Gayle Kirchmar's ability to manage large, complex projects with multiple stakeholders is integral to the success of KCCT's domestic studio. She provides high-level direction for KCCT and fosters collaboration between all project team members, resulting in a process that exceeds stakeholder expectation. She plans, monitors, and supervises all design activities, and ensures project administration compliance with company and client requirements. A thought leader in mission-critical projects with high-stakes global impacts, she tackles the unique challenge of reconciling rigorous security requirements in top-secret environments with the creation of innovative, high-performance workspaces.
With specialized experience in operations center, training center, and government office building design for both new construction and renovation projects, Gayle blends existing structures functionally and securely with project parameters and provides solutions sensitive to building caliber. She leverages her extensive capabilities in the leadership of large teams on complex projects to manage budget and schedule, capture client programmatic needs, and coordinate with permitting agencies to deliver products that are detailed, creative, and contribute positively to their surrounding environments. Her portfolio encompasses both KCCT's most high-profile and highly classified projects, including the replacement and consolidation of 19 training facilities onto a 1,700-acre campus for the Department of State's Foreign Affairs Security Training Center and the design of a flexible, multi-tenant prototype office for FEMA's Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center.
Gayle is an enthusiastic proponent of career development for aspiring female architects and is an active participant in Commercial Real Estate Women's (CREW) Careers Lunch Club at Phelps High School. Prior to joining KCCT, she specialized in community development and stabilization projects to faciliate Washington, DC's ongoing renaissance. She liaised with local developers to deliver community enhancement buildings that included the University of the District of Columbia Community College renovations, the Mary Church Terrell House for Howard University, the Ellen Wilson Community Center, and the Phillips School Condominiums, a high-rise luxury building with several affordable housing units. A native of Maryland, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and a Master of Architecture from Virginia Tech.
Years of Industry Experience
28
Education
Master of Architecture, Virginia Tech
Bachelor of Arts, Graphic Design, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Professional Licenses, Certifications, Memberships, and Associations
American Institute of Architects
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards
LEED AP
Commercial Real Estate Women