The buildings in our lives don’t just provide us with shelter. They shape our moods, our productivity, our relationships to each other, and our health. “What we build affects how people live, learn, heal, commune, and commute,” says architectural designer Michael Murphy.

In 2008, Murphy founded MASS Design Group, a global, nonprofit architecture firm with offices in 20 countries across the globe. As lead designer on such projects as the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the Butaro Hospital, and the National Gun Violence Memorial, among others, Murphy is showing us how architecture can boost individual health, foster equitable communities, and have a positive impact on the planet. In December 2022, he transitioned away from his role as president and CEO of MASS to focus on new initiatives. 

Murphy wants to shift our expectations of what the buildings around us can do and, in the process, improve our everyday lives. “The search for beauty in our built world is not a ‘nice to have,’” Murphy says. “It is the fastest path to more equitable distribution of dignity in our world, and architecture’s primary function.”