The Spring Line is a collection of illustrated writings by Dr David Knight. It mixes fiction and non-fiction to explore the built environment and how it is made.
A ‘spring line’ is a geological condition from which fresh water emerges from the ground, and is associated with the growth of certain kinds of settlement. It is also, unrelatedly, a kind of mooring used to secure a boat to land.
David is a designer, strategist and author. He is a director of the architecture, planning and research practice DK-CM and a Module Leader at the London School of Architecture.
In 2018 David completed a PhD at the Royal College of Art School of Architecture titled ‘Making Planning Popular’ concerned with the politics of planning knowledge. Prior to founding DK-CM David worked for General Public Agency and on various research projects including the book ‘SUB-PLAN: A Guide to Permitted Development’ (2009), and more recently co-edited the book ‘Public House: A cultural and social history of the London pub’ (2021) with Cristina Monteiro.
David’s writing, drawing and photography is concerned with social and spatial histories, the politics of land and water, the culture of architecture and the role of the non-professional in the production of the built environment.
David previously taught at the University of Brighton, the Royal College of Art and Kingston School of Art and has lectured and published internationally. He is an external examiner at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and is a volunteer member of the Woodcraft Folk.
David is based in East London and the South Downs.
