Ritchie Yao
Design Critic in Architecture
Ritchie Yao is a Design Critic in Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He is also co-founder and partner at the Brooklyn/Detroit-based architecture and strategic design studio, Dash Marshall, founded in 2011.
Dash Marshall (Dash) believes that architecture without a story is just shelter. The studio works across scales, from the perfect place to read a book up to urban proposals that help cities ensure new technologies such as autonomous vehicles generate positive outcomes for everyday people.
Dash Marshall was recognized as a Next Progressive by Architect Magazine in 2020 and AN Interior top 50 firms for 2020. The studio has been featured in numerous publications, including Elle Decor, Architectural Digest Pro, Dwell, Curbed, Dezeen, and The Architect’s Newspaper.
Before co-founding Dash Marshall, Ritchie cut his teeth working for OMA and David Adjaye. At Rem Koolhaas’ Office of Metropolitan Architecture, he worked on a 25-story housing tower in NYC and Cornell University’s Milstein Hall. At David Adjaye Associates he was a core part of the team working on the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Ritchie received an M.Arch I AP degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design and a BSE in Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo.