Alan Scheer
senior pm – bim lead
A Project Manager with 18 years of experience, Alan has worked on a variety of project types including high-end hospitality, multi-family residential, cultural, and higher education. His 12 years at our firm have primarily focused on market rate, affordable, & senior housing. Before graduating from University of Colorado with a Master of Architecture in 2005, Alan obtained a BA in Anthropology and History from Fort Lewis College in Durango. Alan’s understanding of history and culture gives him an appreciation for the intricacies of the urban fabric and a desire to design with that sense of place in mind. He utilizes his expertise in physical and virtual modeling to explore design strategies through all stages of project development.
Aside from Project Management on select projects, Alan also leads and coordinates the firmwide BIM systems. Alan is primarily responsible for advancing & maintaining Revit templates and drawing guidelines. He also interfaces with firm leadership and outside consultants to ensure that our staff remains well-trained, and our BIM systems remain up to date.
Get to know alan
What is the most interesting place you have travelled to?
In 2016 I had the opportunity to travel to Vietnam with some friends. At the time, I had very little knowledge of Vietnam, other than what I had learned in High School history classes. This pretty much amounted to: It is entirely jungle and the US fought a long, protracted war there in the 1960’s. The trip exceeded all of my expectations. We stayed in Hanoi, Hue and Hoi An, followed by 3 days in Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Since all we had really heard about Vietnam was through the lens of US war history, we wanted to see as much of the rest of the country as we could. We visited ancient temples, colonial era towns, and the tombs of Vietnam’s rulers. The people were exceptionally friendly and the food was amazing.
One of the most memorable moments was watching the sun rise at Angkor Wat. We woke up at 4 in the morning and took a thirty minute ride in a tuk tuk to Angkor Wat. The streets aren’t lit there, so it was pitch black. Dozens of tuk tuks, all laden with tourists like ourselves, discharged their passengers on the outskirts of the complex. We stumbled in the dark along an ancient rocky causeway, crossing moats and passing through ominous stone arches. We reached our destination and settled down on the banks of a small lake. The sun rose, painting the sky with brilliant shades of orange and pink, with the stone towers of Angkor Wat silhouetted in front of them.
Besides Santulan, are there any other firms whose work you find interesting?
I have always appreciated the work of the northwest architecture firms Cutler Anderson and Olson Kundig. Both firms design with an honesty in material and an attention to detail. The mass of a board formed wall, for example, is evident from afar. The same material provides an entirely different tactile experience when examined up close. Additionally, their architecture blends into and compliments the surrounding environment, often incorporating existing natural features into the architecture itself.
What sparked your interest in Architecture?
It sounds rather cliché, but I’ve always been interested in architecture. It started back when I was building Lego cities in the basement. My fascination with building and making things evolved into building models. First from kits, and soon from scratch. The subjects were fantasy, science fiction and historic. Skills developed as a hobbyist led me to a career as a professional model maker for a company in Boulder. Working with them was a re-introduction into the world of architecture. I was exposed to industry practices and interacted with many local architecture firms on projects large and small. It was exciting taking part in the development of so many local projects, and I realized I wanted to take a larger role in the process. This led me to pursue a career in architecture.
What volunteering or passion projects do you do outside of work?
There are a couple of groups that I like to volunteer with. The first is Habitat for Humanity. My first projects with them were when I was in high school. I participated in two weeklong trips to Tijuana, Mexico to help the locals build houses. It was an eye-opening experience that sparked my interest in anthropology and architecture. I also volunteer with Wildlands Restoration Volunteers. They are a Front Range based organization dedicated to the maintenance and improvement of local outdoor trail systems. I am an avid hiker and backpacker, so it feels like an appropriate way to give back to the lands that I enjoy. One of my most memorable and rewarding periods with them was following the disastrous floods of 2013. I joined in on numerous cleanups of trails and waterways. It was humbling to see up close the damage that had been done.