Divine Design

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?What we?re trying to do is establish a sense of ownership and identity with a place,? Curry explains. ?To have an impact on the built world is something most people don?t get a chance to do. It gives them an ontological power?a basic sense of being. They become a co-creator with God. That?s power.?

Fresh from a fellowship at Harvard, where he studied conflict resolution, Curry is currently taking a sojourn as artist in residence at Fordham University, another Jesuit institution. But he?s anxious to get started on his next projects?a national center for community design and a wood shop for inner-city kids where he can ?engage them one-on-one with creation.? He?s hopeful that the community design movement is catching on, and that a national center can help galvanize it. For one thing, the up-and-coming generation of architecture students at universities like Detroit Mercy are demanding a more meaningful education. For another, the professional community seems to be taking notice of his work. Before he left Detroit for Harvard, he won the American Institute of Architects? prestigious National Young Architect award, and his Detroit Design Collaborative has won accolades too.

?I?m not saying ?change architecture and it?ll change the world,? but it does have a huge effect,? he says. ?Our world could use a few more places that make people feel comfortable, places that promote a feeling of community.?

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