Maurice Cox, Architect

 Maurice Cox has mastered several fields in his career: architect, professor, planner, politician and urban designer. 

When Cox served as mayor of the City of Charlottesville for two years—from 2002 to 2004—he promoted democracy in design, the idea that all residents in a neighborhood should have a say in a project’s design and process. 

Cox says he was “incredibly proud” when the city was dubbed best place to live in America, a highlight of his term as mayor. “But even more important moments are when I walk the city and see the changes in the built environment, like the community chalkboard, the transit center and plaza, mixed-use buildings going up south of downtown, and new single-family homes in old neighborhoods that never saw such activity,” he says via e-mail, “knowing that I had a small part in making that happen.” 

Cox was recognized nationally for his planning work in Bayview, Virginia, in the early 2000s, and has kept a high profile since. In fact, he has just completed a two-year stint as design director at the National Endowment for the Arts, where he was awarded the 2009 Edmund Bacon Prize for “an outstanding national figure who has advocated for excellence in urban development, planning and design.”

“In that role,” he says, “I traveled the country encouraging communities to become engaged in the design that affect their daily lives.” 

In 2004, Cox was named one of 20 Masters of Design by Fast Company magazine. That might refer to structural design and place planning, but it could as easily refer to Cox’s mastery of political design. 

“I never thought that the simple desire to serve my community on city council would enrich the course of my professional career and that the same political experience would be recognized as adding value to the design field,” he says. “It has allowed me to evolve into a better designer while becoming a trusted advisor to mayors all over the country.”

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