Davis, Sam, 1946....

Biographical Note

In 1964 Davis was accepted into the architecture program at UC Berkeley where he would spend the rest of his professional career. In 1967 he spent a year abroad at the University of London's Bartlett School of Architecture and returned to Berkeley for his final two years of undergraduate studies. He graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1969, delivering the commencement address to his fellow graduates.

Following his undergraduate career, he attended Yale University for graduate work in architecture, earning a Masters in Environmental Design in 1971. While there, he began his professional teaching career as a design critic and instructor. He also began some commission work, working with Marc Appleton and Anthony Farmer in a design group called Projects. The trio completed a number of projects including the interior design of the Wilbar's Boutique stores of the eastern United States, the renovation of Carriage House in New Haven, and a plan for the Dauntless Marine Condominium complex in Essex, Connecticut.

Davis returned to Berkeley as an Assistant Professor of Architecture back in the fall of 1971. He quickly became a well-known teacher of architecture and design, earning Berkeley's Distinguished Teaching Award in 1974. From 1973-1975 and 1985-1989, he served on the campus' Academic Senate Committee on Teaching, and he became chair of the committee in fall 1989. Davis' teaching would earn him the 1995 Excellence in Education Award from the California Council American Institute of Architects. Ultimately, Davis tenure at Berkeley would span 35 years and he would retire in 2006.

A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, he served as President of the AIA East Bay and on the Board of Directors of AIACC. His professional work, mostly in California, was focused on affordable housing, housing for those with special needs, and facilities for the homeless. His work on homeless facilities includes a 100-bed adult shelter for Contra-Costa County and several projects for Larkin Street Youth Services in San Francisco. Among these is the nation's first housing specifically for homeless youth with HIV and AIDS. Other work includes multi-family affordable housing in Albany, Davis, West Sacramento, and Bay Point. Professor Davis was part of design/build teams that won two competitions to replace the aging University Village in Albany for the University of California. Davis received design awards from the AIA and Progressive Architecture as well as several housing competitions. Publications include three books on housing: The Form of Housing, The Architecture of Affordable Housing, and Designing for the Homeless: Architecture that Works .

Source: College of Environmental Design website.

From the guide to the Sam Davis collection, 1967-2006, (Environmental Design Archives. College of Environmental Design.)