In a move poised to shape the next chapter of one of the country’s most influential architecture schools, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art has appointed architect, educator, and theorist Michael Young as the next dean of The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture. Young—a longtime faculty member whose work bridges speculative digital practice and deeply material experimentation—will assume the role on April 1, 2026.
The announcement marks a pivotal moment for Cooper Union, whose School of Architecture has long been defined by its appetite for risk, its commitment to design experimentation, and its central role in architectural discourse in New York and beyond. Young, currently an associate professor and coordinator of graduate studies, has been deeply embedded in that culture for two decades. His appointment, many inside the institution suggest, puts a distinctly forward-looking voice at the helm at a time when architectural education is grappling with social, technological, and environmental transformation.
Young is best known as the co-founder of Young & Ayata, the critically acclaimed practice whose work—both built and speculative—has drawn wide attention for its bold, image-driven investigations. The firm has received the Progressive Architecture Award, the Design Vanguard Award, the AIANY Honor Award, and, most recently, the Architecture Award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters, an honor shared by some of the field’s most important innovators. Their projects have been exhibited globally, placing Young among a generation of architects redefining how digital tools shape spatial possibility and architectural expression.
His intellectual footprint is equally robust. Young is the author of The Estranged Object (Graham Foundation, 2015) and Reality Modeled After Images (Routledge, 2022), two books that probe the evolving relationship between representation, perception, and design. His academic résumé includes stints as the Louis I. Kahn Visiting Professor at Yale University and the Joseph Esherick Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley, along with receiving the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome for 2019–2020.
But it is Young’s longstanding connection to Cooper Union—he joined the faculty in 2005—that many say makes him uniquely suited for the role. Cooper Union President Steven McLaughlin emphasized this duality of vision and history: “Michael is uniquely positioned to build on the Cooper Union’s legacy in design experimentation and our contribution to architecture pedagogy, while also evolving the school as a center for public discourse in architecture to address the urgent issues of our time here in New York City and around the world.”
Young steps into a position shaped in recent years by acting dean Benjamin Aranda, who described the appointment as both natural and momentous. “Michael Young represents the best of us,” Aranda said. “He is a dedicated teacher, inspiring architect, and distinguished academic, whose new role as dean formalizes the longstanding leadership he commands here among both students and faculty. I have the highest ambitions for our future together and can think of no one better to steward this precious institution forward.”
The coming years will be critical for architecture schools confronting cascading pressures—from technological acceleration to climate adaptation to the need for equity-driven pedagogies that respond to the social and political conditions architects now face. Cooper Union, with its historic mission of accessible and often tuition-free education, sits at the center of these debates. Young’s appointment hints at a future in which the school may double down on speculation, interdisciplinarity, and public engagement.
For Young, the opportunity appears both personal and aspirational. “This is truly an honor,” he said in accepting the role. “I am thrilled and humbled with the opportunity before me to work with the students, faculty, staff, and President McLaughlin on the next transformations for the school that continually inspires me.”
Founded in 1859 by inventor and philanthropist Peter Cooper, the institution has long cultivated architects who influence global discourse, from modernist pioneers to contemporary experimentalists. With Young’s appointment, the school is making a statement: the future of architectural education lies in challenging conventional boundaries while deepening its civic mission.
Young’s leadership is expected to shape not only the school’s pedagogy but also Cooper Union’s evolving public role—a platform for debate, inquiry, and design innovation at a time when architecture’s purpose is being redefined.
Whether guiding the next generation of architects through AI-driven workflows, climate-responsive design strategies, or new realms of image and form, Young now takes one of the discipline’s most symbolic and scrutinized positions. And true to Cooper Union’s legacy, it arrives with high expectations: to imagine what architecture—and architectural education—can become next.
