BEHR CHAMPANA GAGNERON
President / Chief Executive Officer
Founding Partner


Known internationally as a talented world-class architect, planner, and innovator, Behr brings to Quantum-AIP more than 30 years of experience in the areas of urban design, master planning and site analysis, architectural design excellence, programming, construction documents and administration, and business development. Prior to founding Quantum-AIP, he was the worldwide Vice President and Principal of TVS International (1998-2009), Director of Architecture and Design at Gensler in Atlanta (1996-1998), and Director of Architecture at Niles Bolton Associates (1994-1996).

Upon graduating from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, Behr worked as an architect at TVS&A Inc., Architects in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was engaged in relevant design and construction supervision work and later joined Niles Bolton Associates in 1994. While at Niles Bolton Associates, Behr led the winning design team in the national competition for the new $60 million Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Student Housing Village and Student Centre in Daytona Beach, Florida. Along with Niles Bolton, he was invited as one of 5 nationally selected architect teams for a week-long "think tank" charette on regional sustainable design for student housing facilities in the United States at The Rocky Mountain Institute in Snowmass, Colorado. Later during his 2-year tenure at Gensler, Behr became then the youngest member of the firm's worldwide Design Steering Committee and was a core design leader in helping the firm win the first prize for the 1998 Prestonwood Redevelopment design competition in Dallas, Texas.

After re-joining TVS International, Inc. as a vice president and corporate officer in October 1998, Behr was actively engaged in strategic planning and setting of goals for the firm. He was one of the design principals responsible for winning the international competition for the Puerto Rico Trade and Convention Center in Isla Grande. Behr also inspired and led TVS in the winning design for the original Diagonal Mar Master Plan Competition organized by Hines/Klimt/Apex in Barcelona, Spain in 1999. After writing the business plan for the international expansion of the firm, he later spear-headed the strategic expansion into the Middle East in late 2003, and since 2004 served both as firm Vice President and General Manager for the TVS International Dubai Branch office, and jointly later, as general manager for the TVS FZE Free Zone Enterprise in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. Behr was the main creator of the architectural design concepts for one of the early Dubai Sport City master plans, the US $7 billion Dubai Towers Dubai, and also successfully guided his teams in many visionary mega-master plans in the Middle East including the original master plans for the 15,400-acre Business Bay and the 1,600-acre The Lagoons at the terminus of the Dubai Creek.  

Following his live interview on CNN International in March 2008 on the current developments in Dubai, Behr was one of only 3 architects selected from a group of 24 top international designers to be featured in the October 2008 worldwide cable special called "Impossible City" on the DISCOVERY CHANNEL. The program focused on the amazing projects being built in Dubai and included some of his latest futuristic and sustainable projects conceptualized during his tenure at TVS International. His relevant project experience includes the design of very large mixed-use and complex facilities such as resorts and hotels, convention and conference centers, large office buildings, retail centers and shopping malls, housing, and other mega commercial mixed-use developments.  

Behr has lectured at worldwide conferences in the USA and Latin America, and in 2005 was a Master Class speaker at the Light India International Conference in New Delhi, India. In March 2009, he was one of the main speakers at an international convention in Mumbai, and his lecture titled "Bright Lights: Big City - India's Path To Environmental Sustainability", focused on the need for India to properly approach urban design and master planning of future cities, townships and large scale developments through a careful consideration of the specific cultural, social and environmental traditions of the Indian Sub-continent and not how many West, Far East and other developed nations have done so at the expense of their environments and natural resources. In July 2010, he was the keynote speaker at the Silver Jubilee Conferences of the International Society of Lighting Engineers (I.S.L.E.) in Bangalore and New Delhi, India. His lecture titled "Future Growth & Development - How India Can Prepare Itself" continued to expand on his on-going thesis for the conservation of the natural resources and sustainability in South Asia and other emerging economies.  

A prolific architect possessing a true passion for his profession, Behr has extensive design experience in the United States and internationally, particularly in the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. In 2010, both he and Quantum-AIP founding partner Howard Chen, as part of an Indian Consortium team, won the First Prize on the international competition for the $1.7 billion Future City master plan in Navi Mumbai, India.

Behr is fluent in 6 languages and is also an accomplished and talented artist whose work has won freehand drawing competitions and has been exhibited in museums and galleries. Â