About the camp
Since 2016

Hip hop has
always been
about
the city.

42 cities
3 countries

Campers in Hip Hop Architecture Camp shirts on the Chicago lakefront

Host a camp
in 2027

Spring 2027 camps are contracted by January 31, 2027. Summer 2027 camps by March 31, 2027.

Start the host form

Bring an intern
into your studio

Firms of every size host camp alumni as paid interns. When needed, we provide the student's stipend directly.

Become a host firm

The Hip Hop Architecture Camp uses hip hop culture to introduce young people to architecture, urban planning, and design.

In four days, students design a building, write and record a verse about their city, and premiere a music video. What starts at camp keeps going, through paid internships, scholarships, and architecture school.

Campers on the steps at a Hip Hop Architecture Camp
Campers in Chicago in camp shirts
Students building a physical model at camp
Detroit campers outside a civic building
Camp group in Washington D.C.
Camp group in Ohio
Campers in a Houston studio
New York campers outside Rosa Parks Educational Campus

3,700+ students.
42 cities.
3 countries.

Cities, states and countries through 2026 · Student totals through 2025

We turn hip hop into architecture.

Camp students placing model blocks on a large city site model

01 / Architecture

Students respond to hip hop lyrics by developing architectural ideas through drawing, digital 3D modeling, and physical model making.

The lyrics are the design brief.

Camp students choosing from a wall of album covers

02 / Lyrics

Students study how hip hop lyrics tell stories about people, place, culture, and change, then use those ideas as a starting point for design.

Camp students filming and recording during a production session

Architecture

you can

See.

Hear.

Feel.

03 / Music video

Students communicate their ideas through music and visual storytelling, turning their design work into something immersive, expressive, and culturally alive.

Take up space.

Camp students celebrating after presenting their work

04 / Presentations

Students present their ideas to family, community, and design professionals, building confidence, voice, and ownership through sharing their work publicly.

The camp is the
first step,
not the whole journey.

A student building a model at a computer
01

Camp
A student presenting a design to a room of people
02

Paid internship
A camp alum holding the camp logo
03

College scholarship
Asia K. Williams, Assoc. AIA
04

Fellowship
A studio portrait
05

A.R.E. scholarship

02 · The pathway continues

Paid
internship.

Since 2021, former campers have continued through paid internships at firms across the country. Interns contribute to real projects, build professional relationships, and take the work they started at camp and develop it into a real vision for their community.

From camp to professional practice

A student's 3D model from camp, the RBG Center
At campCamp 3D model
The same design developed into a professional rendering during the student's internship
At the internshipFinished rendering
Asia K. Williams, Assoc. AIA

The Hip Hop
Architecture
Camp

The Michael Ford
Hip Hop
Architecture
Fellowship

Asia
WilliamsAssoc. AIA

Alumni
spotlight

“I started as an undergraduate student in the first Hip Hop Architecture Studio at the University of Detroit Mercy. After completing my master’s, I returned as an adjunct professor to teach the same course, this time as the Hip Hop Architecture Fellow.”

Asia Williams, Assoc. AIA

Inaugural fellow, 2024 to 2025
Designer at HOK + Rossetti · 2026 AIA Detroit Associate Member Award
The Michael Ford Hip Hop Architecture Fellowship

Host a camp
in 2027

Spring 2027 camps are contracted by January 31, 2027. Summer 2027 camps by March 31, 2027.

Start the host form

Bring an intern
into your studio

Firms of every size host camp alumni as paid interns. When needed, we provide the student's stipend directly.

Become a host firm

Support the work

Donate to support the mission.

Hip Hop By Design is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Donations support the camp and the pathway that follows it.

Donate