Draft:Tiara Hughes

Tiara Hughes is an American architect based in Chicago. She is a Senior Urban Designer at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. She is also a commissioner with the city of Chicago Landmarks Commission and Founder and Executive Director of FIRST 500, a company created with the intent of elevating and increasing the number of female black architects.

Early life and education
Tiara Hughes grew up in a single parent household in St. Louis, Missouri, where she attended a predominantly black high school for her elementary and middle school education. Eventually she transferred to a predominantly white institution where she faced many struggles with racism and discrimination.

Growing up in St. Louis, Hughes realized from an early age she had an interest in design. Starting in the second grade she was accepted into the gifted arts program where she made art of buildings she saw in books and magazines. She began taking architecture classes at Kirkwood High School, then got her Bachelors degree in architecture from Drury University, where she was one of the few Black women in her program.

First 500
Tiara Hughes created FIRST 500 with the intent of elevating Female Black Architects as she noticed there was a large disparity in the amount of black female architects in the field.

Awards
In 2021, Hughes received the National AIA Associates Award

In 2022, Hughes received the Landmark Illinois' influencer award for her efforts in preserving the built environment

In 2024, she received the Making Waves Award from the Chicago Women in Architecture organization