Meet Clifford J. Brown, RA, NCARB, the Director of our Hospitality Studio. Clif has been in architecture for over 20 years, having sought a professional career he felt would make a physical, lasting impact on communities.

“When I was in high school, I was able to walk thru the Galleria in downtown Cleveland, Ohio” he recalls. “It was under construction and seeing that process in real time sparked something in me.”

Clif cultivated that spark, becoming a licensed architect and designing for a variety of industries.

“When I started as a Project Manager at DS Architecture, we had a conversation about building on my years of experience in K-12 architecture,” he says. “But as rewarding as education was, I wanted to take the reins of something more dynamic.”

Brought into the DS Architecture Family as a Project Manager, the firm soon noticed his leadership skills and ability to engage and connect with clients. When the opportunity for directorship of the existing Hospitality Studio arose, he was a natural fit.

“Hospitality means many things to different people,” he says. “There is room for interpretation and imagination when you’re creating an atmosphere that’s all about the experience, whether it be for dining, socialization, rest, or environments in-between.”

DS Architecture has longstanding relationships with companies such as Dunkin and Pizza Hut, relationships Clif plans to continue reinforcing while also expanding and exploring new creative opportunities in this architectural sector.  For example, he is interested in the concept of soft retail - converting ecommerce to brick and mortar, when the opportunity is right, to enhance the identity of a company within a community by providing a physical experience for customers.

“With Hospitality you want people to feel a connection through the environment they are a part of,” he says. “People go places to eat or shop, or to a hotel, for a reason. Through these experiences, there’s always a reason they come back or don’t.”

Clif aims to determine these reasons and use his new position to create spaces that respond to them. He appreciates the opportunities DS Architecture allows Studio Directors, and the firm culture obsessed with fostering creativity and challenging boundaries.

“There is a lot of potential with this studio,” he says. “I’d like to see us have a healthy balance of regional and national clients as well as more one-of-a-kind personalized projects. I look forward to creating a link between developers and local businesses and assisting clients in bringing their personal and unique projects to life.”