Hip Hop Architecture with Michael Ford

OK, I’m starting this post with a PSA to check out my Instagram stories within the next 10 hours. It has some snippets from probably one of the best presentations I’ve ever watched!

One of the best parts of a rap concert is the energy. Hands waving in the air, people blurting out lyrics, hype men jumping around the stage, the boom bap, the screwed chops, the bounce beat; these things light up concerts, and if the rapper weren't a great performer it would be wack.

As for Michael Ford's Hip Hop Architecture presentation at SXSWEco, his content was great, but the delivery was even better. And with hip hop being a good performer is just as important as the rhymes them self. Could you imagine an MC that couldn't rock the crowd?

Well, Michael Ford takes this concept to academia and industry events of multiple disciplines to show how architecture errors of some of the world’s most renown architectures created the most impactful modern day culture- Hip Hop.

Who is Michael Ford?
Michael Ford (BRANDNU Design) is a Detroit native and architecture designer. Michael coined the term Hip Hop Architecture and is dedicated to stimulating cross disciplinary discourse between practitioners and residents on the sociological and cultural implications of architecture and urban planning on its inhabitants (Michael Ford). In simple terms: he shows how architecture and planning flaws (highways splitting communities, high rises stacked close together and lack of walkability to basic amenities) have marginalize groups of people and forced them to create beautiful culture, like hip hop.

What does this have to do with Fort Negrita?
Well,  design is usually the root of all sustainability issues from product design to city design, half-baked planning results in waste including materials, societies and people. Advocating for biophilic communities that build with the anchored concept that humans need nature to survive and therefore need to be immersed in it. Think about how you feel when you go to the park; the fresh air, sounds of nature, tranquility. That's the basic concept of biohilic, one that is used in planning and architecture all the time.

Why should i care?
In some cases flaws birth beauty, but in other cases it makes for a big stain and stigma that is baked into the way systems work. Our silence allows that to happen. In your professional field, how are you addressing design flaws?