Lara Davis, master builder, visits Think!

The team at Think! was inspired and honored to have Lara Davis speak at our office. Lara is a master-builder and architect with three decades' experience in masonry design, structural design and construction. A specialist in earthen building, vaults and shells, her interdisciplinary work has crossed over the cultures of structural engineering, heritage preservation, historic and vernacular materials research and on-the-ground building craftsmanship.

Lara is known for her collaboration with eminent artist, and recipient of Architectural League’s 2024 President’s Medal, Martin Puryear on Lookout. Lookout is Storm King Art Center’s newest site-specific commission and is created from layers of red clay bricks laid using a thin-shell masonry technique inspired by traditional Nubian vaults.

Lara shared her project-based experiences with examples of traditional building practices from around the world. The sustainable methods at the heart of those practices provide valuable lessons which are at the heart of Think!’s current effort to improve our carbon footprint through material selection and harnessing energy performance with passive strategies.