Powerpoint on Earth Architecture at Matagiri

Lara Davis, architect and structural masonry specialist, is co-director of the Auroville Earth Institute, academic representative for the UNESCO Chair of Earthen Architecture and member of CRAterre. She has 17 years of experience in masonry research, design and construction, and specializes in earthen construction and the structural design/ construction of thin-shell masonry vaulting. Having begun her career as a mason and foreman in landscape masonry construction in the US, she has a wide range of experience in the field linking the cultures of design, engineering, materials research and building craftsmanship. She holds a BFA from the New York State College of Ceramics (NYSCC), School of Art & Design at Alfred University and an M.Arch from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Lara has been the recipient of multiple international research awards for her work at the MIT Masonry Research Group, the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK/ University of Stuttgart), the BLOCK Research Group (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology/ ETH Zürich) and the Future Cities Laboratory, Singapore. Lara’s resume of professional projects includes notable work for the Auroville Earth Institute and Ochsendorf, DeJong & Block structural engineering consultants. She has led key constructions and field consultancy on various continents, with experience as a mason, foreman, architect, engineer and project manager. Her work has been exhibited at the Modern Museum of Art (MoMA), MIT Museum, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and Venice Biennale. Lara has taught structural theory of masonry at the ETH Zürich and the Auroville Earth Institute, and has led training initiatives on the construction of arches, vaults and domes in India, Algeria, Ethiopia, Switzerland, UK and USA. She is now dedicated to the design and construction of the AVEI School of Earthen Architecture.

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