about the principal

DAVE CHAN, CBPE, AIA, LEED AP

Mr. Chan is a second-generation architect with over 30 years of architectural experience in all facets of the profession.   Prior to the founding of his own firm, he has served as Managing Principal and Senior Project Manager at large national architectural firms.  He has been responsible for the design and construction of over 80 buildings in the Fairfax County area alone, and has over 7 million square feet designed and constructed nationally.  

Dave is also a Certified Building Plans Examiner with Fairfax County’s and Prince George's County's Expedited Plan Review program.  The company provides Peer Review Services of Permit Drawings, both in commercial and residential construction. 

He has delivered several seminars on "Green Building and the International Codes" to building code officials in Fairfax County and in Richmond.  He has also served as a visiting guest critic at a few architectural design studios to include Catholic University's undergraduate program.  

Dave volunteers his time on the American Institute of Architects (AIA) NOVA Small Firms Committee.  He also teaches the accessibility class annually for interns preparing for the Architectural Registration Exam.  Annually, he serves as a judge for the American Builder and Contractor Awards competition.

Education
Dave began as a Pre-med major at Cornell University before soon realizing his true passion for architecture while visiting his fraternity brothers studying at Cornell's esteemed Architecture School. He transferred to University of Maryland's undergraduate Architecture program and graduated his Bachelor of Science in Architecture in 1987, and later received his Master of Architecture at University of Maryland in 1990, where he was a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society and made the President's List. At graduate school, he placed first in the National Acoustic Society Design Competition and placed second at the Howard Brandston Lighting Design Competition. He is also a four-time club winner at Toastmasters International Potomac Chapter. 

Career
Dave became licensed in 1994, shortly after graduating. He received his LEED accreditation in 2005 and has taken a few project management and risk management courses at Leo A Daly. He has also received extensive training in consulting services at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, LLP. He is currently qualified to receive his Project Management Professional Certification.    

 
Accreditations

Dave's multi-faceted training and accreditations provide him in-depth expertise and knowledge in his field:

  1. LEED accreditation under version 2.1  –  He became LEED accredited early on in 2005, well before the accreditation was more commonplace.
  2. Certified Building Plans Examiner  –  This certification and his related experience allow him to be intimately familiar with the latest code requirements.  He uses that knowledge to fully integrate code compliance with design at the very preliminary stages of the project. 
  3. Certified Accessibility Inspector  –  Rather than providing accessible design as an afterthought, his intimate knowledge in this area allows him to fully integrate code compliance at the earliest stages of design.  His knowledge has become especially crucial in residential design and in alterations and renovations of existing buildings as the applicable laws in these areas have become very complex. 
  4. Certified Commercial Plan Examiner - This certification as well as the Building Plans Examiner allow David Chan to be qualified as a Third Party Reviewer for the District of Columbia (a.k.a - DCRA).  
  5. Project Management Professional (PMP) qualified  –  Having far exceeded the required field project management experience and having satisfied the required classroom training hours, he is able to very effectively manage large and complex processes from the Project Initiation stage to the Closing stages.  This training also helps him to better understand the processes and terminology used by other PMP accredited from other professions, who are often the end-users.  Most often, these individuals are clients who need the Architect to help them identify, develop, and validate their Scope.
  6. Subject Matter Expert in Sustainability 

 
Additional Skills

Aside from managing and designing projects, he has pursued other related career endeavors as well:

  1. Served as a Visiting Design Studio critic at Catholic University School of Architecture and Engineering and at Northern Virginia Community College School of Architecture.
  2. Possesses consulting experience in Internal Change Management on specific processes: Risk Management, submittal review process, QA/QC Process, specification writing, intra-disciplinary office file sharing and coordination of CD production. 
  3. Taught preparatory classes on the “Architectural Registration Exam” (ARE), “Scholastic Aptitude Test” (SAT) and the “Graduate Record Examination” (GRE).​