Torri Smith is the Principal and founder of ArcBae, which serves as the in-house design consultant and project designer for J29:7 Planning & Development Corporation. She is a Detroit based designer, artist and educator; her investigations span from environmental justice and design biology to storytelling and urban placemaking.

Torri Smith previously served as the Economic Development and Design Manager for East Jefferson Development Corporation and was responsible for developing and designing properties within the $680 Million Development Plan on Detroit’s East Side. Prior to that she worked with Rossetti Architects where she designed and executed large scale architectural projects such as the Masterplan redesign of Lambeau Field (Green Bay, Wisconsin) and renovation of ISM Raceway (Phoenix, Arizona). Torri is a graduate from Taubman College Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), having received her Masters of Architecture with honors. While at Taubman, she was on the committee for NOMAS (the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students) and a representative, cofounder and advocate for the grassroots student led organization Design Justice Actions.

Ms. Smith also works as an artist and muralist within the city of Detroit, as she has a passion for facilitating and engaging artists within community spaces. Smith’s work has been featured in the Metrotimes, Michigan Chronicle and Detroit Free Press. Torri is the 2021-2022 Mellon Fellow for Taubman College Architecture and Urban Planning (University of Michigan), where she is an Intermittent Lecturer and also teaches architecture to high school students studying within the Detroit Public School system. Additionally, Torri has recently been awarded the 2021 Burton L. Kampner Thesis Prize Award for her project ‘Equitable Landscapes’, where she seeks to find ways to promote equitable community space within Southwest Detroit. With a background in hospitality, community engagement, planning and sustainable design, Torri’s focus has been on designing equitable spaces that benefit both community members and the environment.