Could Be Design creates seriously playful spaces that initiate participation, companionship, and solidarity among multiple communities.

Directed by Joseph Altshuler and Zack Morrison, the Chicago- and Urbana-based design practice imagines the built environment as an animate being with agency of its own. From exuberant interiors to interactive public spaces, the practice positions architecture as an active character in the world, enacting a built environment full of vibrant color, shapely form, and intimate encounters.

Could Be Design’s work has been exhibited at Miami Art Week, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Elmhurst Art Museum, and the Detroit Month of Design. In 2023, Could Be Design was named a contributor to the Chicago Architecture Biennial’s fifth edition, selected as a University Design Research Fellow at Exhibit Columbus, and named one of the six winners of the 2023 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers, awarded by The Architectural League of New York. In 2022, Could Be Design was spotlighted in Metropolis magazine’s “New Talent” feature and named #15 in Newcity magazine’s Design 50: The Fifty People Who Shape Chicago. The practice was also featured in Architect magazine’s “Next Progressives” series. Follow our adventures on Instagram.

Could Be Design also publishes SOILED, an architectural literary magazine, and serves as the Artistic Director of the Chicago Sukkah Design Festival, a public art and architecture exhibition that includes multiple pavilion installations that celebrate cultural heritage, designed and built in partnership with community organizations in the North Lawndale neighborhood.

Principals

Joseph Altshuler

PRINCIPAL AND COFOUNDER

Joseph Altshuler is an architectural designer and Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Architecture. In addition to his work as a design practitioner, Joseph propagates design excellence as a curator, editor, and author. Joseph’s first book, Creatures Are Stirring: A Guide to Architectural Companionship, prompts readers to befriend architecture through a collection of essays, flash fictions, and case studies that illustrate solidarity among humans, nonhumans, buildings, interiors, and the broader environment. He is also the founding editor of SOILED, an architectural literary magazine. Each of his book-bound and curatorial efforts create new entry points for public audiences to engage in spatial ideas.

Zack Morrison

PRINCIPAL AND COFOUNDER

Zack Morrison is an architectural designer with over 10 years of professional experience working with private clients, developers, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. Zack has taught design studios at the University of Kentucky, and he was a masterclass teaching fellow at Lawrence Technological University. In addition to his work as a design practitioner, Zack proliferates design excellence as a furniture designer and maker, crafting objects for homes, offices, and community spaces. Zack’s design approach marries functional requirements with charismatic liveliness, positioning each furnishing as an interactive companion that animates everyday life with unexpected moments of joy.

Our Design Services

We help community organizations, cultural institutions, academic institutions, private clients, and local governments achieve their goals by creating everything from exuberant interiors to interactive public spaces.

Architectural Design

Interiors

Creative Placemaking

Installations

Exhibition Design

Public Art

Urban Design

Streetscape Design

Landscape Design

Our Impact

Our practice positions architecture as an active character in the world, enacting a built environment full of vibrant color, shapely form, and intimate encounters. These qualities of our work create a tangible impact for our clients and partners.