About








Barnes’ award winning research and design practice investigates the connection between architecture and identity, examining architecture’s social and political agency through historical research and design speculation. Mining architecture’s social and political agency, he examines how the built environment influences black domesticity.

Born in Chicago, IL Germane Barnes received a Bachelor's of Science in Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Architecture from Woodbury University where he was awarded the Thesis Prize for his project Symbiotic Territories: Architectural Investigations of Race, Identity, and Community. He believes strongly in design as a process, and approaches each condition imposed on a project as an opportunity rather than a constraint. Architecture presents opportunities for transformation – materially, conceptually and sociologically.

Currently he is an Associate Professor, Director of the Master of Architecture Professional Degree Program and the Director of The Community Housing & Identity Lab (CHIL) at the University of Miami School of Architecture, a testing ground for the physical and theoretical investigations of architecture’s social and political resiliency. His work has been featured in international venues and publications most notably, The Art Institute of Chicago, Venice Biennale, The Museum of Modern Art NY, SF MoMA, MAS Context, The Graham Foundation, The New York Times, DesignMIAMI/ Art Basel, Metropolis Magazine, Domus, and The National Museum of African American History where he was identified as one of the future designers on the rise.


Want to pick my brain?
e: germane@germanebarnes.com




Current Team
Francesca Picard, Architectural Design Lead
Gabriel Soomar, Creative Director
Noelle Davis, Architectural Design Intern
Aurore Boyd, Architectural Design Intern


Past Team Members
Santiago Martinez
Alexandria Jones
Sana Fatima
Alana Bernard
George Elliott
Kevan Washington

Jennifer Lamy
Clarissa Hellebrand
Jheanelle Miller
Isaiah Holmes
Taylor Eyo

Tiffani Banks
Mahlia Jenkins
Bernute Augustin
Sydney Maubert
Vincent Brown
Johnny Laderer

Collaborators
Joachim Perez
Chat Travieso
Derrick Smith
RLC Architects







©MMXXI
All projects are owned by Studio Barnes LLC