Van Dyck Murphy Studio is the experimental research and design practice of Kelley Van Dyck Murphy and Jonathan Murphy. Their work is focused on merging ideas related to materiality, craft, and experiential narratives. The practice engages in built and speculative projects that explore ideas of focused contextuality, materially-driven form and projected space.
Kelley is an assistant professor of architecture at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. In the School of Architecture, she teaches design studios and seminar courses in representation, digital media and material studies. In 2019, she was awarded research grants from both Washington University and the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis for research in 3-d printing in non-traditional mediums. The research focuses on assemblies that yield innovative visual or tactile effects while also engaging specific material performance. The work confronts the seemingly disparate modes of physical making and digital form-giving with the introduction of a new material system that expands the aesthetic and performative potential of aggregated enclosure assemblies. Kelley earned a Master of Architecture from Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.
Jonathan is a design associate at Christner Architects in St. Louis. His past projects range from higher-education research buildings to large-scale corporate/commercial projects in the U.S. and abroad. His background in urban design allows him to incorporate site-sensitive design strategies that integrate themselves into complex urban settings. A focus on complex geometries, conceived and resolved through a diverse digital toolset has evolved throughout his career. Jonathan earned a Master of Architecture, a Master of Urban Design and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Washington University. He has practiced architecture in St. Louis, New York, and Shenzen.