Charles L. Davis II

Charles L. Davis II is an assistant professor of architectural history and criticism at the University at Buffalo, SUNY, a current member of the SAH Board of Directors, and the chair of the SAH Race and Architecture Affiliate Group. His book manuscript, Building Character: The Racial Politics of Modern Architectural Style (University of Pittsburgh, 2019) traces the historical integrations of race and style theory in paradigms of “architectural organicism,” or movements that modeled design on the generative principles of nature. He has published articles and essays in Architectural Research QuarterlyJournal of the Society of Architectural HistoriansHarvard Design Magazine, Log and Aggregate. His current book project, tentatively entitled “Black By Design: An Interdisciplinary History of Making in Modern America” recovers the contributions of black artists in shaping the built environment from the Harlem Renaissance to Black Lives Matter.