Professor David Leatherbarrow’s fields of expertise are central to the discipline of architecture. He is an expert in the history and theory of architecture, with specific emphasis on their contribution to architectural design, especially in the modern period. Within history, theory, and design, he is known internationally for his contributions to ideas and historical developments of architectural design and technology, gardens and landscapes, and more recently architectural sustainability.All of David Leatherbarrow’s work in scholarship examines two essential problems or topics in architectural design: the architectural site (landscape or urban) and architectural construction.These two topics are unavoidably commonplace in contemporary design practice. They are also in need of reconsideration, in light of changes in contemporary culture and society.
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.
In addition to his scholarship, Leatherbarrow is highly respected internationally as an educator, having won numerous awards for his teaching, most recent of which is the 2020 AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Architectural Education. He has been lecturing on the subject throughout the world, and often invited to assess and guide schools of architecture.
