Creating Meaningful, Mixed-Use Infill Projects - Podcast #22

Alan Pullman & Studio One Eleven: An Inspiring Architecture & Urban Design Practice Focused on Meaningful, Mixed-Use Infill Projects that Make Our Cities Better.

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On the latest episode of The Building Culture Podcast, I got to speak with Alan Pullman, founder of Studio One Eleven. They are an architecture, urban design and landscape architecture practice focused on human scaled, mixed-use infill projects.  They have a truly impressive portfolio of work.  I love their “practice themes” which I think will resonate with many of you: housing for all, building community + place, renewing the public realm, 21st century mobility, and equitable practice.

I was truly inspired by this conversation with Alan, particularly around the community integration and engagement they cultivate in their office.  He intentionally moved the practice out of their “ivory tower” and down into the heart of the community, sharing their office space with artists and facilitating all kinds of community-wide events and workshops.  It’s given me vision for how I want Building Culture to evolve.

Alan and his team work closely with developers around the country looking to do difficult and messy – but meaningful – infill projects.  They relish the mess.  And, between running a sizeable practice and doing some of their own development projects, I was extremely impressed with Alan’s practical approach (you know, understanding that the economics have to work to do the project, along with great design!).  They strike the right balance between idealism + pragmatism to actually pull off incredible projects, and keep people at the center of what they do and why they do it.

I hope you find this episode as inspiring as I did! 

Listen on Apple, Spotify or your Desktop.

You can check out their website here.

Trailer

Chapter Preview

• 00:00 Introduction

• 00:57 Studio One Eleven: Focusing on Infill Development and Community Impact

• 06:04 The Evolution of Studio Eleven: From Large Retail Projects to Community Impact

• 19:14 Challenges and Opportunities in Affordable Housing Development

• 32:41 Collaboration and Agility: Keys to Successful Design and Development

• 37:29 Incremental Development and Human-Scale Cities

• 38:56 The Financialization of Architecture and Cities

• 39:23 Curating the Right Mix of Tenants

• 43:10 Transforming Their Office into a Community Space

• 48:36 Building Connections and Social Capital

• 53:28 Creating Places for People

• 01:05:33 Optimism for the Future and Opportunities for Progress

Listen on Apple, Spotify or your Desktop.

Conclusion

Thanks everyone. Just hit reply to drop a note or let me know what you think! Catch you next week for the 5th installment of the personal series I’m writing. Have a great week!

Austin