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BIO: Capital Planning and Architecture Leader

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Christopher (Kip) McMahan, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP has led numerous higher education and commercial real estate projects for universities and architecture firms in New England and the Midwest. A strategic thinker, he provides direction for master plans and capital projects from early design through construction administration and is proficient in capital budgets and client programming.

 

McMahan most recently served as University Architect and Executive Director of Facilities Planning and Delivery (FPD) at UW - Madison, placing an emphasis on project charters to manage scope and budget. He resigned summer 2022 to return to Providence after four years at UW - Madison to pursue fresh opportunities in New England.

 

Serving as University Architect at UW - Madison, and University of Rhode Island prior to that, his duties included long-range capital planning, consultant selection and program direction, contract negotiations, campus master plan integration, and staff mentoring. McMahan expanded UW - Madison FPD staff from 30 to over 50 positions, with direct reports in Campus Planning, Capital Planning, Project Design + Delivery, and Space Management.

 

UW - Madison FP+D serves an R1 University campus of 26 M square feet: managing dozens of advanced planning studies; implementing an expanded $340 M program for deferred maintenance; developing a program to accelerate research laboratory recovery; while in the meantime engaging in a process of continuous improvement for a culture of excellence. Contemporary projects in planning, design, and construction on the Madison campus exceed $1.4 B in capital work.

 

McMahan’s earlier career in the private sector for over thirty years as a principal architect includes work throughout New England and New York City, with a background ranging from the planning, programming, and design on a range of higher education, mission-driven organizations, and large-scale, mixed-use commercial real estate developments. Since graduation, Kip has returned to the Rhode Island School of Design over the years to lead design studios and contribute to numerous juries.

 

On the real estate side, McMahan’s participation on the campus Revenue Enhancement Study Group at UW - Madison contributed to strategies to work with market based real estate development firms. Following his engagement in the RFP and AE selection process with lead partners at University Research Park, the committee is currently engaged in master planning several long-term projects for campus development, innovation districts, and public/private projects.

 

Kip McMahan is open to discussions leading to consultant engagement or longer-term assignments for capital planning, design visioning, and strategic policies in the current context of challenges to resiliency, social and racial justice, and a more sustainable AEC industry.