AIA UK is excited to share this special event in partnership with NOMA UK, hosted by SOM!

When: Wednesday 21 October 2026, 5:00pm.
Where: SOM, 20 Primrose Street, London EC2A 2EW

Speaker
Sumita Singha, OBE, RIBA Board Trustee | Architect | Author

Description

In celebration of Black History Month in the UK, SOM London and AIA UK are honored to welcome architect, educator, author, and RIBA Board Trustee Sumita Singha, OBE as our featured guest speaker for a special presentation at our Townhall space.

Sumita will spotlight the extraordinary legacy of Norma Sklarek, a trailblazer who broke historic barriers as the first Black woman licensed in New York and California, and the most senior Black female architect in SOMʼs history.

"In architecture, I had absolutely no role model. I'm happy today to be a role model for others that follow.", said Norma Sklarek, the most senior black woman architect at SOM. Sklarek’s life spanned historic moments- as a child growing up during the Great Depression, as a young woman during the Second World War and as a single mother during the Civil Rights and Black Power Movement. She began working for SOM, when Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks were fighting for the rights of black people. Her struggles as a black woman architect were huge and yet she won- and that is why she will be forever an inspirational role model for all.

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