Michael Cho

As senior designer, Michael leads the collaborative process through design and construction to solutions that combine shared principles and common-sense practices. With a broad portfolio, he is able to guide the clients, consultants, and the team on a wide range of services from product design to large-scale urban development.

Originally a biology major, Michael drove to his university classes through miles of California suburban developments, observing their impact upon communities and the environment. He decided to follow what he felt was his responsibility as a human being—to learn how humans can live in a way that would lessen such interference with nature. As Michael's father was a contractor in Korea, he had grown up in the industry and saw architecture as a means of actualizing this goal. He began taking architecture courses, eventually graduating with degrees in architecture from the University of California at Berkeley and Columbia University.

Balancing social concerns with financial realities has become essential to his job, but viewing the world as a coherent system with inseparably interwoven processes helps him seek underlying design principles that enhance gains in productivity. Whether a Fuzhou skyscraper, a government ministry in Azerbaijan, or a residential tower in Brooklyn—Michael designs buildings whose positive impact on the environment and communities become a part of everyday life.