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John Warren Moutoussamy

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John Warren Moutoussamy
John Warren Moutoussamy studied architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology and graduated in 1948, a mere 26 years after McKissack & McKissack became the first black-owned architecture firm in the United States (Fazzare and Olson). Moutoussamy studied under Mies Van Der Rohe, and Mies’ strong exterior style and structural design is evident in his work throughout the Chicago area. After finishing his education, Moutoussamy became a partner in the Chicago Architecture Firm, Dubin Dubin Black & Moutoussamy, making him the first African-American in U.S. history to become part of a major established architecture firm (Goldsborough). Later in his career, Moutoussamy also played prominent positions at the Art Institute of Chicago, Loyola University, and the Chicago Plan Commission

               As an architect, Moutoussamy followed the style of Mies Van Der Rohe in many of his works

Marshall Field Office
his work at Dubin Dubin Black & Moutoussamy involved large scale construction using steel and glass for housing and colleges around Chicago, including the Marshall Field Office. Moutoussamy is most known for his work designing the Johnson Publishing Company’s headquarters. The Johnson Publishing Building remains the only solely Black-designed tower in downtown Chicago, and Moutoussamy’s interior design celebrated black culture and Ebony and Jet magazines – published in the same building. John H Johnson played a huge role in empowering the African-American community through his publishing company, and their Moutoussamy designed headquarters were declared a Chicago landmark to preserve their architectural and cultural impact.

 

Johnson Publishing Building
              While Moutoussamy’s career hasn’t been celebrated to nearly the extent as that of his mentor, Mies Van Der Rohe, he was able to powerfully bridge the gap between a predominantly white, western style of architecture, and oppressed black communities. One of the often overlooked side effects of Mies’s famous Crown Hall was that it was constructed on the site of an apartment complex where Jazz musicians had gathered for years, erasing a cultural site in its’ construction. Despite the negative side of new construction, John Moutoussamy was able to give back through his work and use the same beautiful construction style to create landmarks for people of color. Moutoussamy’s work on the Johnson Publishing Building serves as a powerful symbol of the potential for diversity in design, but also for the work that still needs to be done as the building remains the only black designed downtown Chicago tower nearly 50 years since its’ construction. 

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