Craig Wilkins

Craig Wilkins is an Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. He is a hip-hop architectural theorist, activist, and award-winning practitioner specializing in collaborative and participatory design processes, with a focus on social justice, racial equity, and community development in urban environments.

• PhD, University of Minnesota
• Master of Science in Real Estate and Urban Development, Columbia University
• Bachelor of Architecture, University of Detroit

Wilkins’s research explores the intersections of architecture, identity, and justice. He investigates how publicly accessible and responsive design can transform marginalized communities, emphasizing the role of architects in addressing systemic racism, redlining, and spatial inequities. His work spans both written and built forms, including exhibitions, publications, and community-based projects.

His recent article Breaking the Dead Paradigm for Design Exhibitions (2021) critiques traditional architectural exhibition practices, while his 2020 essay It’s Time for Architects to Accept Responsibility confronts the profession’s complicity in structural violence. These works reflect his broader focus on design ethics and spatial justice.

• 2024 Graham Foundation Grant
• 2017 National Design Award
• 2014 A’ Design Silver Award for Social Design
• 2008 ACSA Collaborative Practice Award
• 2010 Kresge Fellow
• 2015 'Dear Architecture' Competition Winner

Wilkins serves as Creative Director of the Wilkins Project, a social justice and strategic design alliance. His books include The Aesthetics of Equity (2007), Ruffneck Constructivist (2014), and Diversity Among Architects: From Margin to Center (2016). He was formerly director of the Detroit Community Design Center and continues to advocate for architects to prioritize public welfare over commercial interests.