Lecture: Josh Shelton and David Dowell

Join us for a public lecture, titled “In the Middle of Everywhere,” by Josh Shelton and David Dowell, el dorado, on Monday, March 25, 2019. This lecture is co-sponsored by AIA East Tennessee.

Shelton and Dowell’s lecture will discuss the core beliefs behind el dorado and how these beliefs have driven them to say “yes” to unexpected opportunities. Shelton, Dowell and their colleagues are equally as eager to upend industrial typologies as they are to collaborate with artists, bring design integrity to low-cost housing, or engage in critical design dialogues in rural America.

El dorado designs are guided by their Kansas City roots and Midwestern practices, where they see the value of both the astronaut’s moonshot and a farmer’s buckshot. Working in a diverse set of national contexts, el dorado seeks opportunities for everyday alchemy and radical normalcy to bridge our polarized American landscape. Shelton, Dowell and their team’s work creates common ground “in the middle of everywhere.”

Shelton is a partner at el dorado, where he is primarily focused on design excellence within our shared urban environment. He has a particular interest in mission-driven urban design projects that maximize social impact within a diverse set of communities and stakeholders. He has a depth of experience with urban design, mixed-use projects that leverage complex funding sources, ranging from HUD funding and tax credit financing to EPA grants and private sector philanthropy. Some of his current projects include an affordable multi-family housing project in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Seattle, a new public art master plan in Calgary, an urban agriculture campus & food sciences facility for an 18-acre brownfield site in Kansas City, and the construction of a new city block in the lower downtown district of Denver.

Shelton currently sits on the School of Architecture’s Advocacy Board at his alma mater, the University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design, and, along with his partners, has held teaching positions at Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Kansas in Lawrence, and Kansas State University in Manhattan.

This lecture is funded by AIA East Tennessee and the Robert B. Church Memorial Lecture fund. Unless otherwise noted, lectures begin at 5:30 p.m. in Rm. 109/McCarty Auditorium in the Art + Architecture Building, 1715 Volunteer Blvd. All are welcome.