2018 NOMA Conference Event: Hip Hop Architecture Lecture w/ Mike Ford

The National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) is excited to partner with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) to feature Mike Ford (the Hip Hop Architect) and his Hip Hop Architecture Lecture Series!

Join us for the official NOMA Conference Kickoff Event, as we celebrate the 46th Annual NOMA Conference, NOMA UNBOUNDED - The Convergence of a Legacy, taking place on Wednesday, October 17th (7pm-9pm) at the SAIC Ballroom in downtown Chicago.

This FREE event is INCLUDED in the FULL CONFERENCE REGISTRATION. However, seating is limited due to capacity of the venue. This event is also open to SAIC faculty & students, and limited general public.

Michael Ford is dedicated to stimulating cross disciplinary discourse between architectural practitioners, students and community members on the social and cultural implications of architecture on its inhabitants through lectures, workshops and exhibits. Ford’s Hip Hop Architecture Lecture Series, uses three interconnected realms - education, professional practice and media to expose the subconscious roles of celebrated modern architects and urban planners, such as Le Corbusier and Robert Moses, in the creation of the environments which necessitated hip hop’s birth. Ford’s multi-media lecture format, uses a combination of music videos and a live DJ to extract hip hop lyric samples as dialogue, commentary and counterpoints to popular architectural history and theory. The juxtaposition establishes golden era hip hop lyrics as a post occupancy evaluation of inner city residents’ inhabitance of modernists’ visions.

Michael Ford details architect Le Corbusier’s musings on African American culture, specifically the music, which suggested the culture’s intermingling with architecture would bolster the architecture profession. Ford’s lecture highlights the built and theoretical works of designers pursuing this synthesis. Among the projects shown are the collaborative works of iconic hip hop entertainers such as, Pharrell Williams, Ice Cube with various architects, designers and academic institutions around the world.

Ford’s lecture concludes with his personal works including his design processes which converts Hip Hop elements into architectural elements, the inclusive design approach, “The Design Cypher” created to conceptualize The Universal Hip Hop Museum with pioneering Hip Hop artists, including Kurtis Blow and The Sugar Hill Gang and the international Hip Hop Architecture Camp he created, which has been featured on The TODAY Show.

This event will take place in the beautiful historic SAIC ballroom across from Millennium Park.