Hip Hop Architect Michael Ford on building a foundation for future generations of BIPOC designers

2022-05-10T14:22:00-04:00

“Getting new voices and pulling new people into architecture is important, but also having a portfolio of good work is important as well,” Ford said. “I think my ultimate legacy, though, for me will be measured by the number of people I inspire to become architects. And not just become architects but to not check their culture at the door. When you can bring your total self into the design world, that’s where you can make a true contribution.”

The “Hip Hop Architect” took Madison.com on a site visit to the local Quarra Stone Co., where granite tiles are being made for a forthcoming installation at the National Guardian Life company’s headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin.

For the project, Ford plans to erect a 25-foot-tall lobby installation with the company’s DEI statement engraved across 360 individual tiles using his own self-developed hieroglyphic alphabet. (“It’s architecture that prompts people to do something,” he explained.)

Rendering of the lobby installation Ford designed for National Guardian Life Insurance. Image courtesy BrandNu Design.

“I don’t think it's pushing the limit,” the 39-year-old continued, speaking of the corporate commission and another metaverse project for the non-profit Infamous Mothers. “For me, it’s representing what can happen when you bring more diverse minds to architecture and diverse experiences, backgrounds and culture because architecture has lost its mystique of what it once was. For m...

Another Frank Lloyd Wright house is discovered in Madison

2015-10-26T17:44:00-04:00

[Frank Lloyd] Wright experts announced that the Madison house [that local resident Linda] McQuillen bought for $100,000 has been verified as an American System-Built House, part of Wright's effort to develop and market well-designed homes at a more affordable level — his first effort to reach a broader audience. It's the second such house identified in the past four months, one out of only 16 ever built and 14 still standing...It took years to unearth the evidence about McQuillen's home.

You can read about the first American System-Built House here.

More about FLW homes on Archinect:

How Frank Lloyd Wright's Bachman Wilson House was moved from New Jersey to Arkansas

Frank Lloyd Wright's "Unity Temple" getting a $23M restoration

Frank Lloyd Wright house causes controversy in wealthy Phoenix neighborhood

Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House to reopen once again in February

Archinect - News

Hip Hop Architect Michael Ford on building a foundation for future generations of BIPOC designers

Another Frank Lloyd Wright house is discovered in Madison