Richard South

Project Manager at DesBrisay & Smith Architects, New York 

Education:
Bachelor of Architecture, UNC Charlotte (2010)
Master of of Science in Advanced Architectural Design, Columbia University (2014)

Hometown: Greensboro, NC

In his position at DesBrisay & Smith Architects, a boutique studio in New York City, Richard South manages schedules, budgets, and progress for projects that range from residential apartments in Brooklyn, to a restaurant in Harlem, to a crossfit gym in Long Island. Recently, he managed the design of a pop-up fitness project inside the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store in Manhattan, which was featured in the New York Times T Magazine. 

“The entire foundation of my architectural thinking was formed and enriched by the ideas and discussion captured within the walls of the College of Arts + Architecture,” Richard says. He praises the resources at UNC Charlotte – the Hight Library, the excellent fabrication labs –  which he says “far out-weigh the best that even the Ivy League can offer.” But above all, Richard credits the teaching philosophy as having a profound effect on his career as an architect.

“I learned not what to think, but how to think, which is the essence of university and the point of education. I was a sponge for diverse thoughts, often at opposition. This is an environment where one can go far in the pursuit of architectural thinking.”