Biography

Mr. Toby Chai (AADipl RIBA / ARB Part 2, AFHEA) is a Lecturer of Design and Associate Director for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (Social Sciences). He joined Northeastern University London in 2023 and is currently teaching Architecture, and Experience and Interaction Design.

He completed his RIBA/ARB Part 2 studies at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in 2019 and has since then applied his architectural training to develop a practice focused on social justice and civic participation. He has worked with grassroots organisations in tackling issues related to human rights, immigration, disability and welfare rights. He runs Chromatic Agency, collaborative practice with Landscape Architect Sandy Rompotiyoke.

Mr. Toby Chai previously collaborated with practices such as Forensic Architecture and C+ Arquitectas on projects exhibited internationally. Before teaching at the University, he was an associate lecturer at London College of Communication.

Qualifications

PgCert in Academic Practice in Art, Design and Communication, University of the Arts London (2023)

AA Diploma, ARB/RIBA Part 2, Architectural Association School of Architecture (2019)

Research

Expeditions

Defiant and Life Affirming: London, UK, 2023

Whitstable Biennale 2022, Whitstable, UK, 2022

…or Silence? (Co-Curator), Online (Malaysia/UK), 2021

Articles

Selected Publications

Why Protesting as an Immigrant Feels Impossible, gal-dem, 2021

On the 1948-1960 State of Emergency in Colonized Malaya and the Emptiness of My Birth Certificate, The Funambulist, 2020