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Danny Wills

Position Architecture Teacher Scholar
email dawills@calpoly.edu
Office 34-152

Areas of Expertise

Design-build pedagogy, methods, tools and materials of making; 
Participatory design, site and context, circular thinking; 
History and theory of representation, digital and virtual technology 

Profile

Danny is an architectural designer, educator and researcher. He has studied, lived, worked and taught throughout Europe, Asia, South Africa and the U.S., building and managing several public and non-profit projects. In 2017, he co-founded Space Saloon, a site-specific design lab focused on situated research, multidisciplinary workshops and community empowerment. As an Architect Teacher Scholar at Cal Poly, Danny’s teaching involves stakeholder engagement, material life cycles, and collaborative forms of making. His current research curates a growing database of pedagogical projects and literature identifying with the moniker ‘design-build.’ Titled “Why Build?” it systematically surveys the critical conversations (or lack thereof) behind this umbrella term, and in what sociological and industrial contexts they took place. The goal of this project is to address the teaching of construction methods and materials as it relates to the evolution of ‘mechanical arts’ education in the U.S.

Experience

Educational Credentials:

Master of Science in Design Theory and Pedagogy, SCI-Arc 
Bachelor of Architecture, The Cooper Union
 

Teaching Experience:

Summer School/Visiting School Programme Head, AA School of Architecture 
Adjunct Professor, Kent State University, College of Architecture and Environmental Design 
Adjunct Professor, International Program in Design and Architecture (INDA), Chulalongkorn University 
Scientific Researcher and Design Studio Coordinator, ETH Zurich, Chair of Architecture and Urban Design
 

Professional Experience:

Co-Founder / Executive Director, Space Saloon

Scholarship

Selected Publications and Recent Research:

  • “Why Build: Contemporary Intentions Behind Design-Build Pedagogy,” Paper, Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) International Conference, Summer 2024
  • “A Timeline of Current and Recent NAAB Design + Making Programs,” Poster, Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) International Conference, Spring 2024
  • "I am a (Data) Monument,” Essay, CLOG: Feeds, Summer 2022
  • “Community in Residence,” Interview, CROP TTU Journal, Spring 2022
  • “Review: Fulfilled,” Review, JAE Online, March 6, 2020
  • “By itself, this device does nothing,” Essay, OFF-Topic Journal, Vol. 5, 2020

Selected Activity:

  • “Let’s Get Ready to RRRUBBLE,” LINA European Platform Fellowship, 2023
  • Porto Futuro: Futuro Pronto, Installation, Port of Fano, Italy, 2022
  • Public Protocols Special Workshop, MPavilion: MProjects, 2022
  • Public Art & Ecology Residency, Iowa Lakeside Lab + Imagine Iowa Great Lakes, 2021
  • Climate Crisis Hotline, Field Workshop at the Institute for Contemporary Art, LA, 2020

 

Updated 10.21.2024

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