Michael K. Chen

As a kid, what did you answer when asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
It was always an architect. I did have a brief moment as a six-year old with aspiring to be a zookeeper, but it was never serious.

Which designer and/or piece of work inspires you? Why?
I am endlessly inspired by Gio Ponti, whose practice moved seemingly without friction across architecture, urbanism, landscape, furniture, decorative objects, writing and publishing, with the same integrity and imagination. No matter the scale or the context, there was always something interesting and novel and intelligent.

How would you describe your design philosophy?
Craft as connector. I’m very interested in how architecture and design create impact through their materials, their processes, and their participants. I’m fascinated by materials of all types for the physical qualities, but also for what they tell us about ourselves – materials connect us to other people, places, and eras, and they are a way to link the things that we make to the things that we believe in.

Give us some context about where you live: How long you’ve been there and how does it influence your work?
My husband and I live in a 1965 brutalist concrete building called Chatham Towers in Manhattan’s Chinatown. We’ve been there for 17 years. The building is not for everyone, but I think it’s an incredible work of architecture. It’s also building of families, artists, journalists, designers and other creative types who make for a really interesting community. It’s an idealized microcosm of New York in a lot of ways, but a diverse and culturally rich one. I find that kind of cosmopolitanism to be really inspiring. My next door neighbor is an artist who at 95 is still working, doing what she loves. That’s incredibly inspiring to me.

Was there a moment when you realized you wanted to be a designer? If so, what was it?
My favorite things as a child were books and drawing. I used to spend hours and hours in my room designing houses for family members and building worlds on paper. I was lucky enough to have parents who encouraged me and sent me to all kinds of creative activities to learn ceramics and paint and to build things. That kind of creative impulse just sort of took hold and never really left.

Which of your projects or products are you most proud? Why?
No one project, per se. I’m proud of the fact that we regularly make work that aligns with our values and with our intellectual and creative interests, and that it makes our clients happy. Those moments are the best thing about doing the work that we do.

What is the most pressing issue in the design world today?
We have to be smarter about energy and carbon. And as designers we need to be using our creativity and influence to shape desire and to create interest in ways of being smarter about energy and carbon.

What’s now?
We’re working on a few ground up houses that are both architecturally ambitious and making use of really interesting materials and material streams. We’re building with bricks that are made of upcycled construction waste, timber that is sourced from sustainable forest management practices, and stone that is quarried and processed in our region.

We are also working on a number of interiors projects where the furnishings, lighting, and decorative elements are all sourced from women and designers of color. We’re trying to use our agency and specification power in ways that are strongly aligned with our clients’ values, and to push ourselves to find new people to commission and collaborate with. It’s a learning process, and it can be a challenge, but it’s a really worthwhile one.

What’s next?
We are excited to be sinking our teeth into projects where we need to learn new places and people. We are kicking off two projects in France, an apartment in Paris and a Modernist house in the south, both renovations of existing, historic buildings. We’re also starting work on some new public projects with Design Advocates, the nonprofit collaborative network we co-founded in 2020. One is a new streetscapes project that’s aimed at supporting local restaurants with outdoor dining, and one is a community hub and cinema. Both deal with storm and resiliency issues as well as sustainable design in the public realm, and we are working collaboratively with other small and medium firms on both.