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Dan McKelvey, AIA, Retires after 42-Year Career
After an extraordinary 42-year career in architecture, including 32 years at Ayers Saint Gross, Architect and Principal Dan McKelvey is retiring.
Dan joined Ayers Saint Gross in December of 1992, bringing with him a deep passion for design and a curiosity that has defined his entire career. His journey into architecture began in high school when he first enrolled in a class in architectural design following three years of mechanical drawing. After initially entering college at Penn State as a history major, he was soon drawn back to architecture, setting him on a path that led to a legacy of complex and impactful work.
Dan arrived at Ayers Saint Gross early in his career when the firm was a relatively small office working on a major business school project for the University of Virginia. He was energized by the opportunity to pivot from his prior years of work engaged in healthcare architecture to a more diverse portfolio of higher education work.
“Each academic project brought a different set of design requirements so there was a big learning curve with each one,” Dan said. “Each new project was often very different from the previous one.”
Throughout his career, Dan has enjoyed working on a wide range of projects that have stretched the learning and creativity curve. He became adept at managing and designing some of the firm’s most technically ambitious and complex projects. These include standout work for institutions like Johns Hopkins Medical Institute, The University of Virginia School of Law and Darden Business School, Emory University, The University of Maryland, The University of Baltimore School of Law, and the University of North Carolina.
Dan has a special talent for translating design constraints into design opportunities. One of his proudest achievements was his work on the Nelson-Harvey building at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he led the design to introduce a thermal mass double-envelope wall system. This groundbreaking design led Dan to present the project at several national and international conferences, most notably, NIBS Building Innovation Conference, ASHRAE/ORNL Whole Buildings International Conference and the prestigious Conference on Advanced Building Skins in Bern, Switzerland.
“The Nelson-Harvey project was probably the most complex design undertaking I had ever done,” Dan said. “The design for the building was unorthodox and wasn’t initially asked of us by the owner, it was a unique hybrid design we presented as a solution that the owner supported. The project proved to be an architectural and sustainable design success and realized savings in energy use, construction effort and the owner’s budget.
The Nelson Harvey Building at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md.
Within the firm, Dan will be remembered for his generosity in mentoring others. He’s been a source of wisdom and support to younger architects, freely sharing the lessons learned from his own career and from mentors like Lex Schwartz.
“I’ve learned as much from those I’ve taught as they’ve learned from me,” Dan said. “Nothing will be more satisfying than to know that the people I’ve mentored will carry on that legacy by serving as mentors themselves.” The cycle continually renews.
Dan’s approach to architecture is rooted in collaboration and humility. For Dan, the most successful projects are defined not just by their final form, but by the personal relationships and processes that brought them to life. For that reason, he advises architects, especially those starting in the field, to learn foremost how to work well with others.
“Even most well-known architects don’t work as an individual; you have to work on a team and when you work on a large project, the amount of people engaged grows exponentially,” he said. “Get out of your own way and set your ego aside. The more you can do that, the happier and more professionally satisfied you’ll be.”
Having worked to full capacity through his final day this spring, Dan now looks forward to a new chapter dedicated to another lifelong passion: art. After four decades in practice, he’s making the adjustment to embrace personal creative pursuits and travel.
Please join us in celebrating Dan’s remarkable career and wishing him all the best in retirement. His thoughtful design, technical mastery, and mentorship have left an enduring imprint on Ayers Saint Gross and the many people and institutions he’s impacted.