As the creation of affordable and sustainable housing becomes increasingly urgent, focus has shifted to innovative ways to meet these goals. I found one such example in Amsterdam where Marc Koehler and his design team develop creative solutions for urban living through their Superlofts Project. Broadly speaking, a Superlofts project starts with the bare structural frame of the … [Read more...] about Back to wood construction.
Community
The importance of community.
When we think about housing, especially in urban areas, we’re not just thinking about a place to rest our head. Instead, housing must include some broader amenities, such as access to transportation, services and jobs. And even more importantly, as more and more people move back from the suburbs to urban neighborhoods, there is an increased focus on finding community. Today, … [Read more...] about The importance of community.
Big change.
Ommeed Sathe is a Vice President and head of the Impact Investment unit in the Office of Corporate Social Responsibility at Prudential. He grew up in a family who felt public service, through work or volunteerism, “was fundamental.” And that rubbed off. Just out of Harvard Law School, Ommeed was in New Orleans after Katrina and decided to put his background in urban … [Read more...] about Big change.
Learning by doing.
With any project, learning from success and failure is important. In real estate, paying attention to and making adjustments based on what works and what doesn’t can have a major impact on the success of both current and future projects. This is especially true for projects that involve unique problems or complex issues that lack clear solutions. In these cases, the ability to … [Read more...] about Learning by doing.
How to transform a city.
Tom Murphy is the second-longest serving mayor of Pittsburgh (after David Lawrence). He is noted for overseeing the difficult, but transformative transition of the city from the mid-1990s to mid-2000s during turbulent Downtown development cycles, an initially unpopular funding bid for two new waterfront stadiums, a new convention center (then the largest ‘green’ building in … [Read more...] about How to transform a city.