Wednesday, February 21, 2018: The Hip Hop Architecture Design Cypher organized by Michael Ford at Autodesk's Pier 9 in San Francisco had top hip hop lyricists join with the nations top young architects, designers and technology creators to explore the juxtaposition of architecture and hip hop! The Hip Hop Architecture Design Cypher was a three day event, challenging participants to explore the cultural implications of architecture in the built environment through the lens of Hip Hop Culture. Focusing on the intersection of theory and practice, participants explore hip hop as a revolutionary approach to understanding, conceiving, and generating architecture for a just city. Artist included Lupe Fiasco, Nikki Jean, Daylyt, ChinoXL, and TRP. The team of architects included, Eryk Christian, Ingrid Gonzalez, Jason Pugh, Pascale Sablan, Bryan C Lee Jr., Kouyate Toure and University of Detroit Mercy architecture student Phillip Robie.

This iteration of The Hip Hop Architecture Design Cypher was the evolution of The UHHM Design Cypher organized by Ford to program and design The Universal Hip Hop Museum in The Bronx. The Design Cypher process produced the first images of the museum and included participants such as Kurtis Blow, Roxanne Shante, and The Sugarhill Gang.

The two day cypher at Autodesk resulted in a series of videos and concepts which now are used as part of The Hip Hop Architecture Camp curriculum. Stay tuned for the release of a series of videos and projects from The Design Cypher. For now, enjoy the recap video.