Steven Lewis
Steven Lewis is an architect and a tireless advocate for social justice and diversity within the field of architecture. He is currently a principal with ZGF Architects. Previously he served as Urban Design Director for the Central Region of Detroit in the City’s Planning and Development Department. At the same time he was a Professor in Practice at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.
Steven was the AIA’s 2016 Whitney M. Young, Jr. award recipient, and was simultaneously elevated to the College of Fellows. Prior to coming to Detroit, Steven was an Associate Vice President for TRC in their energy services group. He was a founding partner of the firm RAW International where he helped build a successful design practice over a 20-year period. In 2004, Steven accepted an invitation to join the U.S. General Services Administration’s Office of the Chief Architect in Washington, DC, where he served a four-year term as a program manager.
Steven was a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design for the 2006-07 academic year, where he focused on the issue of race within the profession of architecture. In December of 2010, he concluded a two-year term as President of the National Organization of Minority Architects, traveling around the U.S., and several other countries advocating for architects-of-color. Steven used his platform as president to prioritize cultivating the next generation of diverse architects and designers. In 2011, Steven launched a consulting practice – “Thinking Leadership – What we Do…Who we Are” – aimed at helping clients – particularly civic leaders – attain superior outcomes through his engagement.
Steven has been a featured speaker at various conferences, sharing the work he and his colleagues are engaged in bringing the Spirit of Detroit to life, including:
Loeb Fellowship Fall Alumni Lecture, Cambridge, MA – May 2017
Perkins + Will Global Design Leadership, Durham, NC – September 2017
AIA Large Firm Round Table, New Orleans, LA – October 2017
Urban Disruption Equity Challenge, Raleigh, NC – March 2018
More than anything, Steven is a facilitator of partnerships and alliances between groups and individuals who seek to use architecture and design to effect positive change to our world.