Dr David Mah

Biography

David Mah is a senior lecturer in urban design and architecture at the University of Melbourne’s school of design.

Previous to the MSD, David was a lecturer at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design (2010-2017). While at the GSD, David was also design research lead for the Health and Places Initiative, a research collaboration between the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health focused on studying the links between the built environment and health outcomes.

Previous to Harvard, he also taught design and theory at Cornell University’s department of architecture (2007-2010) and Landscape Urbanism at the graduate design school of the Architectural Association in London (2004-2007).

Together with Leire Asensio Villoria, David is author of the book: Lifestyled: Health and Places (2016, Jovis).  His writings have been published in a number of academic as well as professional books and journals, including The Eixample Example.  Urban Landscape Critical Concepts in Built Environment : Typology, Space, Representation. Routledge 2015, Over-Research. in The Generic Sublime Actar 2016, Sense and Sensibilities.  Kerb. 23. Actar 2015, Digital Design as a Material Practice.  Paradigms in Computing Making, Machines, and Models for Design Agency in Architecture. Evolo 2015 and Digital Media and Material Practice.  Representing Landscapes: Digital. Routledge. 2015 amongst others.

Together with Leire Asensio Villoria, David is also active in the production of architectural and creative works.  His works has been exhibited internationally including at the Royal Academy of Art in London and The Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York and has been featured in professional books and journals published by Birkhauser, Evolo, Lars Muller, Actar and Routledge amongst others.

Professionally, David has worked within a number of international design practices including FOA and Zaha Hadid Architects where he was engaged in the design and delivery of a number of urban design as well as architectural projects in the United Kingdom (The 2012 London Olympics and Legacy masterplans), Singapore (one north science park masterplan) and Spain. David has been collaborating with Leire Asensio Villoria as asensio_mah since 2002.

Featured projects

• Asensio Villoria L. & Mah D., 2022, Systems Upgrade:Refabricating Tectonic Prototypes, Actar, New York and Barcelona