Clemeth Abercrombie

Clemeth is responsible for promoting design excellence, encouraging innovation, collaboration, and high-quality work across all disciplines at Charcoalblue. In addition to his project work; his responsibilities include knowledge management, facilitating peer reviews, and maintaining design standards across each of our business units. He provides team leadership and consultancy in all aspects of theatre design and acoustics.

Clemeth is responsible for promoting design excellence, encouraging innovation, collaboration, and high-quality work across all disciplines at Charcoalblue. In addition to his project work; his responsibilities include knowledge management, facilitating peer reviews, and maintaining design standards across each of our business units. He provides team leadership and consultancy in all aspects of both theatre design and acoustics.Clemeth’s broad set of interests have led him to an equally broad portfolio of work spanning three continents and all types of performance. He cherishes the unique cultures and circumstances that surround each project and leverages each collected experience to enhance the next. He has over 20 years’ experience as a consultant and over a decade with Charcoalblue, delivering multiple winners of the USITT Architecture Awards along the way. He prides himself on emphasizing collaboration and developing working relationships which span more than one project.

A Project That Shaped How You Work

People often ask me which of my projects has been my favorite – and I would be happy to choose several. But what I think about as I ponder which answer to give are the people and specific moments that shaped the building. It’s easy to look at an edifice and think it must have been formed through approvals by committees, visionary leadership, or extensive engineering analysis. And all of those things certainly contribute – but in my experience, the smaller moments that happen outside of the big meetings are where the magic happens. A sketch on a napkin during a conversation between past collaborators at the airport on the way home from an interview. A team member naming the parts of the building which connect others ‘theatre street’, thus unwittingly giving organizational structure to the project. Or gathering around a model of an amphitheatre and asking the question “what if the stage were on the opposite side of where everyone would expect it?” In all of these moments, humans give each other the trust, space, and support to share ideas as equals; bringing their whole selves – and thus creating buildings that feel alive, unique, and connected to community.

What Clients/Colleagues Value About You

Serious work doesn’t always have to be so serious. I try to bring excitement, energy, and levity to every conversation. The excitement and energy are driven simply by a deep passion for the intersection of performance, architecture, and ingenuity. The levity – because life’s too short not to have fun doing what we do.

A Problem You Love Solving

I appreciate bringing the lens of economics to design. Some people like to compartmentalize design, document production, procurement, team structuring, etc. But I’ve learned that taking a broad view of how the incentives which influence decisions made in each of these categories often has a significant effect on the quality of the final product. So, I enjoy participating in every aspect of project delivery in order to influence my projects with artists, technicians, and audiences in mind.

A Place That Shaped or Inspires You

The backcountry is my font of rejuvination and inspiration. I’m fortunate to live near the Rocky Mountains which provide endless reminder of how nature’s ability to design sustainable habitat (and performing arts buildings are habitats…) gives us all something to aspire to.

Cultural Value That Inspires You to Go the Extra Mile

Though Creativity and Innovation is a big part of my mandate at Charcoalblue, I think both of those are driven by Collaboration. The positive ‘domino effect’ which happens when one person shares an idea which triggers another in someone else which they would have never reached on their own is the stuff of true innovation. And the potential of hearing these ideas and learning from clients, collaborators, and our team is what brings me back to work every day.