Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee is the Arthur Rotch Design Critic at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He is also the co-founder and principal of Serie Architects London, Mumbai and Beijing. He previously served at the GSD as Associate Professor in Practice of Urban Design (2013-20) and Design Critic (2011-12). Prior to that he was the Director of the AA Projective Cities MPhil Programme (2010-12) and AA Diploma and Intermediate Unit Master (2002-09­). Lee graduated with the AA Diploma (Honours) from the AA, received the RIBA President’s Medal Commendation Award, and his Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture and Urbanism from the Berlage Institute and TU Delft. He also serves as the Mayor of London’s Design Advocate since 2017.

The work of Serie is underpinned by the exploration of the problem of type and the city, with particular focus on the renewed relevance of typological reasoning and experimentation – or working projectively in series – to describe, conceptualise and project new typological ideas for the city.

His distinctive and contextual designs have been recognized through many prestigious awards, including the World Architecture Festival Best Mixed-use Building Award 2019, Blueprint Award 2019, BD Young Architect of the Year Award, Architectural Record Design Vanguard and the Leading European Architects Review’s 10 visionary architects for the new decade. He is currently working on a string of high profile, civic, cultural and research campus buildings won through international competition, including the Singapore Science Park Cluster 1 and Singapore State Courts Complex. He has completed the new Net Zero Energy, School of Design & Environment, National University of Singapore, Housing & Development Board’s Oasis Terraces, Singapore, and the Jameel Art Centre, Dubai.

Christopher Lee is the author of Working in Series and co-authored Typological Formations: Renewable Building Types and the City, both published by AA Publications. He also co-edited Wiley Academy Architectural Design Issue Typological Urbanism: Projective Cities. Christopher Lee lectures widely and the works of Serie has been exhibited as a travelling solo exhibition in Hong Kong University Shanghai Architecture Gallery, Shanghai in 2009 and culminated in the Architectural Association School of Architecture in November 2010.

Research Areas

• History & Theory
• Housing
• Urbanism