Design for Everybody: Ming Thompson and Christina Cho Yoo on Working Coast to Coast and Building a Culture of Deep Trust

By Caitlin Dashiell

Christina Cho Yoo and Ming Thompson are the founders of Atelier Cho Thompson, a New Haven and San Francisco-based multidisciplinary practice working between architecture, interiors, graphics, and strategy. ACT's work frequently blurs the boundaries between typologies, and draws inspiration from their work in schools, offices, restaurants, and homes around the world. The firm and its principals have been the recipient of numerous design awards, including the AIA Young Architect Award.

ACT’s work has been published in Architect, Contract, Arch Daily, and Design Milk, among others. Christina and Ming have taught at California College of the Arts and have served on design juries around the U.S. In their conversation with Caitlin, Christina and Ming talk about the foundations for their careers that they bring to working together and the culture they’ve established, advising young architects to cultivate their varied interests.

CD: Tell me how your interest in architecture first developed.

MT: I always wanted to make things. I didn't know about architecture as a career field until I came to college - I followed a friend to his architecture class and fell in love with the discipline, the marriage between an artistic and a rational mind. I also loved that architecture dealt with parameters and constraints, and was connected to human life. I went to Yale and the great buildings of that campus, especially by Louis Kahn, made me want to become an architect.

CC: My interest started when my dad designed and built our house. He's not an architect, but he would go to the construction site and lead the team, building alongside them. Seeing him do this made architecture feel accessible for me as a profession. However, our neighbor across the street was an architect, and he told me architecture is often a profession where you're overworked, underpaid, and in school for a long time. My dad heard this and urged me to try something else [laughs]. However, even after working in a different career - structural engineering - my heart tugged me back to architecture.

B Natural Kitchen, photography by Samara Vise

What did you learn in studying architecture?

MT: I was frustrated in architecture school. I didn't like how there were so few real-world constraints of clients, budget, and environment; there was so much freedom that I felt lost. From this I learned that I love the real-world aspects of projects. I also felt that the culture of architecture schools, which is getting better, was built around a limited and stifling definition of what architecture is.

CC: I similarly learned that my involvement in academics would always center innovation around real constraints and issues in the world. I’ve also learned that skills like effective communication and empathy are really important as an architect in conjunction to design skills. Ming and I love dealing with different kinds of clients, from venture capitalists to schools and community groups, comprised of a diverse demographic of people for whom you must design and build consensus. There are things that aren't necessarily valued in school that get you far in practice like being able to relate and design with different types of people and projects.

Yes! We have to prioritize these skills more in school, both as professors and students. Walk me through how you got your start in the field and how you ended up working together.

MT: After graduating from Yale, I took two years off to go teach in China - I knew I wanted to go do something totally outside of architecture for a while. Coming back to the US, I went to the GSD for four years. I wish I had worked in the field first to have a better sense of what I wanted out of school; I initially wanted to work in museums and spent a lot of time working in some before coming out of grad school. After graduating, I went to an architecture firm in San Francisco, Bolin Cywinski Jackson, for three years. Christina came to BCJ shortly after, and we ended up sitting across from each other.

CC: I first worked at Arup for five years, got licensed as an engineer, and thought I was on that track. I then started working on some museum projects and couldn’t shake this desire to become an architect and be designing on the other side of this table, so I applied and got into the GSD where I met Ming and worked at some places I really admired, like Neri & Hu in Shanghai, Mass Studies in Seoul, and SHoP Architects in New York.

A pivotal moment was working at SHoP while taking a year off school to work on the Google Headquarters. That dream project helped me get through the rest of architecture school - being older, in school debt, and put through the wringer - but knowing that I had made the right decision because I’d be able to work on such exciting projects with my unique hybrid background. After graduation from the GSD, I ended up at BCJ with Ming, and years later, we started our firm together.

MT: The specific project that spurred the start of our firm was a tiny parking day installation we did, designing and building a kit-of-parts furniture set. We created the event and graphics, invited partners, brought community food trucks. We collaborated with storefront owners and neighbors. We realized how fun it was to design a strategy as well as the space. That project made us say that all these “side interests” are part of our central process.

“...all these ‘side interests’ are part of our central process.”

What have been the significant moments since you've been together?

MT: A big milestone would be that, after three years together in the Bay Area, I moved back to the East Coast. Now we have an equal number of people between New Haven and San Francisco, and we are working on projects together. I think we’ve figured it out - thank goodness for technology. We have bi-coastal meetings weekly and use all the tools we can to stay together as an office.

I was at a cocktail party recently and someone said, “Being across the country from one another, why do you and your partner even stay together?” I said “That’s a crazy question. Why wouldn’t we stay together?” We’re better together, combining our resources, knowledge, and ideas for projects.

CC: Because a big client of ours is in San Francisco, Ming actually comes here often. Sometimes our employees go to each other's offices and attend conferences or furniture fairs together. The bicoastal nature of our firm really makes both offices stronger. We really feel connected with each other.

Tell me a little bit about where you are in your career today.

MT: This is year five for us, and it has been a really exciting year. We've grown our team. We started winning awards at a national scale and getting published more. We started a product line, which was something we talked about for a long time. In addition to our core value around multi-disciplinarity, we’ve been talking a lot about hybrid typologies as we see the way people live and work is changing, while also focusing on design with social impact and relevance.

CC: We’ve gotten to a place where our firm is able to choose our projects, compensate our employees competitively, provide reasonable work-life balance, and be acknowledged in the press and awards. I’m thankful to be able to work on projects that are meaningful, provocative, and stimulating.

Market St Prototype, photography by Marble Rye Photography

It’s encouraging to hear more and more designers talking about the importance of financial security and creating equitable work environments. Let’s talk about what the biggest challenges have been.

MT: For better or worse, because of technology and our habits, work and life are more blended than ever. Sometimes I go to meetings where I'm the only woman there, or the only person of color there, especially in Connecticut. When I bring my son to meetings, people are sometimes surprised, but it’s a good thing; this is a real-world element that all parents face. We all have other people and things to take care of in our lives, man or woman. Making these challenges visible can be eye-opening for others and helps the conversation around equity.

CC: Ming and I have found creative ways to be present for our kids and still do fulfilling work professionally. I’m bringing my daughter to a meeting with a millworker this week, for example. I think she’s going to love the CNC machine, but she will probably wish the cabinets were rainbow colored [laughs]. There's a lot of attrition amongst women at a certain point in their career because this profession isn't all that accommodating towards mothers. I was at the Monterey Design Conference recently, and I needed to pump. They were going to send me to some place over a one mile away, so I just found a closet nearby. I mentioned to one of the organizers that the next time they have this conference, it would be nice for them to accommodate needs of women who might be pregnant or nursing.

Oh my goodness.

At some point, Ming and I were pregnant and nursing at the same time, pumping in the back of a car before meetings and breastfeeding during conference calls - thank goodness for the mute button! That said, we have the luxury of having our own firm and finding ways to make it work. I do find that women, especially working moms, are extremely effective at project management, doing tasks expediently, and multitasking; these are all traits of a great employee and architect. Firms need to find ways of supporting working moms such that no one feels like they need to quit altogether or feel penalized for taking care of familial obligations. In our firm, all our employees get laptops and work remotely to some degree. We’ve cultivated a culture of deep trust and communication to make remote collaboration work without sacrificing quality.

“When I bring my son to meetings, people are sometimes surprised, but it’s a good thing; this is a real-world element that all parents face.”

On the flip side of challenges, what have been some of the biggest highlights?

MT: When we started, our business model was such that we wanted to do architecture, interiors, graphics, and strategy. That has led to great business relationships, and to us becoming partners with clients early in the project. That business model being recognized by clients and institutions is gratifying because our work is outside the box and at times people go, “Are you an architect or what?” [laughs], as though architecture is only one thing. It’s exciting that people are open to our approach.

CC: When we started this firm, we wondered if people would think we were spreading ourselves too thin. We took a leap of faith and believed that providing a holistic suite of design services would yield a much stronger end product and a streamlined approach that would be highly sought after.

These leaps of faith are key. Who are you admiring right now?

MT: I've been admiring the change in leadership at architecture schools. Sarah Whiting being the new Dean at the GSD and Deborah Berke being Dean at Yale - conversations are changing. One other person I was thinking about is Alice Waters, as a great chef and great business owner. Once you get to a point in your career, you use your voice to bring attention to broader social issues.

CC: I was actually going to say Alice Waters, too! Another reason why someone like Waters inspires our firm is because she shows that you can be multidisciplinary. She also showed us that you could do both high-end design and non-profit work; we don’t have to choose.

I also admire Lyndon Neri & Rossana Hu. I am so thankful for their mentorship. They are constantly pushing the boundaries of architecture, interiors, branding, product, and furniture with breathtaking artistry and grace.

Summer Street Lobby, photography by Nicole Franzen

This ties nicely into telling me a bit about your core missions.

MT: My personal mission is to develop a more equitable profession, but professionally, we say that design is for everybody. It’s about creating spaces that are built to be loved and last. It’s about creating spaces that are meeting their mission and create joy.

CC: Design is about creating spaces that give life beyond the present use. The building industry contributes 40-50% of the world's greenhouse gases, and when you demolish a building, it's not because it’s falling apart, but because the building is not performing for its desired program or looking outdated. As architects, we have a big role in sustainability by creating timeless designs and spaces that people do not want to tear down.

What do you wish you knew when you were starting out that you know now?

CC: I wish someone had encouraged me to embrace all the different interests I had, because that's just the way my brain worked. Invest the time in cultivating your varied interests, and one day you will see how the dots connect. Don’t be afraid to take the unconventional path, and ask for advice along the way.

MT: I second that completely.

“...make that extra effort to express your gratitude. Time is valuable.”

Advocating for mentorship is key. In a similar vein, what advice do you have for those starting their career now?

MT: Coming out of school, it's great to work at places perfectly in line with what you want to do, or what fills in knowledge gaps. But, a career is not just 9am-5pm - how you spend your mental energy on the off hours influences your career too. Figure out the kind of projects and schedules you want to have. Do you want a job where you work 9-5 and don't take your job home, or if you want a job that’s all-consuming? As you get older, it's important to think about what you want your life to be shaped like.

CC: Take advantage of internships as a way of working for, and learning from, people that you really admire. Now that I have my own firm, I'm looking back and all these different firms that I worked for, realizing that our firm is a hybridization of the best things that we’ve learned from our experiences. Also, I don’t know if this is a lost art in younger generations, but pay attention to how you write your cover letter and always follow up and thank your interviewer with a non-generic email or letter. It doesn't happen as much nowadays, I’ve noticed, so when someone does take the time, they really stand out.

We live in such a fast paced world that it seems like people forget to slow down and appreciate every conversation and every opportunity as something special.

CC: Ming and I always thank people for their time and stay specific about what excited us in our conversations when we follow up on project needs. I wonder if this often gets lost because the world has become all about sound bytes, but make that extra effort to express your gratitude. Their time is valuable.