American Building by Michael Graves Architecture and Design

Our fourth guest of the American Building series is Martin Ditto. Martin is the founder and CEO of Ditto Residential, an award-winning development firm based in Washington, DC. We are talking about OSLOadmo, an 8-unit residential development in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of DC. It was completed just over a year ago and is the 3rd in his series of OSLO-branded co-living properties in urban infill locations. Martin is committed to developing new ways of living and is looking to branch into a larger residential platform that we will be talking about as well.

Our third guest in the American Building series is Jon Pickard. Jon is a Co-founder and Principal at Pickard Chilton, an award-winning architectural design firm based in Connecticut. We will be talking about 2+U (also known as the Qualtrics Tower), the studio’s recently completed 690,000-square foot next-generation office complex in the heart of downtown Seattle. 2+U consists of 2 separate towers of 38 stories and 18 stories joined atop a common podium. It has 19,000 square feet of retail and restaurants over 2 floors, as well as an underground parking garage. It tops out at 530 feet, offering stunning views of Elliot Bay. The developer of the project is Skanska USA and the total project budget was $392M.

The second guest on the American Building series is Samer Hanini. Samer is the founder and managing partner of the Hanini Group, a development company with an affiliated architecture firm, Brick Design, and a construction management firm, Hanini Construction. We are talking about the Peoples Bank Building, his recently completed 120,000-square-foot mixed-use building in downtown Passaic, New Jersey. This historic landmark was built in 1931. After standing empty for nearly 30 years, it was completely renovated to include both retail and office. For this project, Samer and his team served as developer and designer as well as construction manager.

The first guest in the American Building series is Matthias Hollwich, Founder and Partner of the architecture firm HWKN (“Hawk-in”). This episode takes a deep dive into 25 Kent, HWKN’s recently completed commercial building on the Williamsburg waterfront in Brooklyn. Totaling 500,000 square feet, the development is divided among office, light manufacturing, and retail. It includes 1.8 acres of open space and, for grateful dog owners, a pop-up puppy spa and camp. The owners of the project are Heritage Equity Partners and Rubenstein Partners.

American Building is a podcast series sponsored by Michael Graves Architecture & Design, headlined by Atif Z. Qadir, AIA, and hosted at the Warehouse, the home of the late Michael Graves in Princeton, New Jersey.

With his unique perspective as both architect and developer, Atif interviews accomplished individuals who tell the stories of American buildings that they have designed and/or developed. His guests talk about their processes and products on a deeply personal level, highlighting the teamwork, integrity, ingenuity, empathy, and commitment that are necessary to produce exceptional works that grace the skylines of our cities and towns.