Roberto de Leon, FAIA is a partner and co-founder of de Leon & PrimmerArchitecture Workshop (DPAW), a collaborative design studio focusing on public projects with a cultural, civic or not-for-profit basis. His work is recognized for its contextual sensitivity, innovation in material applications, and the holistic integration of sustainable strategies rooted in regional specificity. His research operates at a range of scales and environments - both urban & rural – while exploring relationships between local & global building traditions. Roberto holds a Master In Architecture from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts In Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley. In 2016, Roberto was elevated to The College of Fellows of The American Institute of Architects.Considerations of craft, fabrication, and the hand-made, are aspects of building that have characterized the work of DPAW throughout varying scales and contexts. Exploring over -laps between precision/imprecision and local skillsets, the studio’s working methodology frames an organic process of material investigation that argues for innovation as a necessarily messy collaborative effort – the idea that imperfection, recalibration, and resourcefulness can lead to invention and the discovery of something new. Presenting case studies that draw on hese aspirations, the presentation will cover material explorations that frame this focus.
