Taubman College lecturer in architecture and design director of the detroit-based design studio M1/dtw, Christian Unverzagt was profiled in the August 2009 issue of Architectural Record about his ability to leverage design for work ranging from interiors to books and brands.
The article, “M1/dtw: Mixing architecture and graphic design,” explores Unverzagt’s interdisciplinary work.
Ever since he was a skateboarding teenager in the 1980s, Unverzagt has taken it upon himself to be creative about the possibilities of where architectural design begins and ends, from brands to building.
Of his youth, he says, “We had to create our own landscape, so I would design and build backyard ramps. And I would design the flyers to raise money for them. I was producing a brand.”
Today, he is both an academic and practioner, as the founder of M1/dtw, a nationally recognized, multidisciplinary studio working at the intersection of design and cultural production. He joined UM’s architecture faculty in 1999. Unverzagt coordinates the summer 3G studio for incoming graduates, teaching drawing, representation and graphic communication. He is the faculty advisor for Dimensions – the annual student-produced journal of architecture at Michigan, a publication he also coedited as a student. He is also the Creative Director for the Taubman College Communications Team.
Unverzagt has an undergraduate degree in architecture from the University of Michigan, studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture in London, and received a Master of Architecture (with distinction) from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in Los Angeles. He is the founding designer of the Taubman College’s Michigan Architecture Papers, a publication series which has received numerous awards including a Series Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and a 50 Books Award from the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)
Learn more about Unverzagt and M1/DTW in the full article here.
He was also recently interviewed by Model D about doing business in Detroit. Here is what he had to say.
