Philip Horton is a clinical assistant professor, a senior sustainability scientist, and he is currently acting as the Interim Director for The Design School. He received a master's in architecture with commencement honors from the Arizona State University's College of Architecture and Environmental Design (now the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts).

Horton acted as faculty advisor to Team ASUNM (Arizona State University and the University of New Mexico) on the SHADE house (Solar Homes Adapting for Desert Equilibrium) for the U.S. Department of Energy's 2013 Solar Decathlon, and as the studio professor for both the Green Futures Exchange with An Najah National University in Nablus, Palestine as well as the Waimea Nui Community Development Initiative with the Native Hawaiian Homesteaders' Association. Previous projects include the Comfort Zones project at Terminal 2 of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (done with Tri-Core Engineering of Phoenix), the new OASIS bus shelters for the City of Phoenix (done with TranSystems Corporation of Phoenix), and the 7th Avenue Lampshade Canopies in Phoenix (done with Waibel & Associates Landscape Architecture).