Keith Brown
With over 40 years experience as a registered architect and project manager, Keith joined CMA in 1996, and has directed the design and development of numerous projects including the creation of large campus facilities, corporate tenant improvement programs, historic building renovations and adaptive reuse projects, and many free-standing retail, food service, hospitality, institutional and residential buildings.
His practice has involved him in projects throughout the US and, most recently in India. He managed his own architectural practice for 17 years, and been an influential leader in the Project Management and Construction Management efforts of CMA for 17 years.
Most recently Keith was been very involved in projects in India. Currently he is providing construction consulting to Intuit on a 220,000sf expansion project in Bangalore and has been instrumental in providing scheduling assistance as well as construction logistics and constructability advice to the project team. Previously he served as the lead Principal for a major development project in Gurgaon, India. The Indian developer of the 76 acre, mixed-use development project retained CMA to assist the development and construction teams on the project to implement ways of improving the timing, quality and profitability of the project. The project consisted of more than eight million sf of high-rise residential, office, retail, hotel and related facilities to house recreational and educational functions. The results of the first year of efforts were notable and measurable improvements in productivity, job-site safety, construction methods and scheduling techniques.
Over the past few years, Keith has also served as project manager for the UC Hastings College of the Law in developing its new parking and retail structure and has been directing the development of its 20 year Long Range Campus Plan, including its Master Plan. He has also been working on the pre-development and entitlements for several retail and institutional sites and facilities, and directed the Rockefeller Development Company / SOM Architecture Team in the San Francisco Transbay Tower Design and Development Competition.
Other representative projects and experiences include:
- Academic Facilities & Residences for the University of San Francisco in the development of a new residence and chapel for the Jesuit faculty; the development of a 136-unit faculty and staff housing project; the development of the new Dorraine Zief Law Library and the adaptive reuse of an historic hospital structure for student housing;
- Non-Profit and Community Facilities, working with the YMCA of San Francisco in preparing feasibility studies and directing the value engineering for both new building projects and the renovation of existing facilities in Bayview/Hunter’s Point, Chinatown, Pier 29-33; working with both the Stern Grove Festival Association and the SF Recreation & Park Department, he coordinated the efforts of notable landscape architect Lawrence Halprin and managed the complete restoration and renovation of the Stern Grove Performing Arts Facility.
- Land Planning and Infrastructure managing a project for Alameda County, developing an intensive and thorough analysis and graphical database of an 84 building, 200 acre mixed-use site;
- Tenant Improvements managing the space planning and build-out of over 10 million square feet of tenant space, including one project of 650,000 square feet, Keith worked extensively with various systems furniture products, alternative office concepts, and engineering approaches. He also Managed seven separate fast-track design and construction projects in a joint venture with Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) Facilities Project Management Department, with work including the simultaneous build-out of ten full floors (totaling over 200,000 square feet) in three separate buildings in PG&E’s downtown San Francisco office complex, and the relocation of more than 400 staff and management work places over a 15-month period. Other tenant work included such clients as: Time Inc., NASD, Home Box Office, IBM, AT&T Information Systems, Morse Diesel, DAON Corp., Cadillac Fairview and Morrison Foerster.
- Adaptive reuse and Building Renovation of numerous historic landmarks and notable non-landmark, historic buildings including the 1880’s Christian Brothers, Greystone Cellars building in St. Helena, CA into the west-coast campus for the Internationally renowned Culinary Institute of America, which is based in Hyde Park New York; a building renovation of 2 Wall Street, NY for the Rreef Funds and San Francisco’s Audifred building on the Embarcadero, one of the few buildings of the era left standing after the earthquake and fire of 1909.
- Hospitality and Food Service facilities for Campton Place Hotel, Commonwealth Club, SF Tennis Club, Boudin Bakeries, Denny’s Restaurants, Laura Todd Cookies, California Pizza Kitchen, Metropole Restaurant, Vintage House Restaurants and over 40 separate, stand-alone restaurants throughout the US.
Keith received his B. of Architecture degree from the University of Tennessee, and also studied in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia and La Napoule, France. He has been active on the Interiors and the Historic Building Committees of the American Institute of Architects, and is a licensed architect. He is also an avid racing sailor and a leisure road cyclist, an avid cook and collector of wines, and a published photographer.
