ENGAGEMENTS
Selected press, professional engagements, and personal interviews
Creative director for ‘Resurgens Requiem’ - Krog Street Tunnel, Atl - March 7, 2024
Originally known as the ‘Terminus’ for its confluence of railroads, Atlanta’s urban plan formed along extensive arterial corridors of the rail industry which still exist today. While serving to connect the city to a regional network of commerce and travel, this converging infrastructure would simultaneously demarcate growing socio-economic discrepancies between diverging communities ‘across the tracks’
1911 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Atlanta’s Hulsey Yards
Dating to 1912, the Krog Street Tunnel, has become a symbolic center of artistic expression for the East Atlanta community, a visual ‘sounding board’ for the voices of Atlanta citizens, and a prime example of the connective tissue of the Beltline’s pedestrian-focused trail-front traversing underneath Atlanta’s historic Hulsey Yards Depot. A literal space of heightened resonance, the roughly 500ft tunnel has a reverberation time of approximately 3 seconds and amplifies the voices of pedestrians along its flanking walkways, mixed in with the soundscape of a key historical corridor of transportation for the city (cars, pedestrians, and MARTA still pass through tunnel and Hulsey Yards Rail Depot overhead). It is within earshot of major historical landmarks, including the Martin Luther King Center, birthplace, and relocated Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Drawing from the legacy of Atlanta’s diverse choral traditions championed by the late Grammy Award winning conductor, Robert Shaw, during his leadership of the Atlanta Symphony, the following performance, entitled Resurgens Requiem, is a nod to Atlanta’s timeless motto, “Rise Again”, and the many great musical ‘requiems’ or ‘tokens of remembrance’ conducted by Shaw in his storied career, celebrating the resounding resilience of Atlanta’s diverse artistic communities. By bringing the sounds of Atlanta’s premiere HBCU choir, Spelman Glee Club, to a space of acoustical and historically symbolic resonance, we hope to pay tribute to the diverse communities and industrial history along the Dekalb Ave Corridor through spiritual repertoire historically tied to the railroad industry, notably performed by the world-renowned Robert Shaw Chorale, accompanied by readings of Shaw’s writings on the ‘Conservative Arts’ to give additional context to the choral performance.
The performance is part of the South Arts Foundation’s annual Creative Placemaking Summit, and will tie into an accompanying tour of the local art installations that will include art within the Krog Tunnel and adjacent Forward Warrior Murals Project, as well as the artistic work of the Cabbagetown style writers.
Photo by Mark Chandler Photography
Invitation by Pulitzer Prize Nominated Composer, Michael Gilbertson, to Present lecture on acoustics to undergraduate students of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music
The lecture, entitled “You Listen to Brick”: The Building Blocks of Acoustic Consulting, delved into the history of acoustics and urban noise mitigation, an overview of the role of an acoustic consultant within a greater architectural effort, and discussed cutting-edge research in sound auralization, recent built projects pushing the limits of architectural design for desired acoustical properties, as well as experimental production efforts in acoustical immersion through architectural design and music performance.
For more information about courses offered at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music: CLICK HERE
Serving as a creative consultant and host committee member in collaboration with the South Arts Foundation and Creative Placemaking Communities, in the curation of a summit of artists, administrators, community leaders, planners, designers, and other professionals exploring models at the intersection of arts, cultural heritage, and public policy. The conference will offer a platform for industry leaders, innovators, experts and peer-to-peer opportunities to share knowledge, insights, and best practices. With a focus on innovation and collaboration, the summit has continually evolved to address the ever-changing landscape of creative placemaking by fostering a community of professionals dedicated to advancing the industry and ensuring its sustainable growth.
A Host Committee comprised of Atlanta leadership will collaborate with South Arts and CPC on showcasing Atlanta through tours of current placemaking projects and special creative activations throughout the city.
Join us as we learn from one another and celebrate the exceptional place that is the South and Appalachian region. To register for the summit: CLICK HERE
The Luminaries are a creative, ambitious group of young and emerging professionals advancing the mission of the ICAA Chicago Chapter through a series of immersive and educational events that encourage community, inclusivity and fun.
The Luminaries come from a diverse range of industries, united by a passion for the arts, architecture, history, design and culture. Join us year-round as we learn new skills, gather inspiration, form friendships and explore our beautiful city of Chicago together. For more information and upcoming events: CLICK HERE
Work Featured in the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art’s First National Conference and Exhibition
The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art held an inaugural national design conference in Charleston, South Carolina on November 3-5, 2023, entitled “Enduring Places”. The conference focused on themes of craftsmanship, preservation, and sustainability, featured lectures and panel discussions led by renowned practitioners, film screenings and site visits that offered deeper explorations of Charleston’s legacy of architecture, design, and preservation, and tours of new projects that supported thoughtful and contextual growth.
In conjunction with the National Conference, a juried art exhibition featured student and young professional work, on view within the historic Aiken-Rhett House in partnership with Historic Charleston Foundation. The exhibit featured a 3D printed model fabricated for my graduate thesis project, Sounding Sacred, illustrating an exercise in acoustical modeling through laser-etched acrylic. The exhibit was attended by leaders in architectural design and historic preservation from across the country, and featured in Veranda Magazine.
For more information about the model’s fabrication and exhibit curation: CLICK HERE
Founded in 2009, AIA Chicago’s Bridge program connects AIA Fellows and rising professionals within their first three-to-ten years of practice. It offers an eight-month curriculum of curated programs coupled with informal, one-on-one meetings between mentors and mentees. The program fosters mentorship, inspires leadership, and encourages AIA members to reinterpret and evaluate the trajectory of the practice. The result is a dynamic, multi-generational network of Chicago architects who continue to learn from one another long after the program ends.
Each selected Bridge participant is paired with a local AIA Fellow acting as their mentor. The program incorporates informal social events and organized mentorship discussions focusing on past experiences, career development, and the future of the architectural profession. Throughout the program, the mentors and mentees will also meet in a one-on-one setting to informally discuss specific professional goals while further developing and strengthening their relationship.
This program intends to Bridge the gap between the need for mentorship in our profession and the ability of experienced architects to pass on what they have learned to the future generation of architects.
The ICAA is pleased to announce Enduring Places: ICAA National Conference, which will take place in Charleston, South Carolina on November 3-5, 2023. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage in a diverse offering of talks, panel discussions, working sessions, and tours that focus on three themes: craftsmanship, preservation, and sustainability. Lectures and panels will be held in the Francis Marion Hotel at 387 King Street, a Charleston landmark with nearly 100 years of rich history.
In conjunction with the conference, the ICAA will host an exhibition of young artists’ and practitioners’ work, which will be open to the public in Charleston’s historic Aiken-Rhett House for the month of November. Participants with selected works will be awarded a $1,000 stipend for travel and lodging, and are invited to attend Enduring Places free of charge, providing an invaluable opportunity to learn from and connect with experts in the design and architecture fields. More details about the exhibition are available here.
“…Davis brings an interdisciplinary and international background to the Studio, having held internships with the Atlanta Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestras, Threshold Acoustics, and Theatre Projects Consultants. As a Henry Luce Scholar, Davis worked as an architect and researcher for Neri&Hu Design and Research Office in Shanghai, studying adaptive reuse and restoration efforts across China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Originally from Atlanta, Davis holds a Master of Architecture from Yale University and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Architectural Design and in Music from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, the Acoustical Society of America, and the U.S. Green Building Council.”
For more information about Studio Gang Architects, please visit studiogang.com
The Kyle Danley Taylor Memorial Scholarship for Architectural Studies is a $5,000 travel and research stipend to be awarded annually. The travel and study are to be executed in any of the southeast states, with a focus on classical and traditional design.
Developing a fascination in the history of the Southern Jewish diaspora while tracing family genealogy to the founding of Macon, Georgia and Montgomery, Alabama's first reform synagogues, I will examine the diversity of historic synagogue architecture in the Southeast, offering a comparative survey of a building typology that exemplifies the very essence of American architecture as a fusion of Old and New World precedents. Through a series of measured drawings and watercolors, I aim to study features of synagogues across the Southeast dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries in an attempt to capture the earliest fusions of Jewish identity and American classical vernacular.
CLICK HERE FOR A VIRTUAL GALLERY TOUR
South Arts, in partnership with Creative Placemaking Communities, is bringing the 2022 Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit: South & Appalachia to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Summit is designed to facilitate a network of artists, civic and cultural leaders, educators, public officials, and more from around the South to work in unison to build new and stronger partnerships, projects, programs, and policies. The experiences created at the summit will inform, inspire and empower the voices of those in the community.
Serving as a representative of the mission, interests, and initiatives of Longleaf in Gay, GA, the summit will provide an opportunity to connect with arts, culture, public policy and urban design professionals from across South and Appalachia in sharing stories, resources, and challenges faced by restorative community placemaking efforts in the region.
Click here to learn more about current placemaking efforts at Longleaf and information about the town’s biannual Cotton Fair.
Recipient of a fellowship sponsored by the ICAA Southeast Chapter to attend the organization’s fifth Regional Intensive, and first ever in Chicago.
The Intensive is an eight-day immersion in the ICAA’s core curriculum. The program is designed for professionals and students with limited time who seek a methodical introduction to the language of classical architecture. Participants learn how to draw, identify, and compose with the classical elements to form an understanding of the basic tenets on which the classical tradition is founded.
Topics include: The classical elements and composition, proportion, architectural representation through drawing and rendering, the study of precedent, and the literature of classical architecture. The week culminates in a studio project in which students use the classical canon in the design of a small building. Students are guided through a design process rooted in the Beaux-Arts system in which an initial parti is developed during an esquisse and a charrette into a finished design proposal. The program concludes with a review by an esteemed panel of architects.
Selected as the winner of a full scholarship to attend the 2022 Spring ‘Ramble’, organized by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, in Augusta, GA. Held twice a year, rambles consist of a three day immersive tour of an historic city or town in the state of Georgia, educating participants about local history, architecture and preservation efforts within the region. The ramble combines exclusive tours of historic properties not usually open to the public, conferences, lectures, and social events to connect leaders and preservation enthusiasts from across the state.
Home to the Masters Tournament, one of the most prestigious golf tournaments in the world, Augusta has a richly layered history of hospitality and Southern tradition diversely reflected in its architectural heritage. Originally serving as the state capital of Georgia from 1785 until 1795, the city has maintained and restored many historically significant homes and buildings such as the Cotton Exchange, the boyhood home of Woodrow Wilson (28th president of the United States), the Ezekiel Harris House, the George Walton home (signer of the Declaration of Independence), and Springfield Baptist Church, the oldest African American church in America.
Inherit GA is an initiative of The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation designed to engage preservation-minded young professionals in educational and social activities that are important to The Georgia Trust’s mission.
Participants visit lesser-known historic sites, take behind-the-scenes tours and take part in preservation efforts that are in progress throughout the state.
guest critic for Wentworth Institute of technology ARchitecture studio final review led by samuel maddox
Invited to present on professional efforts in the restorative masterplan for the town of Gay, Ga and serve as a guest critic for the midterm and final reviews of an undergraduate architecture capstone studio at Wentworth Institute of Technology entitled “From the Ground Up: Regional Design in the Alabama Black Belt”. A critical investigation of design and architectural efforts at the scale of the region, the studio drew from theories, topics, and architectural precedents ranging from environmental planning, landscape urbanism, and landscape ecology to communal land tenure, restorative tourism, and antiracist practices with a concerted interest in rural development in the Alabama Black Belt.
From the Ground Up: Regional Design in the Alabama Black Belt - studio-wide process work, Wentworth Institute of Technology School of Architecture & Design
11.17.2021- The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation announces the tenth year of its Places in Peril List. The list raises awareness about Georgia’s significant historic, archaeological and cultural resources, including buildings, structures, districts, archaeological sites and cultural landscapes. Through this program, the Trust encourages owners and individuals, organizations and communities to employ preservation tools, partnerships and resources necessary to preserve and utilize historic properties in peril.
Chosen as one of ten sites across the state, the Gay, GA Fairgrounds were inducted into the 2022 Places in Peril List, establishing a yearlong partnership with the GA Trust.
Located in Meriwether County's historic town of Gay and covering over 50 acres, The Gay, GA Fairgrounds originated as a cotton and peach packing facility along the Manchester Subdivision Railway, known for transporting Franklin Delano Roosevelt to his health retreats in nearby Warm Springs, GA. The grounds, containing a variety of structures dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries including a general store, farmhouse, packing warehouses, blacksmith shop, cotton gin, seed house, and grain silos, are host to a biannual crafts and antiques fair that just celebrated its 50th anniversary. Purchased by Keith Summerour in 2020, Atlanta-based Summerour & Associates Architects, Inc. is championing the preservation effort of the grounds and surrounding town of Gay, with the firm’s award-winning architectural design as an integral part of the master planning and revitalization strategy. Principal and owner, Keith Summerour, explains the vision: “as stewards of this land, we’re hoping to preserve its history while promoting an inclusive and interconnected global perspective. We’re embracing locally sourced goods and services, clean energy, and carbon efficient building methods”.
Leading a team of summer interns from Auburn University through an in-depth analysis and design effort, we would dive into the layered history of the town of Gay and surrounding county in the hopes of developing a restorative masterplan for the community. After initial visits to the Atlanta History Center archives and conversations with President and CEO, Sheffield Hale, about contemporary precedents for rural restoration, we sorted through archival material left within the aging structures of the Gay Ga fairgrounds. Documenting conversations with various members and leaders within the community, we then studied restoration efforts in similar-scaled towns across central Georgia, visiting adaptive reuse sites in and around Atlanta including Ponce City Market, The Goat Farm Art Center, T3 West Midtown Lofts, and The Georgia Trust’s headquarters in Atlanta’s Rhodes Hall. The culmination of the summer’s efforts were compiled into an application to nominate the fairgrounds for the GA Trust’s Places in Peril program.
The Gay, GA Fairgrounds revitalization effort has committed to promoting local business, participating in Georgia Agritourism efforts, and supporting environmental initiatives such as the Dark Sky Project. Work on the “Gay, GA Fairgrounds” is already well underway with the recent dedication of the town's 911 Emergency Center, the opening of a local brewery and taproom on the grounds, and the reopening of the town’s biannual fair following closure by the pandemic.
Upcoming events:
● November 27, 2021 - Chili Cook-off and Sheep Racing
● December 11, 2021 - A Not-So-Silent Night Tree Lighting
● June 12, 2022 - “Pasture Dash” Triathlon
Summerour & Associates looks forward to working with the Georgia Trust on the restoration of the fairgrounds, and in building a continued legacy for the town of Gay.
11.19.2021 - MAXXI - Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo opens ‘Traversing Thresholds’ in collaboration with Neri&Hu Design and Research Office. The exhibit, part of an annual ‘Studio Visit’ series sponsored by the Alcantara Corporation, partnered with Neri&Hu Design and Research Office to illustrate techniques and thematic approaches to design captured in the drawings and iterative studies of Venetian designer/architect, Carlo Scarpa, which are housed in the Maxxi Museum's architectural archive. Through careful analysis of hundreds of his layered sketches encompassing even his most obscure unfinished design projects, spatial techniques characteristic of Scarpa's work were cataloged and reinterpreted by Neri&Hu Design and Research Office with the use of innovative uses of of Alcantara materials. The result invites visitors into a labyrinth of thresholds, curious and playful moments that immerse viewers within the spatial conditions translated from his original sketches carefully curated throughout the gallery.
The Chinese notion of ‘jian’, or Japanese concept of ‘ma’, can be roughly translated as a "gap", "space", or "pause". In an architectural sense, this term is often used to describe a threshold condition, or the physical mediation between two contrasting spatial environments, such as interiority and exteriority, or that which is public or private. For Carlo Scarpa, who in his late career was known to be heavily influenced by his visits to Japan, the ever-evolving concept of a spatial threshold would come to evoke some of the most iconic explorations of scale, accessibility, and intimacy within his architectural designs. A consummate craftsman revered for his obsession over detail, Scarpa’s threshold conditions, showcase some of the architect’s most inventive experimentation with architectural scale and human form.
In the following exhibit concept, we aimed to celebrate Scarpa’s notions of the architectural threshold by examining ways in which the architect explored conditions of materiality, voyeurism, and the concept of circulation to create expressive and intimate moments within his designs. In our proposal, an expanded field of threshold conditions is created through a series of intersecting walls, inviting visitors to explore the materials, views, and intimate interactions created within each of these intersections. We hope that through the same attention to craft and detail that characterized the work of Carlo Scarpa, we may highlight the tactility, versatility, and elegance of Alcantara materials within architectural design.
GUEST CRITIC for GEORGIA TECH graduate studio on adaptive reuse led by ryan Roark
Invited to serve as a guest critic for a masters core studio review at Georgia Tech led by Ventulett NEXT Generation Visiting Fellow, Ryan Roark, regarding the future use of Atlanta’s first house museum, the Wrens Nest. Today a local storytelling center with a complicated and layered history, the residence was originally built for Joel Chandler Harris, author of Uncle Remus Tales, later used as the local headquarters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Designs and discussion within the studio centered around topics of re-appropriation, the pros and cons of restoration vs reconstruction, and the concept of reflective nostalgia as it relates to architectural design and adaptive reuse.
Historic Photograph of the Wrens Nest, courtesy of the Historic American Buildings Survey
Georgia Tech School of Architecture - Hinman Research Building
The scholarship provides tuition subsidy for the Christopher H. Browne Drawing Tours, which expand practical and theoretical knowledge of the classical tradition as manifest in the architecture, urbanism, and landscapes of Paris and Rome through the means of observational and analytical drawing.
The 2021 Christopher H. Browne Savannah Drawing Tour provides an opportunity to study, through field drawing, the rich diversity of architecture and unique urbanism of Savannah, Georgia - a living laboratory of design, building, and planning from the 18th century to the present day. Each day is structured around studying of representative examples of building types that form the fabric of Savannah, with a focus on their composition, detail, and contribution to the urbanism and landscape of the city.
Drawing locations will include the Independent Presbyterian Church, Juliette Gordon Low House, Owens Thomas House, Harper Fowlkes House, Telfair Academy, US Custom House, Scarbrough House, and the Andrew Low House. The four-day program will also include discussion and drawing studies of the squares of Savannah, and access to the recently restored Armstrong-Kessler Mansion.
Served as project manager and instructor at Summerour & Associates Architects, leading a team of summer interns from Auburn University in the cumulative design and development of a restorative masterplan for the town of Gay, Ga.
Approaching the masterplan from a macro and micro-scale perspective, initial efforts involved archival research into the history of the town and surrounding county at the Atlanta History Center, sorting through archival material left within aging structures within the town’s fairgrounds, and documenting conversations with various members and leaders within the community. This led to the development of a series of precedent case studies in visiting similar scaled towns across central Georgia, as well as adaptive reuse sites in Atlanta including Ponce City Market, The Goat Farm Art Center, T3 West Midtown Lofts, and The Georgia Trust’s headquarters in Atlanta’s Rhodes Hall.
Subsequent engagement in the design and restoration of over 20 spaces within the town, including a brewery, hotel, amphitheater, and multifamily residences, led to conversations on the concept of reflective nostalgia, and the intricacies and community impact of historic preservation and restoration efforts. In addition, attention was given to opportunities for sustainable practices in urban planning including septic, dark sky, and solar energy initiatives which set the basis for a re-envisioned town code.
Arranging conversations with urban planners and artistic leaders in the greater Atlanta community led to potential partnerships with The Creatives Project, National Monuments Foundation, and Georgia Trust, applying to the trust’s 2021 Places in Peril Fellowship to aid in future preservation efforts of the Gay, GA fairgrounds. Final deliverables included the installation and use of a low force stereolithography printer in the creation of a 1:128 scale site model of the proposed masterplan for the town, as well as a cumulative presentation delivered by the interns to the firm and special guests.
First day introduction to Auburn University Summer Interns
Concluding presentation by interns to Summerour & Associates Architects and guests
Served as a remote collaborator on the compilation and categorization of the last five years of multidisciplinary efforts across Neri&Hu Design Research Office. Rooted in the concept of ‘reflective nostalgia’ as characterized by philosopher, Svetlana Boym, projects within the firm span scale, typology, and approach to preservation within the fast-changing urban landscapes in which the firm engages. Efforts included site visits in Shanghai, Suzhou, and Kuala Lumpur, as well as theoretical research, drawing, editing and translation.
“Based in research, Neri&Hu “anchors their work on the dynamic interaction of experience, detail, material, form, and light” rather than limiting designs to one specific style. This ethos allows the company to thrive in a number of design disciplines, including architecture, interior design, furniture design, branding, and product design. As engaged with the world of interior design as with large-scale urban redevelopment projects, Neri&Hu’s corpus spans a wide range of works that display Western influences adapted to the particular contexts of Asia. This collection is a beautiful design resource and a must-have for admirers of the firm.” - Thames & Hudson
Serving as honors thesis advisor for Rongxuan (Roxanne) Zhou
“What We See, What We Hear: Experiencing and Designing Architecture through the Auditory Sense”
The subject of the thesis must be specifically related to sociocultural or ecological concerns, or both, and link architecture with another discipline of study within the College of Arts & Sciences. The proposal must include the names, academic rank and email addresses of each of the proposed thesis advisors and explain in 1-3 sentences how the academic or research interests of each advisor relate to the subject of the proposed thesis. For academic year 2020-21, each Honors Thesis is limited to no more than three and no less than two advisors, with at least one in architecture and one in another discipline within the College of Arts & Sciences. Either one of these advisors may be the primary or secondary advisor.
The converging and ongoing crises of COVID-19, climate change, radical economic inequality, pervasive racism, and racist violence require that all systems, infrastructures, and institutions, including architecture, space, and cities, be re-imagined. This re-imagining must include how and to what ends architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design can act in the world. How might members of the class of 2020 reimagine their role as designers and thinkers trained to understand and shape space? What are the questions, what are the issues, and what are the potential approaches to engaging the complexity of these crises?
This workshop, organized by The Architectural League, will bring 2020 graduates in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design from across the United States together in small online groups to discuss these issues. Each group will meet weekly for conversation over three consecutive weeks to listen to each other, identify critical issues, and develop ideas about what might and should be done.
To listen to the workshop town hall presentations:
Invited by professors Bill Ashmanskas and Richard Farley to return as a guest lecturer for the University of Pennsylvania Physics 009 course, ‘Physics for Architects’, discussing the field of acoustic consulting and previous work in the visualization of sound through techniques of computer animation and physical modeling.
The lecture sought to provide examples of practical applications to the study of acoustics and sound propagation, considerations and collaborative initiatives between architects and acoustical consultants on a variety of projects across diverse scales and programs, and a conversation about the future of live performance and impact on the architectural design on performance spaces in the wake of COVID-19.
To view a recording of the lecture and visual presentation:
The events of 2020 and 2021 radically reconfigured our relationship with our immediate surroundings.
The outbreak of COVID-19 and subsequent shutdown of cities around the world kept many people confined to their homes and neighborhoods, prompting them to observe both their domestic spaces and the surrounding streets at a new level of detail.
Shifting Ground was an open call for visual reports about how the events of 2020 and 2021 reconfigured our relationship with both public and private space. Select entries were posted on the League’s Instagram account.
Davis Butner sent images of Drive Thru ATL, a socially distanced art show held in an Atlanta parking lot in the summer of 2020.
“Atlanta is frequently criticized for its overwhelmingly car-oriented urban fabric, having long struggled with the spatial and environmental burdens of “parking deserts”: underutilized surface parking lots that contribute to the urban heat island effect and storm-water runoff. Whereas these parking deserts are often synonymous with urban neglect, these images showcase an example of their use as a spontaneous art gallery. When so many cultural centers have closed their doors, this concept reanimates a generic spatial condition so often overlooked in American cities.”
Selected to engage in a special virtual edition of the 2020 Edinburgh Cultural Summit regarding the ‘Transformational Power of Culture’. Through a series of free webinars and published interviews, the summit aims to address the impact of a global pandemic on decades of economic and social behavior in considering how imaginative perspectives, creative endeavors, and multidisciplinary, cross-cultural collaboration can help sustain us during a period of intensified global isolation.
Asked to participate in the webinar concerning the future of ‘Culture and Education’, Tuesday August 25th, 5pm BST
for a recording of the webinar:
For more information about the online content of the summit:
“Age clashes with ambition in this city. Currently the world’s most populous urban area, Shanghai is a visceral and physical manifestation of China’s unprecedented economic development. Yet the state of infrastructure within the nation’s tier-one metropolis tells of a culture of ancient and deep-seated tradition grappling with the social pressures of rapid urban expansion. The city’s buildings, in their dynamic states of construction, renovation, and demolition, symbolize the paradox of massive growth and sociocultural preservation at a time of rapid renewal.”
Luce Fellowship notes from the field published by The Asia Foundation blog, In Asia
“It’s a project that looks at the indescribable nature of sound and how that sound plays into religious spaces,” said Butner, who is continuing his Franke project while participating in a Luce Fellowship in Asia this year.
“Sounding Sacred” includes 40 religious buildings, representing four faith groups. It also includes animated, 3D visualizations of the way sound moved through some of the structures.
“I had never done curation of this kind before,” Butner said. “The ways one can archive and document material are wide-ranging. The Franke Program made it easy to collaborate with scholars in other fields and get feedback.”
Shanghai Baroque Youth Orchestra - under the artistic direction of violinist, Dr. Wei, and conductor, Chang Lin, the orchestra provides young musicians who learn musical instruments with the opportunity for face-to-face learning with international coaches. Through the coordination and training of the orchestra, children can find the joy of learning music in an orchestral ensemble.
“American viola player, previously performing with members of the Atlanta Symphony”
“It was a pleasure to host a panel of architects and musicians in District New Haven and hear their thoughts about the #future of New Haven and the #inspiration that can be drawn from the past.
Musician and Yale University School of Architecture graduate Davis Butner talks about his early experiences in New Haven and the rich history the city has in musical production.
What’s the history of your #industry? How can you use the past to drive your future?”
For the complete article: CLICK HERE
“The New Haven Sacred Spaces Performance Tour was part of a larger project put together by a team of students from the Yale School of Architecture, led by Davis Butner GRD ‘19. The project, along with the Saturday tour and a preview performance at the Yale School of Architecture on March 28, consisted of a lecture by Damian Doria, Yale School of Drama Lecturer on Acoustics, and an exhibition at the Yale School of Architecture that ran from February 21 to March 30. Butner and his colleagues hoped that by analyzing the various acoustical characteristics of religious spaces, architects can be better informed when creating future places of reverence, especially since contemporary architectural practices do not necessarily include overarching religious perspectives.”
“Davis will be based in Shanghai, China, interning for the internationally recognized design firm, Neri&Hu, on the design of a theater complex in collaboration with Theatre Projects Consultants. He aims to explore work in the fields of architectural design, musical outreach, and performing arts policy. ”
For complete profile: CLICK HERE
“Half of world ́s raw materials are used in construction
To avoid a resource crisis and to mitigate climate change, we need to change the way we plan, build, use and recycle buildings. The time for action is now.”
Click HERE for a recording of the conference
Presentation of RAM[P]ED Proposal for a New Mode of Sustainable Urban Habitation with advanced studio partner, Millie Yoshida
The International Festival of Arts & Ideas and Digital Surgeons invite you to a presentation and discussion about the history of New Haven's architecture and how that history can be used to look towards the future.
The New Haven Industrial Heritage Trails explore a set of interpretive proposals for buildings and landscapes that reflect New Haven's history as an industrial city—a city of factories, coal-fired power plants, railroads, and trolleys. The built legacy of this history is distributed across the city in different ways. Some buildings have been adapted and reused. Others remain dormant. Some are threatened by neglect. And, in some cases, the buildings themselves are gone but have left traces. Created by students in the Ghost Town seminar at the Yale School of Architecture, our intention is to provide public consideration of these places and to propose creative ways to market these diverse and sometimes dissonant narratives. What have these buildings and landscapes meant in the past and what might they mean for the future of New Haven?
Special thanks to DistriCT New Haven:
“At this second private dinner, we continue to celebrate this year’s cohort of Franke Undergraduate and Graduate Fellows. Over dinner at the Whitney, our Fellows will delivery their research findings in short presentations.
Davis Butner - Sounding Sacred: An Interfaith Comparison of the Evolution of Religious Architectural Acoustics and Sacred Musical Practices”
“Among the new Scholars is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point who led a field clinic in Liberia during the Ebola outbreak; a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America who taps traditions to fight food insecurity and malnutrition, and a graduate of Kingsborough Community College who covered conflicts in his native Belarus and in Israel with military reporters before emigrating to New York. We have one violinist and violist who works at the intersection of music composition and computer science, and another violinist and violist who works at the intersection of architecture and performing arts. Given that cohort learning is a significant part of the Luce Scholars Program, we are excited about the prospect of many potential collaborations.”
“In “Sounding Sacred,” a new exhibit at the Yale School of Architecture, three-dimensional cross sections of architectural models of religious buildings from four faiths serve as a focal point.”
Fall 2018 YSoA Advanced Sustainability Studio: ‘LifeCycle’ Studio
Studio Partner - Millie Elizabeth Yoshida
Critics - Lisa Gray + Alan Organschi
Established by Hyman I. Feldman (B.F.A. 1920), the Feldman Prize nomination is awarded each year to the student project who demonstrates the best solution to an architectural problem in each advanced studio, taking into consideration the practical, functional, and aesthetic requirements of that problem.
The following design responds to the Housing Reform Helsinki Competition – Living in 2020, a multifamily housing complex to provide up to 400 parking spaces which will eventually transition into other programmatic uses as automobiles are phased out of the metro area of Helsinki over the next two decades.
“Butner closed his talk with a cautionary passage from a speech by the late Robert Shaw, former music director of the ASO, “The Conservative Arts,” in which Shaw argues for the essential collegiality between amateur and professional, between orchestra and public, and that we must remain on guard together lest we lose our arts to careless cultural complacency.
Although those difficult days for Atlanta’s classical community are past, and the situation less urgent and stressful, ATL Symphony Musicians is not going away or abandoning its mission of advocacy and musical outreach where needs are found to exist. It promises to still be here as a vehicle for support of the city’s symphonic musicians in the event another cultural crisis like the lockouts ever comes hurtling through Atlanta again.”
“The competition jury convened in January 2018 to assess the artistic merits as well as economic and technological feasibility of each entry. The jury chose the entry, In___We Trust, by two second-year students in the Yale School of Architecture.
It builds on the legacy of Oldenburg’s powerful gesture with new concerns around the state of higher education, the instability of facts, the conflicted status of monuments, and the role of money in our public institutions. Echoing the upright posture of Oldenburg’s Lipstick and its architectural surroundings, In___We Trust invites the University community to gather and reflect on the pivotal yet fragile nature of trust in our studies, our work, and our daily lives. ”
Undergraduate Studio Work Chosen as Logo for 2019 World Rowing Championship
CLICK HERE for ‘SEQUENCED’ studio work
(Credit: Stefan Macheiner Corporate + Digital Design, all rights reserved)
(Credit: Stefan Macheiner Corporate + Digital Design, all rights reserved)
(Credit: Stefan Macheiner Corporate + Digital Design, all rights reserved)
“On this episode of “Volunteer: Stories of Philanthropy,” reporter Christopher Johnson talks to violinist, Davis Butner, about the intimate origins of chamber music and the goals of Groupmuse Chicago...”
Center on Halsted Orlando Vigil 6-13-2016, Video by Tracy Baim/Windy City Times
Center on Halsted, Chicago's LGBT community, held a vigil June 13 inside its lobby, with many people overflowing into the streets around the building. An estimated 500 people attended the event.
“We are challenged on an intellectual, and even a philosophical level, questioning not only our relationship to the music and each other, but to the qualities we can uniquely bring out of our instruments...”
