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Curtis Clay joins CannonDesign as Regional Design Director for the East Region. July 27, 2026 Social sharing. CannonDesign is excited to share that Curtis Clay, FAIA, has joined CannonDesign as Regional Design Director for the East Region. Based in its Washington, D.C. office, Curtis will work closely with its design teams across the East Region, including those in its offices in Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, New York City and Washington, D.C., to set the standard for design quality, mentor and recruit designers, engage clients and reinforce CannonDesign's identity as a design-forward practice rooted in Living-Centered Design. As an architect whose career spans over two decades and encompasses executive oversight of a multibillion-dollar portfolio across more than 50 countries, Curtis brings a distinctive combination of leadership, design expertise and client-side perspective that makes him an exceptional fit to serve as East Region Design Director. Having recently served as Director of Architecture for the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO), Curtis's design sensibility blends architecture, sustainability, resilience, culture and community impact to create places that function optimally while also communicating the values of the people they serve. Among his career highlights, Curtis oversaw design quality for 290 diplomatic missions in 190 countries, institutionalized 14 major capital policy programs, including Embassy 2050 - a strategic partnership with academia and industry that provides an implementation roadmap for U.S. embassies over the next 25 years using sustainable, resilient, and adaptable criteria - and led multiple projects exceeding $500M each. Under Curtis's leadership, 14 diplomatic projects have received LEED Certification, with several more set to achieve it by the end of 2027. Many of those projects will be the first LEED certified projects in their country. Testimonials. * Curtis' perspective and depth of experience are truly unique in its industry. Through his leadership with the U.S. State Department's overseas building program, he developed an understanding of what it takes to achieve design excellence, build consensus among diverse stakeholders and deliver meaningful outcomes. Just as importantly, he is a thoughtful, collaborative leader whose insight, rigor and passion for design will elevate its work across the East Region and throughout CannonDesign. David Polzin Executive Director of Design "Throughout my career, I've been passionate about helping create environments that are thoughtful, sustainable and grounded in purpose, says Curtis. "Whether it's pushing design quality, exploring innovative materials or considering the broader impact of the built environment, I believe great design comes from aligning creativity with responsibility. That shared commitment to design excellence is what drew me to CannonDesign." As Regional Design Director, Curtis will collaborate closely with design leaders across the firm, helping the East Region continue to raise the bar while contributing to a shared design culture for the firm. CannonDesign is excited to see the impact of his leadership as CannonDesign continues to evolve and grow.

Reimagining the future city: CannonDesign's symposium on aging societies at EDRA57. July 23, 2026 Social sharing. As global communities grapple with the "wicked problems" of population aging and post-COVID urban transformations, the need for built environments that support social and ecological networks has never been more urgent. Recently, CannonDesign's R&D Director, Felix Kabo, Ph.D., M.Arch. M.S., led a critical symposium at the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) conference titled, "The Future City: Reimagining Built Environments That More Sustainably Support Aging Societies" in partnership with collaborators from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Clemson University, Advocate Health and SmithGroup. Designing for the life course. Population aging is one of the most significant challenges of the 21st century, intersecting with healthcare costs, workforce shortage, and social security sustainability. Because current design practices often overlook the complex, cognitive and social needs of older adults, the symposium explored how interdisciplinary research can create environments that promote health and well-being for all ages. The presentations examined several innovative strategies: Cognitive health: A research framework that links biophilic design and wayfinding to cognitive well-being in aging populations. Vertical villages: A pedagogical approach that reimagined vacant high-rises as mixed-use, multigenerational wellness hubs. Intergenerational connectivity: The use of adaptive reuse in office buildings to foster social encounters and combat the global loneliness epidemic. Human flourishing: A new village model that offers a replicable, dignity-centered alternative to institutional care. By highlighting research-driven strategies like environmental enrichment and adaptive reuse, this symposium demonstrated how the future city can be reimagined as a network of environments that sustain well-being across the entire life course.

Award-winning research: How micro-level design decisions impact system-level organizational performance. July 23, 2026 Social sharing. CannonDesign is proud to share that CannonDesign has been recognized with the 2026 Certificate of Research Excellence (CORE) by the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA). This prestigious recognition was awarded for its study, "Small but Mighty: How Personal Workspace Views and Lighting Relate to Organizational Networks," which provides groundbreaking evidence on how micro-level design decisions impact system-level organizational performance. The CORE program recognizes rigorous, impactful and practice-based environmental design research. Of the nine CORE awards, this study was only one of two to receive the highly coveted Merit status because of its excellence. Linking workspace quality to social connectivity. While architects often aim to enhance collaboration through design, the industry rarely has the empirical data to prove that specific features - like a window view or high-quality lighting - actually change how an organization functions. Led by CannonDesign's Research Director, Felix Kabo, Ph.D., M.Arch., M.S., and design research consultant Cameron Contreras, the CannonDesign research team set out to bridge this gap. Using the CannonDesign Workplace Barometer (CWB), the team conducted a full-population study of 168 teachers and staff at Ehrman Crest Elementary & Middle School. By integrating spatial perception data with advanced Social Network Analysis (SNA), the study examined how an individual's personal workspace influenced their position in the organizational network e.g., "closeness centrality" - a measure of how easily they can reach others to share knowledge or solve problems. Key findings: Design as a catalyst for innovation. The research revealed that "small" environmental factors have a "mighty" impact on organizational dynamics: The PWVLI effect: The study introduced the Personal Workspace View and Lighting Index (PWVLI). Findings showed that individuals with better access to natural light and pleasant views were significantly more central in advice-seeking and innovation networks. Signaling approachability: Beyond mere comfort, high-quality workspaces act as "symbolic signals." Natural light and restorative views may communicate approachability, encouraging colleagues to seek out others for collaboration and expertise. Mapping the "hidden" school: The team mapped seven distinct communication networks, identifying that while work relationships were strong, "advice" and "innovation" networks were often sparse. This allowed the team to propose targeted spatial interventions to "unclog" these relational bottlenecks. From research to practice. For the Seneca Valley School District, the study provided a roadmap for leadership to strengthen mentorship, support knowledge brokers and improve psychological safety across the staff. By using sophisticated tools like UCINET for network modeling and Stata for statistical analysis, CannonDesign is moving the AEC industry away from anecdotal "post-occupancy surveys" toward true hypothesis-driven design. Study team: Felix Kabo, Ph.D. (Lead); Cameron Contreras Collaborators: Michael DeLuca & Jeremy Dwyer(CannonDesign Education Practice); Lauri Pendred (Seneca Valley School District) Testimonials. * By using research-informed approaches to design, CannonDesign can better understand how its design decisions shape organizations as systems: who connects with whom, how teams collaborate and how networks grow and evolve over time. Dr. Felix Kabo CannonDesign Research Director