and designed the Un/Spoken Spaces: Inside and Outside the Boundaries of Class Race and Space at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Clemson, South Carolina.

In 2016, Huff + Gooden Architects was selected by the City of New York for Mayor Bill DeBlasio's Design and Construction Excellence Program. Additionally, they were proud to design the $67 million renovation and expansion to the California African American Museum in Los Angeles.

Who is Mario Gooden, AIA, B.S., M.Arch?

Mario Gooden is the principal of Huff + Gooden Architects, whose practice is about creating and exploring architecture through its cultural and knowledge heritage. He previously worked in the offices of Zaha Hadid in London and Steven Holl in New York.

Gooden is an award-winning architect whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including the International Exhibition of Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy, the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAi), the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, and the Municipal Arts Society in New York. Together with Huff + Gooden Architects, he designed the California African American Museum in Los Angeles.

Gooden's Teaching Practice and Mentorship

Mario Gooden is also a Professor of Practice at the Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) of Columbia University, where he is the co-director of the Global Africa Lab (GAL). He teaches architectural design and theory there.

In Mario's classes, students go beyond traditional architectural education. Known for his innovative approach to design and critical thinking, he imparts a profound understanding of architecture as a dynamic intersection of culture, history, and social identity. Students learn to challenge conventions and question the status quo, exploring architecture's potential to shape and reflect the diverse narratives of our world. Gooden does his best to incorporate the elements of sociology, anthropology, and cultural studies into his mentees' architectural thinking.

Under his mentorship, students gain technical proficiency and a deep appreciation for the socio-cultural contexts that influence design decisions. They explore the nuances of architectural representation in the context of identity and power. Mario Gooden's classes inspire other architects to become critical thinkers and socially conscious designers, empowering students to address pressing global challenges through architecture's transformative potential.

Gooden's work, writings, and lectures frequently examine art + architecture and the spatial politics of race, class, gender, and technology. Academic content creators like Easy Essay often incorporate his publications to bolster their writings, as Gooden's research, insights, and analysis provide a critical framework for discussing and referencing. Perfect for any essay service to enhance the depth and credibility of their content, ensuring that students and other readers get well-informed perspectives and rigorous scholarship in these areas. This integration of Gooden's work also underscores the significance of his contributions to the broader academic conversation.

Publications

Mario Gooden’s urban and cultural theory research got publications in the Dubai Initiative's Urbanism in the Middle East: A Search for New Paradigms in 2011 and Layered Urbanisms (Yale University, 2008). He is the editor of Global Topologies: Converging Territories (Columbia University, 2013). He is a 2012 National Endowment for the Arts Fellow and a MacDowell Colony Fellow. Gooden is the author of Dark Space: Architecture Representation Black Identity, published by Columbia University Press in 2016.

In 2021, Mario Gooden got his work featured in the Museum of Modern Art exhibition as a part of BRC (Black Reconstruction Collective).

Now, he is the director at Mario Gooden Studio in New York.