• Faculty

  • Christopher Beck

    Part-time Lecturer

    Email
    beckc@newschool.edu

    Office Location
    L - 2 West 13th Street

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    Christopher Beck

    Profile

    Chris Beck designs, draws, organizes and writes in Brooklyn, and is a Registered Architect in the state of New York. He has over 10 years experience in the Architecture, Construction and Engineering industries, working at various community-based non-profits and architecture firms with a primary focus on affordable housing. His research examines the creative process in art and design fields, focusing on the effects of digital technology on methods of making, and systems of capital in labor and production. He also is an advisor for Architectural Workers United (AWU), utilizing his experience organizing the first private-sector architecture union. His book, The Labor of Architecture: Creativity, Design, and the Building of a New Class Consciousness, is available with Monthly Review Press.

    Degrees Held

    M.A. in Liberal Arts, The New School (ongoing)

    M.Arch, Rhode Island School of Design

    B.S. in Architecture, University of Maryland-College Park

    Professional Affiliation

    Architectural Workers United (AWU)

    Recent Publications

    Book

    The Labor of Architecture: Creativity, Design, and the Building of a New Class Consciousness, Monthly Review, 2025

    Articles

    "Architecture Today, America Tomorrow: How Designers’ Unions Are Fighting for a Fairer Future", Power at Work, 2025

    "Designers Can Help Build a Stronger Labor Movement", The Progressive, 2024

    "Architects Are Starting to See Themselves as Workers — and Organizing Unions", Jacobin, 2023

     

    Research Interests

    Design Production, Creative Process, Labor Process, Craft, Technology, Organizing, Unions

    Portfolio

    cgbeck.com

    Current Courses

    Design Studio 2
    PGAR 5002, Spring 2026

    Labor and Design
    PSCE 5120, Spring 2026

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