Kapila D. Silva, PhD
ArchitectureKapila D. Silva is an Associate Professor of Architecture at the School of Architecture and Design of the University of Kansas, USA. He has previously taught at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from where he received his doctorate and at the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka from where he received professional architectural education. His research focuses on the social, cultural and psychological aspects of architecture, urbanism, and historic preservation. His research has thus far been on global heritage conservation, addressing theoretical and pragmatic issues related to UNESCO’s World Heritage Program, which attempts to preserve and manage historic monuments and sites with outstanding universal value around the world. The underlined interest in his research has been in the construction and stewardship of meaning in the built environment in the forms of sites, monuments and memorials of personal and communal legacies and in the ways of balancing conservation concerns with development needs within historic urban areas. In geo-cultural scope, his work focuses specifically on non-Western traditions within the Asian context. In addition, he studies vernacular environments in the region, developing a theoretical framework to study those environments and deriving lessons for contemporary architectural situations, such as community design and post-disaster resettlement housing. In addition to these scholarly activities, he continues to be engaged in architectural design, practicing exclusively in Sri Lanka where he is a licensed architect. Dr. Silva is the lead editor of Asian Heritage Management: Contexts, Concerns and Prospects (with Neel Kamal Chapagain; Routledge, 2013), Cultural Landscapes of South Asia: Studies in Heritage Conservation and Management (with Amita Sinha; Routledge, 2017), and The Routledge Handbook on Historic Urban Landscapes in the Asia-Pacific (Routledge, 2020) and co-author of The Tampitaviharas of Sri Lanka (The National Trust-Sri Lanka, in press).
Education
Teaching
Studios + Courses Taught (Selected):
ARCH 508 - Architectural Design Studio III/ Materials and Tectonics
ARCH 600 – Theorizing Vernacular Architecture
ARCH 609 – Integrated Design Studio
ARCH 630 - Theory & Context in Architecture
ARCH 647 – Historic Preservation Theory
ARCH 690 - Study Abroad in Asia
ARCH 701 - Research Methods in Architecture
ARCH 999 – Doctoral Dissertation
Research
(a) Social, Cultural, and Psychological Aspects of Architectural Design and Urban Design
(b) Urban Design and Development Policy in Developing Countries
(c) Issues related to Revitalization, Preservation, and Management of Historic Buildings and Urban Settings
(d) Community Participation in Urban Design, Settlement Planning, and Preservation
(e) Visual Culture in Buddhist and Asian societies
Selected Publications
Selected Presentations
Selected Awards & Honors
Environmental Design Research Association
2018
University of Kansas
2018
Architectural Research Centers Consortium, USA
2013
School of Architecture, Design & Planning, University of Kansas
2010
Elected by the American Institute of Architecture Students – University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chapter
2006
granted by Architectural Association, London, for the research on “Tampitavihara” (temples on pillars), a vernacular building type in Sri Lanka; (Co-recipient)
1997 - 1998