Measuring Dirt

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Receiving the presidential Chain of Office

ANN E. GRAY, FRICS, RIBA, FAIA is an internationally recognized property expert. In 2023 Ann was elected to the presidency the 143,000-member Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors after serving for nearly ten years on its Global Governing Council. During her tenure, she experienced the wide-ranging profession as it is practiced the world over. She has the practitioner’s perspective. The year of her presidency saw her relocated from her sunny Southern California milieu and ensconced in the 19th-century bastion of global surveying at 12 Great George Street on Parliament Square in London. In November 2024, she was admitted to the Freedom of the City of London and is a member of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors. She holds a B.A. in Applied Mathematics and a Master of Architecture both from UCLA.

In 1994, Ann launched her consulting practice, Gray Real Estate Advisors advising property owners on the optimization of their assets. Prior to that she led pre-construction activity at Paramount Pictures for the development of corporate and production facilities. Her work at Paramount Pictures was the subject of the January 1989 TIME magazine "Best of" issue in a piece called Best of Design: A Compelling New Modernism. She is a frequent speaker on the topic of property, building conservation and professionalism at industry conferences such as the American Institute of Architects national convention, the California Preservation Foundation annual conference and the RICS Built Environment Forum summits in Los Angeles, Dubai and Washington DC. Ann has been a lecturer and juror at universities such as USC, UCLA, and the Harvard Graduate School of Design and has served on the Board of Advisors to the Woodbury University School of Architecture.

Ann is the founder of award-winning book imprint Balcony Press that highlights the architecture and culture of the West often overlooked by the publishing industry at large. From 2001 to 2014 she was founding publisher of FORM magazine, the AEC industry journal in Southern California and authored several articles during the life of the publication.

Ann has shared her views broadly including on Seattle public radio upon the completion of the new Amazon headquarters. In 2021 she was interviewed for a Costar podcast and in 2023 was filmed beach-side in Cannes for Costar News on the topic of international practice. Local television host Art Levine interviewed her on the topic of the profession for the program Straight Talk with Art Levine. Likewise, she was a guest on The Christopher Lowell Show on Discovery Channel. She is the credited Executive Producer of the documentary film The Spirit in Architecture: John Lautner. Ann has been profiled in Modus magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Architecture California, Verdugo and Southern California Magazine. In her writing Ann offers a unique perspective expertly synthesizing the nuances of planning, design and property.

Bio

IN THE PRESS

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

"Balcony's books bring a rush of deja vu because her images are already part of our visual and cultural landscape – though we've never seen them framed quite so poetically before."

DENISE HAMILTON

LOS ANGELES TIMES

American Institute of Architects granted Ann their National Award for Collaborative Achievement calling her “a professional who celebrates vernacular and heritage, who builds bridges to community, and who “makes you see.”

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS

"She is publishing things which otherwise would be inaccessible to the general public."

NATALIE SHIVERS

FOX STUDIOS

In The Press

LECTURES

Ann is an experienced public speaker and has keynoted, presented research findings, moderated panels and offered her informed opinions in a variety of settings including banquets, board installations and industry conferences as a respected expert on the property professions. Inquire

SELECTED APPEARANCES

CBRE - Graffiti Towers: Abomination or Opportunity 2025
Global Building Conservation Conference Webinar – 2025
Glasgow University – BAVS Decoding the Nineteenth Century 2024
London – Commercial Property Conference 2023
Glasgow Sustainability Conference 2023
London – Building Surveying Conference 2023
Memorial service for Sir Christopher Wren's 300th, St. Paul's Cathedral, London
Inaugural address as incoming President – RICS 2023
Northumbria University Annual Gala Keynote – 2022
Caribbean Property Conference – Sea Rise and the Future of Cayman 2022
NYU Chen Institute of Real Estate – 2021
ULI FutureBuild 2017 – Innovation and Energy in the Built Environment
Straight Talk with Art Levine – The Profession of Surveying, local TV interview
RICS LA Summit Keynote 2011 – The Merely Ethical Surveyor: Taking Responsibility
AIA National Convention 2001 – Making Your Way as a Woman in Architecture
Lightfair Intl - The Art of Museum Lighting panel moderator
VerdeXchange – Resiliency, Profits and Public Policy panel moderator
RICS LA Summit 2015 – Corporate Management of Real Estate panel moderator
Washington DC – World Built Environment Forum 2014
RICS Toronto Summit 2011 – New Trends in Creative Office
ULI Fall Conference 2011 – Public Private Partnerships: Will they work in the US?
Westweek – Keynote panel Italian Design What’s Next
The Christopher Lowell Show – Discovery Channel 1996