The good generalists are experts at raising the bar.
With 20+ years developing the reputation as a multidisciplinary thinker and strategist who pushes boundaries in the built environment, our founder Brian Cummings, is an architect and placemaker with a history of leading prestigious international projects with some of the most renowned firms in the world.
His leadership and project expertise spans broadly from mixed-use and single and multifamily residential, urban planning, transportation, hospitality, healthcare, senior living, wellness, commercial office, and real estate strategy. Our DNA naturally offers more than traditional "design" - we help leaders across various industries address their most important challenges and capture their best opportunities.
2003 - 2018
Brian's professional life began in luxury residential, multifamily, and mixed-use development where he led complex high density projects in the urban environment. With experience at industry leading mixed-use firms, he established the track record of guiding a seamless process from concept to construction for high value projects on extremely complicated sites.
His creative and multidisciplinary approach led to his success as global design director for award winning firms such as Gensler, where he established the reputation as an innovator, planner, and leader who strives to expand the expertise.
​
Brian believes in making bold yet rational moves that yield special moments and impactful results - while striving for design excellence regardless of project scale or budget.
2018
today
In 2018, Brian cofounded The Strategy + Design Shop located in Washington DC, where he is passionately engaged in pushing organizations and their spaces & places to new frontiers.
Known as an "ideas shop" with an unconventional approach to future focused thinking and design, The Shop harnesses Brian's ability to expand the "design" practice and its way of thinking across a multitude of industries.
He engages with C-Suites and teams to foster bold ideas that deliver positive impact at large scales. Notable clients with successfully built work include Amtrak, The Consumer Technology Association, Cushman & Wakefield, & Marriott.
Brian is also director of Think House Group, a collective of creatives who aim to add value to all things people and place - from design and storytelling to strategy and real estate consulting.
We are big thinkers, storytellers, placemakers, and architects who build experiences and seek to improve the way we live work and play in mixed use design environments.
Brian leads by honoring relationships and partnerships that cultivate timeless and site specific design experiences reflective of each client and their goals. Our partners typically like to stand out amongst the crowd.
