Architect Magazine covered the 2019 Hip Hop Architecture Camp in Washington DC.
“In college, Michael Ford, Assoc. AIA was introduced to a quote by German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “Architecture is frozen music.” Years later, the self-proclaimed Hip Hop Architect would put his own spin to those words when he launched the Hip Hop Architecture Camp (HHAC), an intensive weeklong program that aims to introduce middle schoolers to the profession and ultimately shows participants how to do just that—freeze music through architecture.
Aimed in part at increasing diversity among architects, the HHAC travels around the country to teach students about the built environment through popular hip-hop and rap songs. The five-day program, often timed with the local schools' break or summer vacation, is currently sponsored by Autodesk and free for the students.”
Taylor Crawford: The Washington DC Hip Hop Architecture Camp
Last week was Washington, D.C.'s turn to experience the movement when Ford hosted 10 middle-school students from the local region at the District Architecture Center. During the Feb. 18-22 event, sponsored by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), students learned how to analyze popular rap and hip hop lyrics that discuss the impact of the built environment, construct city models inspired by certain verses, and eventually write their own raps to highlight disparities in the profession.
Taylor Crawford: The Washington DC Hip Hop Architecture Camp