AMMA is a collaborative studio working across design, architecture, planning, and public art. Guided by the idea that some problems are solved by widening the frame, we seek opportunity at every scale and in every context. We act as systems artists for governments, institutions, nonprofits, and developers who believe spatial change is possible and urgent, and who aim for lasting, positive impact.

The built environment faces intertwined challenges: carbon emissions, climate impacts, social inequities, labor diminishment, housing shortages, and power structures that keep the public from the public realm. Spatial thinking alone will not fix them, yet none can be fixed without it. For nearly 20 years, Michael Murphy and his teams have used architecture as catalyst, partner, ally, and steward. AMMA advances that mission by rethinking not only buildings but also how we finance, build, and sustain them, forging new partnerships to meet larger challenges in a changing field.

Selected Case Studies

TOWARDS

TOWARDS is an immersive public artwork created in collaboration with Samuel Stubblefield, with support from The Hearthland Foundation, Next Step Chicago, and Gertie. The project combines video, light, music, and spoken word, the installation gathered people across America filmed moving toward a chosen path.

Presented at Chicago's Navy Pier in Fall 2024, TOWARDS weaves together a portal of stories from cities and landscapes across the country into a single composition of individual movement toward collective action.

Read more about the project here.

Project InfoYear: 2024
Location: Chicago, Illinois

CollaboratorsSam Stubblefield, Ethan Rainbolt, The Hearthland Foundation, Next Stop Chicago, Gertie

Video CreditsSam Stubblefield