Shawn's experience is diverse, including professional practice and teaching. His background in sustainability, academia and practice, as well as his keen business acumen, make him a valuable advisor to softfirm’s rigorous studio centric methodology involving cross disciplinary interaction. Formerly working for one of the nation’s most recognized sustainable design firms, BNIM Architects, as a project designer Shawn was instrumental in leading the design direction of projects and introducing the office to emerging materials and technologies through his ongoing research efforts.
Active in the community and academia, he was formerly a steering committee member for Business Committee for the Arts, a co-chair of the Young Architects Forum and member of the Monsters of Design - a grassroots initiative where he was instrumental in curating events for design discourse across the disciplines of architecture, industrial and graphic design. He remains an active personality in the green building and design industries of Southern California participating in speaking events, academic critiques and organizations such as Opportunity Green and USGBC's Los Angeles Chapter's Westside Branch.
Shawn was part of the design team that worked on The David & Lucile Packard Foundation headquarters in Los Altos, California, a project that was nationally recognized with awards in applied research and sustainability. The experience solidified his commitment to thinking long term about the consequences of designing in our fragile environment and reaffirmed his interest in cross disciplinary design teams. He has served as a guest instructor at Kansas State University, co-teaching a fifth year studio for the fall 2004 and spring 2005 semesters, in addition to teaching at the University of Kansas - School of Architecture, in the fall semester of 2003 .
