Rakim, during an interview with CityLab, compared my passion for hip hop architecture and using hip hop lyrics as modernism's post occupancy evaluation, to the lyrical dexterity of the hip hop MC! Check out the full article here: The Universal Hip Hop Museum and Design Justice
Read MoreQuote of The Day - Kurtis Blow + The Hip Hop Architect
“We get the best of both worlds with Michael Ford. He grew up in the culture, he knows hip-hop, he lives hip-hop, he feels it with his heart, and he is one of the best in his business,” - Kurtis Blow
Read MoreArchitect Devanne Pena Focuses on Increasing Number of Black Women in Architecture
I first met Devanna Pena in Detroit, during the National Organization of Minority Architect's conference hosted by The Detroit chapter of NOMA. We shared a brief conversation about our top five MC's during a shuttle ride to the Bros Art Ball. That short conversation has blossomed into a friendship which has led to us supporting each other in various initiatives aimed at increasing diversity in the field of architecture. When Devanne was announced as the editor of The NOMA Magazine, I was eager to join the team of volunteers to support her in having her visions for the publication come to life. Devanne's design thinking is out of the box. She is a Hip Hop Architect. If you see her, ask her about her presentation with Perkins & Will, where she represents the stages of her career with Tupac tracks. Earlier this year, I called on Devanne to help me facilitate The Universal Hip Hop Museum Design Cypher in The Bronx, where we joined hip hop pioneers, community members, high school students and others to create the programming and conceptual vision of The Universal Hip Hop Museum.
Read MoreHow Bad Urban Planning Led to The Birth Of A Billion Doallar Genre
"Life in the so-called inner city has always been a major theme in hip-hop. From the desolate state of the Bronx Projects described in Grandmaster Flash’s “The Message” to the poor conditions in parts of Brooklyn and Queens recounted by artists like Jay Z, Biggie, and Nas, rappers have used their music to offer a glimpse into urban spaces across the United States. For decades, they’ve used verses and hooks to allude to the relationship between hip-hop and architecture — overcrowded, dilapidated towers have been the backdrop of the genre since its inception. But that relationship is more significant than it appears to be, says designer Mike Ford, whose pioneering research in the field of hip-hop-inspired architecture has earned him a fitting sobriquet: The Hip-Hop Architect. "
Read MoreSXSW Eco Session Highlight: Hip Hop Architecture + the Just City
This session will discuss the cultural and colloquial implications of architecture in the built environment through the lens of Hip Hop and Design Justice. Focusing on the intersection of theory and practice, we will explore hip hop as a revolutionary approach to understanding, conceiving, and generating architecture for a just city. Showing these processes in action, we will share the unique, cross disciplinary design process for the Universal Hip Hop Museum.
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