This video is a profile of HOK cofounder and WashU alum Gyo Obata. Obata was a college student whose family was affected by Executive Order 9066 during WWII.
From the Judges' Report
During the World War II internment of his family and other Japanese Americans, WashU’s architecture program became a safe haven for Gyo Obata, who would go on to become one of the world’s most noted architects. The fascinating story of his life, legacy and university training reinforces a university mission of inclusion, a story which in the words of its entry form “served to cast a light on the current anti-immigrant and Islamaphobic views in the country. WashU is actively opposed to these views and works to be a champion of expelling them from our culture with its policies and practices.”
