Dawn Hicks

Community Designer, Owner of DesignCyphers, Charlotte, NC

Education:
Master of Architecture, UNC Charlotte (2010)
Bachelor of Science, Architectural Engineering, NC A&T State University (2004)

Originally a design professional from Richmond, VA, Dawn holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering from The North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. She also holds a Master’s in Architecture degree from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte where her focus was on the social and economic impacts of Hip Hop on Architecture.

Dawn has a passion for enhancing urban environments through influences of social, economic, and cultural forces that help shape built environments and develop inclusive communities in affordable ways. From 2018-2020 Dawn worked as an Enterprise Rose Fellow, with Venice Community Housing in Venice, California as their Community Design Coordinator with a focus on Community Led Design and Community Engagement. With VCH, Dawn has worked to facilitate dynamic engagement between architects, developers and the communities they serve, for the purposes of co-creating design and development. After the fellowship, Dawn accepted a Project Manager role with VCH and currently managing projects from acquisition rehabs, new construction and rehabs through partnerships with Community Land Trust working to preserve affordability in LA and surrounding Counties.

Through her work with VCH, Dawn engages communities through a participatory design approach within the housing development process. Through her work with NOMA, Dawn works to produce diversity, equity and inclusion within the field of architecture. And with leading various panel discussions, Dawn works to bring both ideas together in creative ways of fostering collaborative design efforts with the goal of mitigating the effects of gentrification on underserved BIPOC communities. Check out her SoA memories below. 

Work Samples

Hip Hop Inspired Architecture (2010)