Charles Davis II
Charles Davis II, M.Arch. ’02 & B.P.S. ’99, is guided by a simple philosophy with broad implications: “I believe the purposeful design of spaces influences people’s ability to think beyond life’s basics, and this is particularly true for those raised in substandard settings.” Davis, currently a doctoral candidate in architectural theory at the University of Pennsylvania, is researching the politics at work in architectural form and practice, particularly as it applies to minority communities.
Davis, who grew up on Buffalo’s East Side, was witness to how the built environment reinforces political and social inequity. “I can recall a ‘brownfield’ near my aunt’s house that was a playground for years before people realized its dangers,” he says. He also notes that skyways, dumps, transportation centers and poorly designed housing as features of the urban landscape “rarely go into neighborhoods where people have political impact.” The placement of these sites sends the message that low-income, minority communities deserve, and have no power to prevent, toxic ugliness. They also prompt higher income people to avoid these areas, increasing the community’s isolation and invisibility.
“This presence is a testament to a city’s politics,” Davis asserts. He discovered subtle politics in early American architecture, while researching Thomas Jefferson’s design for Monticello, which was modeled after a Roman villa that situated the servants’ quarters on the first floor. In Monticello, Jefferson concealed this level underground, along with the slaves it housed. Davis concludes that “Jefferson, drafter of the Declaration of Independence and theorist of human freedom, realized that he had to obey the South’s social conventions regarding slavery, despite his own liberal rhetoric.” Davis’s findings appeared May 1 in the online journal, Diversity and Design.
“I want minorities to be very clear about their own architectural agency and how it is represented by theorists,” Davis says. He is focusing his doctoral research on architectural theorist Colin Rowe. In the 1960s, Rowe developed the view that architecture and urban design were concerned primarily with form. This bias has been perpetuated as Rowe’s approach influenced later theory, as well as professional education and practice. “By reinterpreting Rowe’s theory,” Davis explains, “I want to raise awareness of the relationship between politics and design, so architects can live up to their political and social responsibilities.”
Indeed, Davis is committed to implementing his theoretical findings by improving residential architecture for the low-income public. “Instead of no design,” Davis says, “you can have very simple and clear design. Focus on crucial systems, such as storage and structure. Mirror [or double] wall studs on the wall surface and build a bookcase between them. It appears that you’re reaching into the wall for a book.” In this way, he says, the user interacts with structures usually unseen and realizes architecture is present. UB planning associate professor Al Price inspired Davis’s ideas for community rehabilitation. His internship doing computer-assisted design for Robert Coles, an African American architect practicing in Buffalo, was also key. Coles encouraged Davis to set his sights on becoming licensed to practice architecture, in addition to earning his Ph.D., researching and teaching, in order to build an African American presence in the field. Coles also reinforced lessons Davis learned from associate architecture professor M. Beth Tauke: simple design solutions are often the best. “They allow an architect to give back to people who don’t usually live with good design,” Davis says. “It helps them understand that there’s architecture there.”
Originally appeared in the Spring/Summer 2005 issue of UB Today as part of the article Creating Innovative Environments: Inside and Out by Tacey A. Roslowski, Ph.D. '91.
