Design Changemakers 2022: Architect Christopher Al-Jumah is Using Design To Start Conversations

Who: Christopher Al-Jumah, architect and designer
Where to follow him: Instagram at @thisisyourmothercallme

When an architect tells you they want to start a conversation with their work, that could be a segue into arcane architect speak. But architect Christopher Al-Jumah wants his work to start understandable back-and-forths among ordinary people — both through design that fosters conversation (stoop-inspired seating for a café and community space) and work that begs to be discussed (furniture built from the plywood that boarded up stores during the 2020 Black Lives Matters protests).

A Houston native, Al-Jumah says he is influenced by just about anything that comes across his table. While Al-Jumah is an architect by trade — he received his degree from the University of Houston and now lives in New York — he’s also a furniture maker, curator and art director. He’s worked at design studios like Situ, WeShouldDoItAll, and MESH Architectures, and in 2020 designed the acclaimed cafe and community space, Daughter, in Crown Heights, which was inspired by the iconic stoops of Brooklyn. 

Al-Jumah has recently expanded his individual work, first as a necessity during the pandemic, but the momentum kept building. “In New York, life just moves so fast,” he says. “You rarely just sit still with yourself.” Al-Jumah has branched out into more curation and exhibition design, informing much of his current work. “I started becoming a little more reflective after having so much alone time. I think that reflective nature moved into my work and practice a bit. I started to reflect about the current state of everything.” As he ventures into more social commentary, Al-Jumah is examining the way our society reacts to social justice. “I developed this tendency to examine social justice trends.” 

One recent installation, Performative Politics, was a response to the George Floyd protests across the U.S. and their interplay with social media. Al-Jumah created modern furniture made from the wooden boards used on buildings during protests and unrest in New York City. “It’s an examination of how we take these political and social issues and build rhetoric around it online. I’m not interested if social media is good or bad, but what exactly is happening to rhetoric? What is happening to how we discuss things online and how does that translate into policy change or a lack of policy change.” We talked with Al-Jumah to see what inspires him and where he thinks the world of architecture is headed in 2022. 

Apartment Therapy: What do you remember as being design inspirations growing up? 

ChristopherAl-Jumah: I was always really into art. When I was a kid, I used to get excited about making frame by frame animations. I thought I was going to create comic books and cartoons. When it came time for high school, I started to study industrial design—I was really into furniture and products. I somehow settled into architecture around that time and I just never looked back. 

AT: Is there a specific architect you look up to? 

CA: Jonathan Jackson, the creative director, and Sarah Nelson Jackson, a partner,  at WeShouldDoItAll. He’s been my mentor for a few years, and is definitely a guiding light through the creative industry, which can be very difficult to navigate. Leading up to meeting Jonathan I had experienced a lot of the issues that are now coming into light regarding workplace culture in architecture. WeShouldDoItAll appealed to me because they had a very strong mission statement about who they were as people. When I started working there it was the first job I had where I felt like the partners were transparent and respectful. The culture they instill at WSDIA is incredible and they deserve a lot of recognition for that. 

AT: How would you describe your work or style? 

CA: Research is really central to the work I do. I always try to research when starting a project, as a way to narrow down the process. My parents are scientists, so I grew up around researchers. I always idealize that a little bit, and try to carry that into my own practice. 

AT: Where do you see the architecture space going in 2022? 

CA: I think our relationship with architecture is becoming more temporary, in a way. In a lot of manners, we’re looking for more and more iconic statements to be recycled as our attention spans shorten. We’re also starting to feel more and more pressure to be using sustainable, conscious materials. I’m becoming increasingly aware of our material usage, and I think it’s going to continue in that direction. 

AT: What would you say sets you apart from your peers? What do you see as being your special thing?

CA: I think it’s that I’m less precious about my ideas, my practice, or my final designs. That lack of preciousness is very freeing, when you open yourself up to iteration and change. 

AT: Daughter has received lots of recognition for its innovative design. What inspired that space?

CA: The space [at Daughter] itself is narrow, long and super high, so it’s a bit awkward. I realized doing bleacher-style seating was the best way to get a lot of people in there. The idea originally stemmed from necessity; and then knowing that neighborhood really well, that’s when the whole idea of incorporating brownstones and community came into the mix—that ethos of sitting and being around each other. The architecture needed to reflect the ethos of the business, which is very community focused: They do like weekly lunches for essentially anyone in the community that can’t afford to [dine there]. It was just about creating a space that matched their aesthetic and the brownstone concept was kind of secondary.

AT: Your exhibition Performative Politics was heavily influenced by what was happening in your community. Can you talk about that process? 

CA: I remember walking around in spring of 2020 during the George Floyd protests and seeing all the boarded up storefronts. As a designer, the first thought you have is, ‘Oh, this is some really nice free wood they’ll eventually take down!’ Then the idea became more and more realistic. I started seeing people taking the wood down and then I would just be on the side of the street and I would pick it up, put it in a truck and take it home. I thought critically about where this wood came from and all the hurt that came from it. Then you start thinking about your responsibility to use this material, because, you know, it’s like Spiderman—great power, great responsibility. You’re given important historical material and responsibility about what to do with it. I started thinking about what the best use would be, I got this idea of creating something beautiful from something that was so painful for so many. That concept came into the form as well, which was all about making the wood feel like it’s floating. It’s like an elegant kind of wave form sitting on these chrome hollow legs. 

AT: Any big plans for 2022 or beyond you can share with us? 

CA: The next exhibition I’m working on is tentatively called Bored of Borders…not too many details yet. It’s in the early stages but similar to how Performative Politics was an observational critique of social issues and how social media distorts them and hijacks the dialogue. I’m examining borders between countries and all the positive and negative effects borders create.

AT: What makes you feel at home in your own space?

CA: Oh, you know what? I’m gonna have a wholesome answer. Good company. My mind went to books, my guitar that I’ve had for 25 years, or photos. My house is decorated with stuff that my friends have all made — a table, a painting — that stuff all makes it home, but having friends over is the best thing. 

AT: What legacy do you hope to leave? 

CA: I wrestle with that. I go back and forth between the more individualistic mindset and the more involved mindset. I didn’t move to New York with a solid network, and I remember the inaccessibility of the industry when I first arrived. Part of me wants to be a figure that brings accessibility; like if someone wants a portfolio looked at or if somebody wants some advice, they can reach out to me. The other side is, I would also like to be remembered for being good at what I do. (Everyone wants to be remembered as a big name.) So I don’t know… somewhere between the two. 

Interview has been edited and condensed.