Mark Gardner of Jaklitsch / Gardner Architects | Inwood Sacred Sites in New York City | Sacred Architecture
Courtesy of Jaklitsch / Gardner Architects
Sacred Architecture
I’m joined by Mark Gardner, a Partner at Jaklitsch/Gardner and Professor at the Parsons School of Design. We discuss his work with the Inwood African Burial Ground & Lenape Ceremonial Site, also known as the Inwood Sacred Sites, and how colonization manifests itself in design and architecture across the US.
When The Bowery Residents Committee learned the site it planned to purchase had a history as a burial ground for enslaved Africans and as a Lenape Ceremonial Site, their plans for building and operating a high-quality shelter for people experiencing homelessness quickly changed. In our conversation, Mark gives an overview of the geographical history of this site, which is situated as far north as you can go on the island of Manhattan. He highlights key designers and collaborators who are working to capture the culture and contemplative nature of the land.
Mark and I also engage in a broader discussion about our experiences as minorities in the US. We talk about the racial bias in real estate and how he responds to people who deny the existence of institutionalized racism. Mark shares why he’s so drawn to projects like the Inwood Sacred Sites and how he manages to combine his passion for social justice with his architectural talents.
“Inwood is as far as you can go North on the island of Manhattan. It has a long history of like there were farms, like the Dikeman farm up there. It was rolling hills and bluffs. So in the farms that were up there that were enslaved people, um, during Dutch time. Those enslaved Africans had a burial ground. That site also was evidence of around that area of the Lenape had a habitation before that.
So it has a long history. That burial site in the early 20th century was leveled and the grave sites that were there were being removed they just stacked the bones. So that’s the respect that was sort of being shown to that history. And then that site that built over. As I say, it left probably a scar in the history of that place.”
Courtesy of Jaklitsch / Gardner Architects
About Mark Gardner
Mark Gardner is a Partner at the New York City-based design firm Jaklitsch/Gardner. Mark started his career in architecture at the firms Jeffrey McKean Architect, Murphy Burnham & Buttrick, and Stanley Love-Stanley. Besides his design work, he is a Professor at the Parsons School of Design and previously served as the Director of its Master of Architecture program. He has also been active in community initiatives with SUPERFRONT and the National Association of Minority Architects. Mark is a graduate of the architecture programs at the University of Pennsylvania and Georgia Tech.
Episode Timestamps
3:09 – When did you decide that you wanted to become an architect and what were some of the earliest influences that you had in that path?
8:55 – How did you find your firm partner and how do you compare your work styles?
11:40 – I want to talk about the Inwood Sacred Sites. It's located in the Inwood neighborhood in the Northern reaches of Manhattan. Tell us about this neighborhood and the site in particular.
16:09 – Could you review the different elements of the project?
23:08 – Are there other projects that you or the other design team members took on as inspiration as you developed your design strategy for the sacred site?
28:49 – In learning the history of this site and the horrible injustice that happened there, it prompted BRC to halt further planning for development. When you heard this, what was going through your mind?
39:57 – When people say things like, ‘that was so long ago, why does it matter anymore?’ How has your response to things like that changed over time? And what do you say now?
45:54 – Why do you choose to work on projects like the Inwood Sacred Site?
Connect with Mark Gardner:
LinkedIn (Mark Gardner)
LinkedIn (Jaklitsch/Gardner)
Jaklitsch/Gardner
About your host:
Atif Qadir is the Founder & CEO of Commonplace, a technology company making it easy for commercial real estate professionals to find and use the $100B of real estate incentives given out every year in the US.
His work has been covered by Technology Review, The Real Deal, Commercial Observer, and Propmodo. He’s also a frequent speaker on the future of buildings and cities on popular industry podcasts and at conferences, including this past year at the Commercial Observer National DEI Conference, Yale AREA Conference, Columbia Real Estate Symposium, Open Data Week NYC and Austin Design Week.
About Commonplace
Commonplace is a founding sponsor of American Building. It is a 100% minority-owned, real estate technology company founded in 2020 to make financing social impact development projects across the US easier. It is funded by venture capital investors Hometeam Ventures, Park West Asset Management, New York Ventures and Shadow Ventures.
About Michael Graves
The world-famous design firm Michael Graves is also a founding sponsor of American Building. Its namesake, the iconoclastic designer Michael Graves, FAIA was a fierce advocate for people-centric design. His work defines a generation of American architecture and includes the Portland Building, the Humana Building and the Denver Public Library. The 1st season of American Building was filmed live at The Warehouse, his historic home in Princeton, New Jersey:
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