About

A S D F is the shared architectural practice of Aurélie Frolet and David Shanks, founded in 2020 in Syracuse, NY and now located in Auburn, AL.

Together, we pursue select projects that serve the public interest by integrating diverse criteria of sustainability, from the environmental to the socio-economic. We assert the agency of architects to intervene in the exigencies of the contemporary world at a local, intensive scale. Along with commissioned work and design competitions, we routinely work with non-profit organizations on small projects that have large impacts for social and environmental justice in the local community.

Aurélie Frolet

b. 1986, Paris, France

amf0134@auburn.edu

Aurélie Frolet is an Assistant Professor at Auburn University’s School of Architecture Planning and Landscape Architecture, where she teaches core courses in beginning design and research seminars focused on the design of water infrastructure. She was formerly Assistant Teaching Professor at Syracuse University’s School of Architecture from 2020-23. Aurélie has previously worked as an architectural designer in the offices of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), Morris Adjmi, and Halard Halard. She received her M.Arch degree from Cornell, where she was awarded the Richmond Harold Shreve Thesis Prize, and her B.A. in Comparative Literature and Chinese Language from the University of Georgia, where she received a full-tuition academic merit scholarship. Aurélie also studied Chinese literature and language at the Tsinghua University in Beijing, China for one year.

David R. Shanks

b. 1982, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom

drs0079@auburn.edu

David Shanks is a registered architect in the State of New York. He is an Assistant Professor at Auburn University’s School of Architecture Planning and Landscape Architecture where he teaches 5th year design studio and thesis research. From 2018-2020, David was the Director of the Architecture Program for Syracuse University in Florence, Italy. He has previously worked as an architectural designer for Preston Scott Cohen, Office for Metropolitan Architecture, Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM), and Gluckman Tang. He received his M.Arch from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and his B.A. in Urban Design Studies and Economics from New York University.

Team members:

Matthew DiRado

Yücel Güven

Lindsey Brown

Jerry Yan

Sravya Sirigi

Shaan Lakshmanan

TJ Farley

Becky Goetzke

Patrick Fair