C Jacob Payne is a designer and researcher working across fabrication, interaction, and spatial design. He studied architecture and environmental studies at Yale and is currently completing his Master of Architecture at MIT.
His work develops new approaches to architectural representation as a form of historical inquiry, with a focus on Black architectural heritage. He explores how incomplete archives can be reconstructed through new representation modes to make gaps legible rather than resolved. At the MIT Design Intelligence Lab, his projects integrate digital fabrication and embedded electronics to prototype AI-driven objects and physical experiences.
Professionally, he has worked with 2x4, LAUN Studio, Burr Salvatore Architects, and Júlia Esqué Studio on projects spanning architecture, furniture, and industrial design.