While in Rome, Marlon Blackwell plans to visit buildings and spaces from Rome’s long history in search of what he calls tonal space, “that is, space defined with more darkness than light.” The concept informs his current work in the design studio, “which emphasizes a thick, slow, implicit architecture that runs counter to much of what we see today—overtly transparent space [that is] thin, fast, and explicit.” Blackwell, who spent a year in Italy while getting his post professional graduate degree, through the Syracuse in Florence program in 1990–91, will record his observations through drawings and photography.

While his firm Marlon Blackwell Architects has several projects in the works, he will remain open to new experiences in the Catacombs, at the Fosse Ardeatine Monument, and in front of paintings by Caravaggio. “My goal is … to be directly affected by what I discover in my experience of what I find and what I choose to translate— these would be abstractions and possibly experiential equivalents that enrich the discourse and manifestation of our work. And who knows what the imagination will bring forth for a more speculative project outside of practice.”