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American BuildingAuthor: Atif Qadir
If you want to explore urgent topics related to housing and what they can teach us about ourselves and our country, join us here at American Building. Your host, Atif Qadir, Atif Qadir is a licensed architect and entrepreneur, interested in solving big problems through innovation and technology. He has founded two proptech companies and a real estate development firm, building products ranging from software to workforce housing. Through these experiences, he has a unique perspective on the housing problems - and solutions - well hear about this season. Well not only dive into the design and development of iconic buildings, but well also analyze how federal and state policy, local entitlements, and access to capital and distribution are making it increasingly difficult to house Americans. Plus, we will be unpacking relevant news headlines and providing insight into the current legislation related to housing. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Language: en Genres: Business, Entrepreneurship, Investing Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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The Making of Disney's Sustainable, All-Electric NYC Headquarters
Episode 96
Wednesday, 19 November, 2025
Disney's New York operations were scattered across the Upper West Side in aging facilities, including a former horse stable that housed ABC News broadcast sets. When the company set out to bring ABC, ESPN, Marvel, and its other divisions under one roof, the design prompt required upgrades for the next generation of broadcast technology and adherence to New York's Local Law 97 emissions requirements. The result is the Robert A. Iger Building at 7 Hudson Square, a 1.2 million-square-foot vertical campus that's fully electric and LEED Platinum certified.Joseph Chase, Principal at Skidmore Owings & Merrill, and Maxwell Hatfield-Biondo, Director of HVAC at Jaros, Baum & Bolles led the technical design, drawing on decades of collaboration between their firms on projects like Manhattan West and 35 Hudson Yards. Their approach to electrification starts with a question most developers skip: what do you actually need? Rather than sizing systems for hypothetical worst-case scenarios, they used Disney's utility data from existing facilities to right-size equipment. Then they designed mechanical systems to recover heat that would otherwise be rejected to the outdoors. Only after reducing and recovering did they electrify the remaining loads. Following this sequence is the difference between a building that struggles to heat itself in winter and one where the heating systems barely turn on because there's so much recoverable heat from production equipment and people.The conversation also gets into specifics of how condenser water source heat pumps work alongside air source heat pumps to create redundancy, why the terracotta facade was essential for both thermal performance and construction speed, and the acoustic strategies required when you're building broadcast studios next to a subway line and the Holland Tunnel entrance. Episode Outline01:39) Joe and Max's backgrounds and the long SOM-JB&B collaboration history(06:52) Disney's motivation to bring multiple companies into one Hudson Square campus(13:25) Why Hudson Square's zoning enables large floor plates for media and tech tenants(17:17) Local Law 97 requirements and the reduce-recover-electrify approach to compliance(27:20) Air source heat pumps, condenser water systems, and dual-source heating strategy(35:43) How the high-performance terracotta facade enables low-temperature heating(44:46) Box-in-box construction and sound isolation mats for below-grade production studios(52:41) The business case for electrification: efficiency gains and increased leasable areaAdditional ResourcesCheck out The Mira Shoppe. American Building Podcast listeners get a complimentary gift with their first purchase! Email info@themirashoppe.com to receive your exclusive code and treat yourself to a piece you’ll cherish, while supporting a brand that gives back.Learn more about The Robert A. Iger Building LEED project tools and resources NYSERDA programs Local Law 97 Connect with Joseph ChaseConnect on LinkedIn
