Michael Ford

Michael Ford also known as The Hip Hop Architect, is an architectural designer, born and raised in the city of Detroit. Ford received his Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM), where he completed his graduate thesis titled “Hip Hop Inspired Architecture and Design.” He has worked as a designer at Hamilton Anderson Associates located in Detroit, Mich. and as an adjunct professor at his alma matter. Ford has also worked as a designer at Flad Architects located in Madison, Wisc.

Currently Ford is working with hip hop pioneers across the nation, as he leads the design of The Universal Hip Hop Museum in The Bronx.

Ford has dedicated his entire professional career to stimulating cross disciplinary discourse on the social and cultural implications of architecture and urban planning on its inhabitants. Focusing on the intersection of the built environment and hip hop culture, Ford’s national Hip Hop Architecture exhibit and lecture tour has included stops at the 2014 AIA Convention in Chicago, Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, University of Pennsylvania, The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and his alma matter University of Detroit Mercy to name a few. A longtime member of National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), Ford serves on the board of the Detroit chapter.

Ford’s mission is to promote hip hop culture, as a catalyst for engaging and increasing the number of underrepresented communities in the fields of architecture and design.