She was five years old when her family moved into a segregated neighborhood in rural Virginia. Ms. Van Buren’s father, a retired pipe organist and music professor, would drive past the imposing white-porticoed courthouse with his daughter and warn his little girl to stay out of trouble because the justice system was a perilous trap if you were black. His words instilled her with fear. Years later, they would inspire her to wonder whether the punitive image of justice conveyed by her father could be creatively transformed.

Her efforts have dovetailed with growing public acknowledgment of racial bias inherent in the criminal justice system. Laws intended to chip away at this include “ban the box” legislation removing criminal record checks from job applications, bail and sentencing reform, and the full or partial decriminalization of marijuana possession in many states. Criminal justice experts said the dysfunction of the system led to the high-profile decision to close Rikers Island in New York. Judge Jonathan Lippman, who was once the leader of the New York Court of Appeals, described the prison as “a powerful symbol of a discredited approach to criminal justice.”

Ms. Van Buren’s award-winning work takes on these issues, on a variety of fronts, including the creation of two of the country’s first dedicated spaces for restorative justice, which bring offenders together with victims of crimes or violence in the hopes of finding a meaningful plan to repair the harm.She has also taken a preventive tack, by designing “pop up villages” that bring health, educational and cultural resources to communities hard-hit by incarceration.

“The intensity of her focus has allowed her to become a leader,” said Deborah Berke, the dean of the Yale School of Architecture, which has brought criminal and restorative justice issues into its core curriculum.