Beside, Between, Beyond

Michael Chen will present projects by MKCA studio that embrace community-engagement, advocacy and academic research.

The lecture will frame design and architecture as vehicles for or expressions of cultural values, and the role of identity in design and fabrication processes. Queerness and “queering” will be introduced as catalysts of disruption and incitement to “play”. Tensions of identity pertaining to client and professional relationships will be presented as impetus for “code switching”, which in turn may show up in design work as disciplinary slippage, multivalency, or genre-bending.

Michael Chen will present work by MKCA studio, community-engaged projects with Design Advocates, and academic research. Topics of identity, equity and representation will be discussed as relating to the work and the creative processes behind the work. Images will be analyzed as expressions of the studio’s values (and those of its clients), as well as expressions of identity and personal experience. Queerness as a disruptive device may be posited as a creative stimulus.

The lecture will be especially useful to the City Tech student body, who seek to find success in the field of architecture, and many of whom come from communities not well-represented in the field. Michael Chen represents an excellent example of successfully navigating disparate professional spheres while working in a manner that authentically reflects one’s values. Queerness in architecture is an important topic, and this lecture constitutes meaningful representation which will especially benefit queer-identifying students.

Speaker: Michael K Chen (MKCA)

Moderator: Will Fryer (Parsons School of Design, Will Fryer Interior Design)

1.5 AIA Learning Units

for more information, contact: citytecharchitecturedept@gmail.com

Michael K. Chen established MKCA in 2011 in New York City.

The practice is widely recognized for buildings, interiors, and objects that embrace material expression, that elegantly choreograph space, and that embody innovative and thoughtful approaches to craft. Through a process that is considered, collaborative, and inclusive, MKCA is invested in linking the material and social worlds, based on the belief that design creates impact through its participants, materials, and making.

Michael and MKCA’s growing body of work regularly appears in international exhibitions and media including Architectural Digest, ELLE Decor, Domus, Dwell, Interior Design, Architectural Record, Wallpaper, The Daily Mail, The New York Times, and T: The New York Times Style Magazine* and it has been recognized with numerous awards for design excellence, research, contributions to the design disciplines, and for social good.

In March of 2020, he co-founded Design Advocates, a network of independent architecture and design firms collaborating on projects and initiatives that promote equality in the built environment. Design Advocates has grown to encompass 250 firms and volunteers who have completed over 100 projects serving communities and the public good.

Michael studied architecture at the University of California, Berkeley (AB) and Columbia University (M.Arch) and was the John Dinkeloo Fellow at the American Academy in Rome. He is a Registered Architect, a Fellow of the Urban Design Forum, and a member of the American Institute of Architects.

Will Fryer is an interior designer, researcher and artist from Brooklyn. He currently teaches interior design at Parsons School of Design, and previously taught architecture at CUNY City Tech. Will’s design practice is focused on residential projects with an emphasis on process, and he is currently working on a series of “decorative” objects that question why meaning is afforded to some things, but not others. He exhibited initial objects and process in “Queer Clouds”, a joint exhibition with Will Eatough, at Compere Collective (May, 2025). Will also writes and produces Decorated with Cotter Christian, a podcast exploring the history of interior design and decoration and its relationship to gender, queer history, and other social themes.