V Owen Bush interviewed Jeff Akerman about Rise Architecture's focus on regulations, technology, and urban redevelopment, including their long-tenured staff and core design philosophy emphasizing function and usability. Jeff Akerman discussed navigating client visions with regulations through education, the challenges and benefits of their in-house scan-to-BIM services and XR tools like Archio and HoloLens for collaboration and visualization. They also explored managing client expectations with renderings, Rise Architecture's approach to maintaining regional character across their work in 18 states, the surprising benefits of strict regulations on creativity, and the critical importance of deep listening to understand clients' unarticulated needs in the subjective field of architecture. The conversation further covered scaling the business culture versus design concept, non-negotiable principles around constructability, a critique of architectural education's focus, experimentation with AI and VR technologies alongside interest in modular construction, reflections on past projects regarding municipal planning, and Jeff Akerman's aspiration for Rise Architecture's legacy to positively impact the world through projects like low-income housing by deeply understanding and collaborating with clients.

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Scan2Plan Website

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https://www.scan2plan.io/

Jeff Akerman is the founding principal of RISE Architecture, a multidisciplinary firm operating at the nexus of regulatory expertise, technological adoption, and urban redevelopment. With roots in Brooklyn and projects now spanning multiple states, Jeff’s practice is driven by a clear ethos: design must serve both vision and constraint. Under his leadership, RISE has embraced emerging tools like XR for collaborative reviews, while also navigating the high-stakes terrain of zoning reforms and building codes. This episode explores how Jeff balances innovation with feasibility, scales with precision, and reframes architecture as both a creative and civic act.

RISE Architecture website

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https://www.risearchitecture.com/