Michael Ford

Born and raised in Detroit, designer Michael Ford received his Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM), with a graduate thesis titled ‘Hip Hop Inspired Architecture and Design.’

He has spent the past decade blurring the lines between professional practice and academia, dedicated to stimulating cross-disciplinary discourse between practitioners and residents on the sociological and cultural implications of architecture and urban planning. More specifically, he’s unveiled the subconscious roles of historical architectural figures such as LeCorbusier in envisioning the built environments which necessitated the birth of hip hop culture.

Michael’s current Hip Hop Architecture Lecture Tour has included stops at numerous colleges and universities including the University of Illinois Urbana—Champaign, University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University, Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, and a TEDx presentation. Ford has been invited to keynote The South by Southwest Eco Conference and The American Institute of Architects National Conference on Architecture as he works side by side with Hip Hop pioneers, architects and communities across the world, leading the design of The Universal Hip Hop Museum in The Bronx.

Currently is an instructor at Madison College in Madison Wisconsin and President and Co-Founder of The Urban Arts Collective through which he executes his national initiative to introduce underrepresented communities to architecture and urban planning, Michael has previously worked at Hamilton Anderson Associates in Detroit, Flad Architects in Madison, Wisconsin, and as an adjunct professor at his alma mater.