Michael Ford, The Hip Hop Architect took the stage as part of TEDXMadison to present Hip Hop Architecture: The Post Occupancy Report of Modernism. Ford's presentation was the continuation of his national Hip Hop Architecture Lecture Tour, which included a recent stop at SXSW in Austin, Texas for a discussion on Remixing Architecture with Hip Hop Culture, an upcoming keynote at The 2017 American Institute of Architects National Conference on Architecture in Orlando, Florida for a discussion on "Anticipate Change: What's Next in Architecture" and a lecture at Tuskegee University.
Ford concludes his TEDTalk stating his mission is to raise the number of minorities involved in architecture and building an army of Hip Hop Architects, arming them with the information needed to right the wrongs of modernism on communities of color across the nation. To put his mission in action, Ford and his business partner, Tiffany Brown co-founded the non profit, The Urban Arts Collective and designed The Hip Hop Architecture Camp initiative. The Hip Hop Architecture Camp's main sponsor is Autodesk, who also helped sponsor The Universal Hip Hop Museum's Design Cypher in The Bronx where Ford led Hip Hop artists, designers, urban planners, architects, community members and students through an interactive design process aimed at creating the first images of The Universal Hip Hop Museum. During the nontraditional, one-week camp, students are exposed to the structure of communities and architecture while simultaneously being exposed to structuring bars as they write a song about their community and create a music video. Each camp concludes with the creation of a new single to be added to the Hip Hop Architecture Soundtrack, "Build It Up".
The kick off to The Hip Hop Architecture Camp took place in Madison, Wisconsin, the sponsors included The University of Wisconsin Madison, The City of Madison's Planning Department, Capital Area Regional Planning, Madison Public Library and Madison College. The camp's mission was to expand the reach and relevancy of the planning department's "Imagine Madison" initiative and the Greater Madison Vision, which both builds the foundation for the 20 year outlook of The City's planning projects. Check out the mini-documentary about the Madison camp below.
During the summer of 2017, The Hip Hop Architecture Camp will take place in several communities across the nation. To get involved with the movement, by volunterring or helping to organize a camp in your city, please visit www.HipHopArchitecture.com.