Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Daimian Hines. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Daimian, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

After practicing architecture on a global scale, both in corporate design firms in Chicago and Houston and in Southeast Asia, I pursued a path that would further refine my focus and interest in how I would practice. These diverse experiences reinforced my desire to create a design practice centered on communities, cultures, and civic spaces that align with my values. This journey led to founding of HINESAD, a design architecture firm committed to reparative justice in the global built environment. Our mission is rooted in the belief that our work should be architecturally significant and contribute to preserving and creating spaces that amplify the contributions of the underrepresented through place-making.
Driven by this mission, we have undertaken projects that reflect our commitment to creating spaces that resonate within the communities they endeavor to elevate. Our goal is to use architecture to acknowledge, preserve, and positively impact the communities we touch.

Daimian, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Architecture is an industry underpinned by a commitment to many years of university hence the decision to enter it, for many, including myself, was one of intense commitment and conviction. I rarely share this story; however, it was a very passionate science teacher, during my grade school years, that saw something in my creative and analytic interests. As both a young immigrant and a person of color, he thought it was imperative to introduce me to an African American architect, John English, only one of few minority practitioners in the city of Detroit at the time. Coincidentally or perhaps fortunately, they were neighbors, and this afforded many evenings whereby I could shadow John’s staff and observe the creative work they were undertaking.

Many years later and many professional licenses as well, I have had amazing opportunities to work on projects ranging for a convocation center spanning a city block, to an advance physics building where nano fabrication research occurs, office campuses for energy giants, restoration of historic shotgun houses to a new parliament building for a former British colony.

Our clients commission us because we are passionate about our work and we truly consider the context, the people and the outcomes of our work. We do not have preconceived ideas regarding how our projects aesthetically will resolve themselves. We are research driven and our design outcomes are a direct result of our inherent sensibilities and our professional experiences.

Undoubted, I and the HINESAD team, are most proud of the New Houses of Parliament and National Heroes Park project for the Government of Jamaica. In 2018, we entered an international design competition which many well established and global design firms competed. We won the two-stage competition and subsequently was commissioned to design the most significant project in the history of the commonwealth country. This commission was personally significant as my immediate family migrated from the island in the early 80’s and we maintain deep roots and extensive family network on the island. This project presented so much emotional richness as well as represented an achievement of the aspirational goals that many whom decided to leave their native countries, strive to achieve.

I want potential clients and collaborators to recognize my dedication to design excellence, thoughtful solutions, and creative innovation. My work reflects a commitment to sincerely listening to clients’ needs, creatively synthesizing them with our collaborators, and translating them into memorable spaces.

With a global perspective and an inclusive approach, I aim to create designs that celebrate diversity and resonate with the human experience. Our brand, HINESAD, represents progressive architecture of equity within black design thought that seeks out architecture that is transformational, conscious, and relevant in the built environment.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A passion for design is one of many components in building a successful practice. I often believe that our values, mission and perspective would be enough to succeed. It takes a team of talented people with varying skillsets to achieve our aims. It takes considerable relationship building, considerable resources and a considerable amount of time.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

In my experience, morale and mission go hand in hand. I choose to surround myself with talented professionals who are driven by our mission and endeavor to produce thoughtful and well-designed projects. As individuals, we all have our unique desires and needs. We try to practice within our studio culture that which we communicate to our clients the idea that acutely listening is critical to achieving the desired outcomes. In doing so, we gain perspective, and I also am able to share my perspective with a range of staff with varying cultural and racial backgrounds.

As we embark on the pursue of cultural projects, we must be hyper aware of ourselves, our team and our communities.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hinesad.com
• Instagram: hinesadusa, daimianhines
• Facebook: daimianhines
• Linkedin: hinesad, daimian hines
• Twitter: daimianhines
• Youtube: hinesad