Alda Ly of Alda Ly Architecture | Tia San Francisco in San Francisco | Designing for Women
Courtesy of Alda Ly Architecture
Designing for Women
This week, I am joined by our guest Alda Ly, the founder and principal of Alda Ly Architecture (ALA), a New York City firm that focuses on interiors with a specialty in tech-driven commercial projects. Join us as we discuss her work across the country for Tia, a women's health network and, in particular, their location in San Francisco. More broadly, we will be talking about the future of commercial design in a post-pandemic world.
Alda’s firm has designed a new and vibrant space for Tia, a full-service women's healthcare platform creating a women-centric model of care with a blend of in-person and virtual services. It is a place for women to work and to work together, thrive, and build a network. The new San Francisco clinic is located in the mission district near tech giants like Twitter.
Join us as we discuss ALA’s contribution to designing this space, including moving beyond traditional construction materials and including living elements in design, the future of commercial design in a post-pandemic world, and learning how to create innovative, forward-thinking designs. Listen in as we discuss these topics and much more on today's episode of American Building!
“I think with Tia and healthcare, and actually a lot of the other commercial projects that we’re working on, everyone’s thinking about like, what is it going to take to bring people to our space now that people are afraid to leave their houses? What could we offer them to make sure that they’re taking care of their health, that they’re not ignoring any red flags. So, with Tia, it was really about creating a home for their members and their patients. So providing really incredible amenities, making it feel comfortable, making it feel safe so that it didn’t feel like you were walking into a space that you weren’t familiar with. Like it felt like home.”
Courtesy of Alda Ly Architecture
About Alda Ly
Alda Ly is the founder and principal of Alda Ly Architecture, a New York City firm that focuses on interiors with a specialty on tech-driven commercial projects. She previously worked at the design firms, Leong Leong Architecture, HWKN, and Rafael Viñoly Architects — where we actually overlapped for a few months while studying at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard. Alda launched MASS Design Group, a spectacular nonprofit design practice focused on humanitarian work. It has since grown to a team of over 140 architects landscape architects, engineers, designers, writers, filmmakers, and researchers representing 20 countries around the globe.
Courtesy of Alda Ly Architecture
Episode Timestamps
2:43 – Your dad was a cabinet maker. Talk to us about the influences growing up and having that design aesthetic and that process around you. How did that influence your own career?
8:06 – The first firm that you launched was Mass Design Group. Talk to us about the steps that you took from ideation and then actualizing it to something that has grown to 140 design professionals. How did that happen?
11:40 – Your second firm is Alda Ly Architecture. What did you hope to accomplish with starting over?
15:28 – Tell us about what Tia San Francisco is.
18:47 – Talk to us about the material choices that you made in order to compliment the design that was there.
21:10 – What are some of the things that you heard in the customer discovery that helped lead you on your design path?
31:50 – oIe thing in particular is that you have an interest in furniture. So talk to us about those first trips that you went on with your dad, and then from there, how your interest in furniture grew.
39:00 – One thing you talked about in your description recently was the use of plants in your design, which is a little bit different than the thinking that architects and maybe even interior designers have. Could you talk in more detail about what that is and how that plays a part in your own design process?
44:00 – Talk to us more about the other projects you've recently completed and the types of projects that you are working on now, and perhaps going forward.
45:49 – Let us in on some of the thoughts that are going through your mind about what this next generation of office is.
50:38 – What do you hope to accomplish in this next phase of your career as your company grows?
Connect with Alda Ly:
LinkedIn (Alda Ly)
LinkedIn (Alda Ly Architecture)
Alda Ly Architecture PLLC
Courtesy of Alda Ly Architecture
About your host:
Atif Qadir is the Founder & CEO of Commonplace, a technology company making it easy for commercial real estate professionals to find and use the $100B of real estate incentives given out every year in the US.
His work has been covered by Technology Review, The Real Deal, Commercial Observer, and Propmodo. He’s also a frequent speaker on the future of buildings and cities on popular industry podcasts and at conferences, including this past year at the Commercial Observer National DEI Conference, Yale AREA Conference, Columbia Real Estate Symposium, Open Data Week NYC and Austin Design Week.
About Commonplace
Commonplace is a founding sponsor of American Building. It is a 100% minority-owned, real estate technology company founded in 2020 to make financing social impact development projects across the US easier. It is funded by venture capital investors Hometeam Ventures, Park West Asset Management, New York Ventures and Shadow Ventures.
About Michael Graves
The world-famous design firm Michael Graves is also a founding sponsor of American Building. Its namesake, the iconoclastic designer Michael Graves, FAIA was a fierce advocate for people-centric design. His work defines a generation of American architecture and includes the Portland Building, the Humana Building and the Denver Public Library. The 1st season of American Building was filmed live at The Warehouse, his historic home in Princeton, New Jersey:
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