The Podcast
American Building is a podcast series that shares how iconic buildings came together. The innovators who built them discuss on a deeply personal level what they faced in the entire building process and connect to specific challenges for cities today, showing that they go far beyond vocation to improve the places and people around them.
Press:
New Podcast Tells the Story Behind Buildings
Can Architecture Foster Diversity and Inclusivity?
The Warehouse
The Warehouse, once the home of Michael Graves, was converted into a residence from a 44-room rental warehouse. It was built in the 1920s in a Tuscan vernacular style by Italian masons moonlighting from building Collegiate Gothic buildings at Princeton University. Michael Graves, the Robert Schirmer Professor of Architecture at the University, frequently entertained students and visiting scholars at the Warehouse. Owned today by Kean University’s Michael Graves College of Architecture & Design, it anchors a two-building study center, making it a perfect location for special live episodes of the American Building podcast.
The Host
Atif Z. Qadir, AIA, is a licensed architect and developer focused on solving complex real estate industry challenges across design, development, policy, and technology. After graduating from MIT and Columbia Business School, he gained valuable experience at Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman Architects, Turner Construction, and Extell Development.
He then founded Amanat Properties, was appointed City Planning Commissioner in Hoboken, New Jersey, where he lives, and launched the American Building Podcast. Most recently, he co-founded the VC-backed proptech startup Commonplace (formerly REDIST).
The Sponsor
Michael Graves Architecture & Design is a unique multidisciplinary practice that offers a wide range of design services to clients worldwide. It was founded in 1964 by the iconic American Institute of Architects’ Gold Medalist, Michael Graves, and is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey with other offices across the country.
Michael's global portfolio of architectural work ranged from the Ministry of Culture in The Hague, a post office for Celebration, Florida, a prominent expansion of the Denver Public Library to numerous commissions for Disney. It also includes the scaffolding design for the 2000 Washington Monument restoration. Michael was recognized as a major influence on architectural movements including New Urbanism, New Classicism and Postmodernism.
