Interview with Mark Wagner, AIA

Mark Wagner, AIA, is a Principal at Davis Brody Bond, a Page Company. Based in New York City, Mark has deep experience in the design of cultural and public spaces. His portfolio includes the National September 11 Memorial Museum, the World Trade Center Archive, the National Park Service Ellis Island Emergency and Long-Term Museum Collections and Storage, and the Hall of Gems at the American Museum of Natural History. In this episode, Mark talks with Patience Jones about the roles that empathy and memory play in the design of public cultural spaces. They also discuss Davis Brody Bond’s own history of work and founding architect J. Max Bond, Jr.’s role in designing the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta.

‍Highlights:

What inspired Mark to become an architect
A leadership view of the organizational transition when Davis Brody Bond joined forces with multidisciplinary design, architecture, and engineering firm Page/
How intentionality is expressed in design
Managing dual states of empathy and emotional distance to achieve design goals
The ways in which cultural buildings both reflect and shape our memories
What public ownership of a space really means
How cultural space design has changed over the last five years, and where it's headed in the next five

Episode Resources:

‍Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Connect with Mark Wagner, AIA