“Rooted in Repair: Black and Indigenous Traditions of Building and Belonging”: Wayne Evans Holness Featured in Oculus Summer 2026
In the Summer 2026 issue of Oculus, Wayne Evans Holness was recognized for his research and co-writing with Rose Mary Florián Rodríguez, RA, NOMA. Their essay, Rooted in Repair: Black and Indigenous Traditions of Building and Belonging, examines the lasting contributions of Afro-descendant, Black, and Indigenous communities to the built environment in South America and the Caribbean, informed by the complementary research that they each conducted over the last several years. Their essay was accompanied by a fascinating discussion with Oculus Magazine editor-in-chief Jennifer Krichels on the interconnected relationship between architecture and cultural memory, stewardship, and belonging.
“To me, architecture and oral history are linked through culture. The built environment partially serves as containers for human culture. Art, music and dance, food, spirituality, and collective memory are all woven into the urban fabric, which serves to preserve or erase them. In a similar way, oral history serves as a container for cultural lineage to be remembered or forgotten. Telling stories about spaces helps us remember what was, so we can be better informed about what stands now and can hopefully step more intentionally into what can be.” – Wayne Evans Holness
