Christian Sottile trained classically under the guidance of Savannah architect, John C. Lebey, FAIA, who attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris during the 1920’s.  After graduating as Valedictorian from the Savannah College of Art and Design, he was awarded a fellowship to continue urban research abroad in Italy.  Mr. Sottile earned his Masters Degree in Urban Design and Architecture from Syracuse University and was voted among the Top 100 Academics in the Nation by USA Today. Sottile turned his attention toward expanding the role of the architect as a leader in issues of community planning, preservation and growth.  Currently, Sottile serves as a principal of Sottile & Sottile, a Savannah-based firm working primarily in Nationally Registered Historic Districts.  The firm’s work includes urban design and civic architecture, and emphasizes historic research, urban analysis and community-wide engagement. Sottile’s work has been featured in the New York Times, Preservation Magazine, Architect Magazine, Time Magazine and Architectural Digest.  He has lectured for the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute.  Concurrently with his practice, Sottile is a professor of architecture and urban design at the Savannah College of Art and Design and is the former dean of the SCAD School of Building Arts. In this role, he led the graduate and undergraduate programs in Architecture, Architectural History, Preservation Design, Interior Design, Furniture Design and Urban Design.  Mr. Sottile has received over fifty awards for his work, including three international Charter Awards from the Congress for the New Urbanism, awards from the American Planning Association, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, three National Honor Awards from the American Institute of Architects, and the Global Award for Excellence from the Urban Land Institute.