SOM welcomes technology strategist and designer Shane Burger as Chief Design Technology Officer (CDTO), leading the global design technology strategy and directing the workflows and softwares that empower every member of our team to bring efficiency and innovation to their design work.
With expertise in BIM, design computation, digital fabrication, building performance, VR/AR, and more, Shane is passionate about creating the future of architectural practice through innovative technical approaches to the design and delivery of projects.
As SOM’s CDTO, Shane expands our architects’ and engineers’ design capabilities and increases connectivity with project partners, including clients, specialists, and builders through design technology tools and workflows. The global Design Technology group that Shane provides a design-thinking strategy to sharpen SOM’s approach to technology disruption by optimizing design processes through automation of quantitative and qualitative design feedback, data management, and democratizing knowledge. By disseminating user-centric practices and design tools and by representing the project design and the user, this transformational role empowers a thriving community of designers who are well-supported, trained for excellence, and able to collaborate with peers in multiple functions.
“SOM’s legacy and ambition to bring innovation to our design, engineering, and planning solutions has always been deeply connected to digital technologies that empower every individual and team in our studios,” said SOM Partner Carrie Moore. “Shane’s proven experience in delivering technological solutions that integrate what is next in this rapidly evolving landscape paired with his unique ability to understand and support users’ capabilities and workflows—something that remains profoundly human—is what is going to take SOM and the industry to the next level.”
With a degree in architecture and more than two decades of experience as a design technology leader, Shane has been an advocate and active developer of design computation methodologies in architecture, engineering, and construction since the early 2000s. He previously served as the Head of Design Technology at Grimshaw Architects, where he established their first projects utilizing BIM, among other achievements, in advanced computational design implementation. More recently, as the Global Leader for Technical Innovation at Woods Bagot, he directed company-wide efforts to streamline and innovate project design, delivery, and management.
He was recently featured in Parametric Architecture and delivered a keynote at the 2023 AIA National Conference on “The 21st Century Architect.”
