Brian Davis, PhD

Brian Davis, PLA, FAAR is an Associate Professor in the Landscape Architecture Department at the University of Virginia School of Architecture, where he is co-Director of the Natural Infrastructure Lab. His work focuses on coastal landscapes, with a special interest in infrastructure, public space, and ecology. The conservation and design of large scale coastal landscapes in a time of accelerating sea level rise are a critical issue and important cultural and environmental project. His work sees design as a form of inquiry and means of expressing and forming cultural values, rather than as mere problem-solving or the application of principles or knowledge generated by other means. This insight translates to his teaching, which emphasizes invention, synthesis, and contextualization. He has published theoretical and technical papers and book chapters, including “Public Sediment” in Towards an Urban Ecology, “Wider Horizons of American Landscape” in Landscape Journal, and “The Asymmetry of Landscape” and “The White Ribbon” in Journal of Landscape Architecture.

Currently Brian is working on projects to develop and study innovative sea level rise adaptation approaches for coastal parklands in the Chesapeake Bay region, sediment design projects in the Great Lakes, and flooding infrastructure projects for the four coasts of the United States. He works in collaboration with the Engineering with Nature program of the US Army Corps of Engineers, the National Parks Service, as well as local partners. Along with Sean Burkholder he led the Healthy Port Futures project, a $1.6 million dollar research effort to design and implement new forms of natural infrastructure in the Great Lakes.

Brian teaches in the core MLA curriculum and is a committed teacher. He teaches the core Theory course (LAR 7110- Theorizing Landscape Architecture, currently co-taught with Bernardo Menezes) which exposes students to the most impactful theoretical debates in the field over the last forty years and emphasizes developing the conceptual tools needed to theorize as part of the landscape design process. He also teaches the final course in the Ecology and Technology sequence (LAR 7220- EcoTech IV). That course focuses on the design of large-scale coastal and riverine landscapes and draws from his research and practice. In recent years it has been co-taught with river engineer Craig Taylor, PE of LimnoTech. He also teaches electives related to water and cities, including their design and history.

He is a founding principal of Proof Projects alongside Erin Putalik and Sean Burkholder. The practice is a response to the needs of communities that saw the research in Healthy Port Futures and are interested in new ideas for their coastal landscapes. and previously an Assistant Professor at Cornell University and has practiced landscape architecture in Raleigh, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and New York City. He is a registered landscape architect and member of the Dredge Research Collaborative. His work has been recognized by the American Academy in Rome, the American Society of Landscape Architects, and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture.