Faculty: Clay Matter(s)

Johanna Barthmaier-Payne is a landscape architect and cofounder of the multidisciplinary studio A TON. In her professional practice and research she examines the relationships between urban design, ecological and cultural systems, and community collaboration.

Leveraging her expertise as a graphic designer, artist and visualizer, Johanna explores large-scale ecological opportunities involving social and environmental issues in urban and built environments. She is dedicated to advancing knowledge on how ethical design, narrative, and visual communication can support the broader public and promote nature-based design solutions.

Tiago Torres-Campos is a Portuguese landscape architect who explores multidisciplinary approaches to contemporary landscapes. He focuses on intersections between landscape practice and the anthropocene as well as representation, with experimental and speculative work ranging from modeling and digital fabrication to video and writing.

In his practice, Torres-Campos is experienced in landscape architectural design, and regional and master planning. He is the founder of CNTXT Studio, a research-by-design platform focusing on the transdisciplinary study of landscape.

Eduardo Benamor Duarte is a member of OA Portuguese Architects Association / Ordem dos Arquitectos and founder of Benamor Duarte Architecture, a studio focused on design of objects and spatial environments at large. His work has been commissioned for several group exhibitions worldwide and published in a number of international magazines, books and newspapers. He has also won awards from several institutions in Portugal and the US.

Nick De Pace has taught at RISD since 1999 and, since 2002, has designed numerous award-winning residential and commercial projects through his independent practice, Ad Hoc/Architecture in Providence.

In 2005 De Pace earned a Fulbright Fellowship to document the Emissarium of Lake Albano, a monumental subterranean water conduit of ancient Roman engineering. He has collaborated on numerous archaeological activities, most recently the architectural reconstructions for a publication on the Villa Magna Project in southern Latium.

Lara Davis is an architect and mason with two decades of experience in masonry design and construction, and a specialist in earthen building and thin-shell vaulting. She is the founding partner of Limaçon Design.

Widely recognized for her research, Lara has taught structural theory of masonry and led hands-on training programs on several continents. Her work has been exhibited at the Modern Museum of Art, MIT Museum, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and Venice Biennale.

For over 19 years until 2020, Tamara Kaplan was a youth worker/arts administrator for New Urban Arts (NUA), an arts studio for high school students in Providence, where she collaborated with young artists creating a space that fused mentorship, interdisciplinary arts education and creative youth development.

After NUA, Kaplan started barrelyard studio, a creative space for her clay and paper practice. An alum of Interlochen Arts Camp, she also consults with small nonprofits and serves on the board of The Collaborative, an artist space in Warren, RI.