Toby Chai

Biography

Toby Chai is an as Assistant Professor of Architecture and Associate Director for Belonging in the social sciences at Northeastern University London, where he teaches architecture, design, and UX courses with a particular focus on inclusive design, post and decolonial discourses, and disability rights.

His research and teaching explore participatory and interdisciplinary methodologies, with a strong commitment to promoting Indigenous methodologies and scholarship. As, he leads equality, diversity, and inclusion initiatives across the institution. Toby has contributed to several international exhibitions, including the Chicago Architecture Biennials (2019, 2025), International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (2024), and Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (2017).

His research addresses Imperialism’s far-reaching effects on identity, ecology, and politics, interrogating how inequality is systematically constructed while affirming the experiences of those who face injustice. Toby’s work explores the entanglements between migration, ecology, disability, race, and the law, often through an autoethnographic lens. Working extensively in interdisciplinary contexts, he collaborates with grassroots activist organizations, researchers, human rights activists, and scientists to identify opportunities where design can support their causes.