Disney's New York operations were scattered across the Upper West Side in aging facilities, including a former horse stable that housed ABC News broadcast sets. When the company set out to bring ABC, ESPN, Marvel, and its other divisions under one roof, the design prompt required upgrades for the next generation of broadcast technology and adherence to New York's Local Law 97 emissions requirements. The result is the Robert A. Iger Building at 7 Hudson Square, a 1.2 million-square-foot vertical campus that's fully electric and LEED Platinum certified.

Joseph Chase, Principal at Skidmore Owings & Merrill, and Maxwell Hatfield-Biondo, Director of HVAC at Jaros, Baum & Bolles led the technical design, drawing on decades of collaboration between their firms on projects like Manhattan West and 35 Hudson Yards. Their approach to electrification starts with a question most developers skip: what do you actually need? 

Rather than sizing systems for hypothetical worst-case scenarios, they used Disney's utility data from existing facilities to right-size equipment. Then they designed mechanical systems to recover heat that would otherwise be rejected to the outdoors. Only after reducing and recovering did they electrify the remaining loads. 

Following this sequence is the difference between a building that struggles to heat itself in winter and one where the heating systems barely turn on because there's so much recoverable heat from production equipment and people.

The conversation also gets into specifics of how condenser water source heat pumps work alongside air source heat pumps to create redundancy, why the terracotta facade was essential for both thermal performance and construction speed, and the acoustic strategies required when you're building broadcast studios next to a subway line and the Holland Tunnel entrance. 

Episode Outline

01:39) Joe and Max's backgrounds and the long SOM-JB&B collaboration history

(06:52) Disney's motivation to bring multiple companies into one Hudson Square campus

(13:25) Why Hudson Square's zoning enables large floor plates for media and tech tenants

(17:17) Local Law 97 requirements and the reduce-recover-electrify approach to compliance

(27:20) Air source heat pumps, condenser water systems, and dual-source heating strategy

(35:43) How the high-performance terracotta facade enables low-temperature heating

(44:46) Box-in-box construction and sound isolation mats for below-grade production studios

(52:41) The business case for electrification: efficiency gains and increased leasable area

Additional Resources

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Learn more about The Robert A. Iger Building 

LEED project tools and resources 

NYSERDA programs 

Local Law 97  

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There's a piece of conventional wisdom in real estate that almost every developer accepts: retail follows rooftops. Build the housing first, then the storefronts will follow. Tesho Akindele and the team at Camp North End did the opposite—and it’s paying off in a major way. 

Camp North End is a 76-acre adaptive reuse project in Charlotte, North Carolina. Formerly a Ford manufacturing plant turned Army facility turned Rite Aid warehouse, ATCO Properties acquired the site in 2017. For decades, the entire campus was disconnected from the eight surrounding residential neighborhoods, completely paved over, and zoned industrial. Today, it's one of the most vibrant developments in the Southeast: 400,000 square feet of office, 75,000 square feet of retail, 300 apartments, and 1.1 million visitors this past year alone. 

This conversation unpacks the mechanics behind large-scale adaptive reuse: how to structure opportunity zone financing across multiple phases, ways to optimize brownfield remediation, and strategies for building community buy-in every step of the way. Tesho also walks through the three buckets of development work—project management, financial analysis, and capital raising—and shares how small teams can rise to the challenge of complex projects. 

Episode Outline

(02:06) Tesho’s career as a professional soccer player and the leadership lessons he learned along the way

(08:28) Tesho's transition from soccer to real estate, his passion for housing advocacy, and joining ATCO

(13:05) Walking through Camp North End's site and the long-term vision for the neighborhood

(23:42) Rezoning industrial land and negotiating over rail easements

(31:23) What "legalize housing" means and why single-family-only zoning hurts cities 

(36:38) Affordable housing solutions that meet diverse community needs

(39:16) Why opportunity zones encourage long-term thinking and better design choices

(44:05) Building an internal team with community managers, placemakers, and 24/7 security

(49:52) Practical advice for mixed-use developers 

Additional Resources

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Access resources from my panel discussion on Opportunity Zones at the Yale AREA Conference

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"I'll plan anything a man wants, from a cathedral to a chicken coop," architect H.H. Richardson famously said. Stephen Cassell has done exactly that—designing a chicken coop, a synagogue, and now comes full circle with a cemetery welcome and education center in Brooklyn.

Green-Wood Cemetery is transforming from an active burial ground into a cultural institution. With art installations, concerts in the catacombs, and educational programming, the cemetery is preparing for a future when burial plots run out. Stephen Cassell and his team at Architecture Research Office (ARO) designed the Education & Welcome Center to support that transition.

The project sits adjacent to a delicate 1890s greenhouse made of cast-iron and glass. ARO chose a deep burgundy terracotta with fine-grained baguette patterns, resulting in vertical fins that catch light differently depending on their angle. The design serves as an elegant backdrop, allowing the Weir Greenhouse to remain the focal point while providing exhibition space, classrooms, and offices for the cemetery's expanding cultural programming.

This conversation explores the strategic decisions behind designing within a landmark, from research in Green-Wood's archives to collaboration with landscape architects. Stephen also reflects on lessons from his years at Steven Holl Architects, ARO's research-driven approach to practice, and how constraints can actually lead to better design solutions.

Episode Outline

(02:01) Early lessons from Steven Holl on craft and materiality

(03:14) Meeting Adam Yarinsky at Princeton and starting ARO in the early 1990s

(12:21) Green-Wood Cemetery's history, landscape, and transformation into a cultural institution

(18:07) The Green-Wood RFP process and interview 

(22:40) Design details that tie into the historic greenhouse and cemetery grounds 

(31:17) When to contrast with historic context versus when to serve as backdrop

(33:15) Navigating Landmarks Preservation Commission regulations 

Additional Resources

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Kim Yao of Architecture Research Office | Milgard Hall in Tacoma | A School for Everyone

The Green-Wood Cemetery Education and Welcome Center

Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc 

Green-Wood Cemetery T-Shirt

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There are over 2,000 different building codes across the United States, including 340 in Colorado alone. This fragmentation is one of the biggest barriers preventing modular housing from addressing America's affordability crisis. Wayne Norbeck and Jordan Rogove, co-founders of DXA Studio and Liv-Connected, are working to change that through their design work and their efforts on Capitol Hill.

In this second part of our conversation, Wayne and Jordan explain the technical strategy behind the Lahaina project. By engineering components to fit on standard flatbed trucks rather than expensive wide-load transport, they reduced shipping costs from $18 per mile to $2-3 per mile. Each unit arrives complete and can be installed in four hours, with finishes that include pre-finished birch plywood interiors and peaked roofs—features manufacturers repeatedly tried to eliminate, but made a huge difference for tenants. 

The conversation also explores how regional code standardization could save 30 cents on every housing dollar and current progress with bipartisan support for legislation extending HUD's manufactured housing authority. This would cut approval times from months to weeks while maintaining quality standards, potentially transforming how America responds to natural disasters and housing affordability. 

Episode Outline

(01:01) Volumetric versus hybrid modular systems and the economics of shipping costs

(04:31) Material choices that avoid institutional aesthetics and support permanent housing

(11:05) Navigating FEMA, Army Corps of Engineers, and Maui County building approvals

(14:37) Where modular housing can have the highest impact beyond disaster relief

(17:45) The case for regional building codes to unlock affordable housing at scale

(21:30) Legislative solutions and bipartisan Congressional support for modular expansion

(29:25) Connecting with state officials, nonprofits, and the UCLA cityLAB initiative

Additional Resources

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Learn more about Liv-Connected

Learn more about DXA Studio 

The Modular Construction Landscape by Atif Z. Qadir

cityLAB - UCLA

Modular Building Institute

Sen. Tim Scott's ROAD to Housing Act

Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Homes for All Act   

A New Take on Disaster Housing in Hawaiʻi (Part 1)

Connect with Jordan Rogove

Connect on LinkedIn 

Connect with Wayne Norbeck

Connect on LinkedIn

More From American Building 

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When the Lahaina wildfires devastated Maui in 2023, Hawaiʻi's governor did something unprecedented: he rejected FEMA trailers. The reason was simple一those trailers were designed to last three seasons but routinely became permanent housing for 10-plus years, bringing mold, formaldehyde, and health problems with them. Hawaiʻi wanted something better. 

Jordan Rogove and Wayne Norbeck, co-founders of DXA Studio and Liv-Connected, manufactured and delivered 109 homes to the Maui community in under two months. Their solution challenged conventional wisdom about disaster housing, demonstrating that speed and dignity can coexist. 

Their work on the Lahaina project reveals the tensions in disaster response: federal bureaucracy versus innovation, volumetric versus flat-pack construction, and how to maintain design integrity under tight deadlines.

This conversation also traces their journey from Virginia Tech classmates to established architects running a New York City practice. Along the way, they discovered that adaptive reuse and architecture-as-activism weren't just design philosophies, but rather catalysts for creating Liv-Connected, their modular housing initiative focused on integrating health technology into factory-built homes.

Episode Outline

(02:17) Meeting at Virginia Tech and collaborating on design competitions post-grad

(10:24) The Haiti competition approach: team building and community engagement 

(16:04) The inspiration behind integrating health technology into modular housing

(18:46) Getting FEMA's attention through the Texas General Land Office RFP

(24:09) Why Hawaiʻi rejected FEMA trailers and sought out permanent housing solutions

(26:39) Design trade-offs for manufacturing at scale  

(29:56) Navigating FEMA's seven-layer decision-making structure

Additional Resources

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Learn more about Liv-Connected

Learn more about DXA Studio 

The New York Times article: In Lahaina, ‘Dignified’ Havens for Wildfire Survivors

Episode 81 with Vishaan Chakrabarti 

Dreams from my Father by Barack Obama

Connect with Jordan Rogove

Connect on LinkedIn 

Connect with Wayne Norbeck

Connect on LinkedIn

More From American Building 

Grab the exclusive guide: How Eight Developers & Designers Are Responding to The Housing Crisis  

Learn more on the American Building website

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Most developers assume the housing crisis is about supply. Jesse Russell and Ryan Andrews of Hiatus Homes see it differently: it's about designing for households that most developers overlook. One to two-person households represent the largest and fastest-growing demographic in America, yet they're the least served by new construction. Based in Bend, Oregon, Hiatus Homes builds 500-1,200 square foot homes specifically for this market, and since 2020, they've raised $8M from 60 local investors. 

Their Hiatus Ninth project demonstrates how small-scale infill development works in practice. On a half-acre lot that once held a single home, they subdivided the property into nine lots and built "twinhomes"—a main unit with an attached ADU that functions as both a primary residence and rental property. This approach allows middle-income buyers (80-120% AMI) to afford homeownership while generating rental income, using financing structures that treat the combined units as a primary residence rather than an investment property.

This conversation also explores the policy changes enabling this housing type, the three-stage capitalization strategy they use, the construction process with guaranteed-price builders, and the barriers still preventing small-scale development from scaling nationally. Jesse and Ryan offer practical advice for developers navigating zoning codes, engaging local government, and creating housing that serves workforce needs while remaining financially viable.

Episode Outline

(03:59) Capital raising through the JOBS Act and community-based investors

(08:52) Defining small-scale development and the housing types that qualify

(13:49) Hiatus Ninth project overview: subdividing one lot into nine twin homes

(21:06) Design and construction process with guaranteed-price builders

(23:44) Pricing strategy and the importance of getting buyers into the physical space

(27:50) Three-stage financing structures and end-user mortgages

(33:23) How Freddie Mac allows rental income to offset mortgage qualification

(39:47) Inventory challenges and building permit slowdowns

(43:29) Barriers to scaling small-scale developments

(53:50) How developers can engage local government and advocate for zoning reform

Additional Resources

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Hiatus Homes

General Contractor: Simplicity Homes 

Private Lender: Builders Capital 

Freddie Mac

Tour of Homes 2025 Winners 

Abundance By Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

Rep. Ilhan Omar's Housing for All Act (2022)

Road to Housing Act (2025) sponsored by Sen. Tim Scott and Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Connect with Jesse Russell and Ryan Andrews

Follow Hiatus Homes on LinkedIn

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Learn more about Michael Graves Architecture & Design 

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The return-to-office policies have settled, but the real challenge has just begun. As companies bring employees back to their desks, the question isn't whether people will return—it's whether they'll want to stay. The office buildings succeeding in this new era aren't necessarily those with the best locations or lowest rents, but rather those who approach office spaces with a hospitality mindset. Michael Kirchmann understood this shift before most developers even recognized the opportunity.

As co-founder and CEO of GDSNY, Michael transformed the Met Tower from 20% to 84% leased in 15 months. His strategy includes offering a premium experience at $85-90 per square foot (versus $220+ for new Plaza District towers), hiring former Four Seasons concierges as building staff, and creating amenities like members-only clubs. This approach recognizes that employers now use office environments as recruitment and retention tools, making design quality a competitive necessity rather than a luxury.

Beyond development, GDSNY operates GDS Brightstar, a lending platform that combines their construction and leasing expertise, creating unique opportunities to underwrite office deals that traditional lenders avoid. As both borrower and lender, they can identify promising assets and provide rescue capital, construction finance, and workout solutions. Their hands-on approach has saved borrowers tens of millions in construction costs by leveraging existing contractor relationships, making them valuable partners when deals need creative restructuring.

Episode Outline

(01:54) Growing up in a real estate family and the path from architecture to development

(03:31) European development experience with SOM and Howard Ronson 

(09:15) GDSNY's mission of creating exceptional real estate through design differentiation

(14:40) Assessment of Met Tower's condition and repositioning potential

(19:12) Creating hospitality-inspired office experiences and targeting new tenant types

(27:37) Walking through the transformed tenant experience from street to suite

(31:02) Real estate debt market opportunities and GDSNY's lending platform

(38:17) Key elements of successful loan workouts and preventing problems through relationships

Additional Resources

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Learn more about Met Tower

Fogarty Finger Architecture 

Ace Hotel Kyoto 

Kengo Kuma & Associates

Commune Design  

Connect with Michael 

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Email: [email protected] 

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Learn more about Michael Graves Architecture & Design 

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When's the last time a ping pong game determined whether you could close a $350,000 loan? For Jonathan Dodson, it happened during his first major development project after walking away from a banking career. His moral stand against workplace harassment led him to launch Pivot Project, an Oklahoma City-based development firm specializing in historic preservation and community revitalization. 

In this episode, we talk through Medley Market, which exemplifies Jonathan's approach to adaptive reuse projects. The 24-unit mixed-use development with a market hall and rooftop pickleball courts required navigating investor fraud, underground drug operations, and a five-part capital stack including historic tax credits and C-PACE financing. Instead of walking away from the chaos, Jonathan saw a unique opportunity.

The conversation reveals Jonathan's philosophy of transparent compensation and community relationships. He shows team members exactly how their contributions translate to development fees, pays consultants what they're actually worth, and gets the greenlight from neighborhood decision-makers before starting projects. This approach treats development as relationship-building rather than financial engineering, creating lasting value for both investors and the communities Pivot Project serves.

Episode Outline

(03:56) The workplace harassment incident that led to an entrepreneurial pivot

(13:07) The legendary ping pong game that secured crucial construction financing

(20:15) Acquiring Medley Market: uncovering investor fraud and recapping the deal

(32:51) Managing construction costs and tariff impacts in today's development market

(38:26) How to turn valued consultants into true partners

(45:30) Upcoming hotel project fundraising and Medley Market expansion 

Additional Resources

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Learn more about Small Scale Developers Forum

Vogue: Eating Your Way Through America’s Best Food Halls 

Newsweek: 2025 Best Food Hall 

Kate Kaufman 

Candace Baitz 

Matt Dean  

Meta Quest 3 

Connect with Jonathan 

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Email: [email protected] 

More From American Building 

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Many architecture firm owners struggle with the same challenge: How do you build a sustainable business that can thrive beyond the founder? Joe Furey solved this problem by bringing his finance and technology background to Michael Graves Architecture & Design, one of America's most iconic firms.

As CEO and President, Joe has transformed the practice from a firm dependent on Michael Graves’ reputation into a diverse platform business with 165 employees across 10 offices. His approach combines strategic acquisitions with technology integration, creating what he describes as "a mile wide and an inch deep” approach. 

This conversation reveals the mechanics behind how a firm transitions, grows, and looks forward. Joe explains his evaluation criteria, integration process, and how he structures deals that benefit both buyers and sellers. He also discusses expanding into technology consulting through the acquisition of Parallax Team and opportunities to leverage AI within real estate development. 

Episode Outline

(02:09) The biggest lessons from Fortune 500 consulting that informed his leadership philosophy 

(15:51) Joining Michael Graves at peak revenue and recognizing the succession planning gap

(22:43) Mitigating the number one post-acquisition problem: Trust 

(32:34) The Parallax Team acquisition and turning Revit consulting into a revenue driver

(36:10) The acquisition playbook for due-diligence and integration frameworks

(46:09) Measuring success through KPIs, budgets, and earn-out structures

(52:47) Economic adaptation and positioning the firm for long-term growth

Additional Resources

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Dario Amodei and his essay in the social posts

Trust: America's Best Chance by Pete Buttigieg 

Outsourced 

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Stephen Ross had an uncompromising vision for a transformational park built over a highway as part of an ambitious Detroit master plan. The challenge was cost. Tina Ladd has built her career remaining determined in the face of challenges. Through her work on both the Detroit master plan and Hudson Yards, she honed her skills to turn the impossible into possible. Today, that same relentless, solutions-driven mindset defines her work at Aker, where she shows that determination applies just as much in multifamily value-add as it does in billion-dollar mixed-use developments.

The Kinwood redevelopment in Rensselaer, New York exemplifies Aker's approach to value-add properties. What began as "Mansions at Technology Park" — a deteriorating 390-unit complex with 21 years of deferred maintenance—became a case study in strategic repositioning. Rather than chasing luxury branding, Aker focused on authentic values that brought a sense of community into a once transient neighborhood.

By building a strong brand around values like dependability, authenticity, accessibility, and even playfulness, the Aker team laid the groundwork for more than just property upgrades — they set the stage for community impact. With a clear phasing strategy, Tina’s team addressed deferred maintenance, added connection-driven amenities, and refreshed apartments with smart, high-impact materials. The result shows how intentional branding, paired with strategic capital investment, can breathe new life into overlooked assets while building a genuine sense of community.

Episode Outline

(01:47) Early career lessons from Hudson Yards and exposure to large-scale development

(04:40) Mentorship lessons in people management and problem-solving 

(12:05) Joining Aker, an employee-owned company focused on community building

(19:13) Evaluating and repositioning Mansions at Technology Park

(25:13) Unit renovation strategy based on Aker’s core values

(34:41) Working with branding consultants and creating cohesive guidelines across assets 

(40:01) Current projects, including first fund launch and expansion closer to New York City

Additional Resources

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Connect with Marianne Kwok 

Connect with Amelia Patt-Zamir 

Learn more about Method Develop 

Learn more about No Walls Studio

Check out excerpts from the Kinwood brand guidelines

Contact leasing for the Kinwood

Connect with Tina

Connect on LinkedIn 

Aker Website 

Email [email protected] to get in touch with her regarding the fund mentioned in this episode 

More From American Building 

Grab the exclusive guide: How Eight Developers & Designers Are Responding to The Housing Crisis  

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Watch this episode on YouTube