Design Collective Appoints Andrew Watkins to Chief Information Technology Officer

In support of Design Collective’s continued growth and national reach, the firm is proud to announce the promotion of Andrew Watkins, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, to serve as its new Chief Information Technology Officer (CITO). 

As a forward-thinking leader with over 25 years of experience, Andrew has dedicated most of his career to designing environments in which people learn, work, and play, including several large-scale projects for major universities and developers across the country. Over the course of his professional career, Andrew discovered his passion for expanding and redefining the role of technology within design firms. 

As a practicing architect, he understands the connection between design, technology, and the built environment to drive innovation in the implementation of our design technology initiatives, including building information modeling (BIM), design analysis, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies. His leadership leveraging design software and work processes has helped to not only ensure the highest levels of analysis and visualization in the firm’s creative, delivery and operational methodologies, but has also greatly enhanced the level of coordination, accuracy, and quality of the firm’s work.

In recognition of his promotion at Design Collective, Andrew stated “I am thrilled at the opportunity to serve as CITO at Design Collective. I look forward to continuing to harness the power of technology to advance the levels of collaboration and innovation we can achieve, while simultaneously working to ensure the firm’s data integrity and security.”  

Design Collective President and CEO, Fred Marino, adds “Innovation is driven by constantly looking at what we do and how we do it. Andrew’s knowledge of our toolsets and workflows, as well as architectural practice and market trends, will allow us to strategically reconceptualize and inform the role of technology within our firm.”

As CITO, Andrew will direct the vision and team dedicated to the firm’s deployment of advanced technologies for design, construction, and cybersecurity. This includes overseeing the evaluation and implementation of new design, visualization and analysis tools that will inform decision-making as well as drive innovation in building and construction technologies. Leveraging emerging sustainable design toolsets will also further enhance our capabilities in all types of advanced building performance analyses.

Andrew received his Master of Architecture degree from Morgan State University and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. He is a licensed architect, a LEED BD+C Accredited Professional, and an active member of Revit Baltimore User Group, AEC Live | Baltimore and the BIMxt Network. He has also spoken at national and international professional trade organization events including the AIA National Convention, Autodesk University, and BILT North America.