OUR MISSION
Limaçon Design's core commitment is to the sustainable co-evolution of natural ecologies and human habitats, with passive design methods, low-carbon materials and circular ecologies of natural resources. As our scope of practice includes contemporary shell design and construction as well as heritage preservation work, it is our foremost aim to revalorize vernacular and traditional building methods for relevancy today.
FOUNDING principal
Lara K. Davis is an architect and mason with 25 years of experience in masonry design and construction – a specialist in earthen building and vaulted masonry. Her work has often crossed over the cultures of architectural and structural design, heritage preservation, historic and vernacular materials research, building craftsmanship, and integrated land management. She is the founding partner of Limaçon Design and a member of CRAterre (the International Center for Earthen Architecture in Grenoble, France), ICOMOS ISCEAH (International Scientific Committee on Earthen Architectural Heritage) and the board of directors at Opus 40. She previously served for ten years as co-director of the Auroville Earth Institute, India and representative for the UNESCO Chair of Earthen Architecture. She holds a BFA from the New York State College of Ceramics, School of Art & Design at Alfred University and an M.Arch from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Lara has been recognized for her research at the Earth Institute, Block Research Group (ETH Zürich), Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (Universität Stuttgart), MIT Masonry Research Group and the Future Cities Laboratory (Singapore). She has taught structural theory of masonry at the ETH Zürich, led hands-on training programs on several continents, and is currently a lecturer in the Department of Landscape Architecture at RISD. Notable professional projects include the Martin Puryear sculpture ‘Lookout’ at Storm King Art Center, the Sharanam Center for Rural Development in Pondicherry, India, and the Kaza Eco-Community Center in Spiti Valley, India. Her work has been exhibited at the Modern Museum of Art, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Venice Biennale and MIT Museum.
DESIGN SERVICES
Limaçon Design was first established in 2001. After more than a decade of experience practicing with master craftsmen abroad, our practice has re-established itself in New England. We specialize in the custom design and construction of vaulted masonry surfaces, with earthen construction, fired brick masonry and stone masonry, as well as the use of non-traditional mortars including raw and stabilized earth, rapid-setting gypsum, fat and hydraulic lime mortars, natural cements and bio-polymers (eg. fermented straw, tree nuts, cactus, etc.).
Services include consultancy for contemporary masonry design and construction projects, technical design consultancy and shop drawings for existing masonry projects, historic preservation condition assessments, analysis of vaulted structures, and training courses on arch, vault and dome construction.
Services include consultancy for contemporary masonry design and construction projects, technical design consultancy and shop drawings for existing masonry projects, historic preservation condition assessments, analysis of vaulted structures, and training courses on arch, vault and dome construction.