David Leatherbarrow

Dr. David Leatherbarrow is a scholar and professor of architectural theory and design. He teaches in the International Demonstration School of Architecture, Southeast University. Since 1984 he has also been teaching at the University of Pennsylvania. Previously, he taught in England, at Cambridge University and the Polytechnic of Central London.  He has also visited and taught at many universities in the USA, and has lectured throughout the world.  He has held Guest Professorships in Europe, South America, and Asia.

David Leatherbarrow studied architecture at the University of Kentucky, where he earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree (1976), and he completed his Ph.D. in Art at the University of Essex (1983).

In his scholarly work he has published nine books, most recently Three Cultural Ecologies (2018), Twentieth-Century Architecture (2017), Architecture Oriented Otherwise (2009), Topographical Stories: studies in landscape and architecture (2004), and Surface Architecture (2002), co-authored with M. Mostafavi, that won the Bruno Zevi Prize from the International Congress of Architecture Critics.   Earlier books include Uncommon Ground: architecture, technology and topography, The Roots of Architectural Invention: site, enclosure and materials, and On Weathering: the life of buildings in time, which won the 1995 International Book Award from the AIA.  Translations of these books have appeared in many languages, two in Chinese, another two forthcoming.  In addition to the books, he has published 150 scholarly articles in architectural journals and edited books. His awards include a Visiting Scholar Fellowship at the Centre Canadien d’Architecture and two Fulbright Hays Scholarships. 

In the past, his research has focused on the history and theory of architecture, gardens, and urbanism; more recently his work has concentrated on the impact of contemporary technology on architecture and the city. 

Contact information:
School of Architecture, Southeast University
#2 Si Pai Lou, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, 210096
Email: leatherb@seu.edu.cn