Architects and developers need each other, but their dynamic often puts them at odds.
Developer and former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer sat down with his architect Eran Chen to discuss finding common ground and chemistry as they worked on their recently completed rental complex along Williamsburg’s waterfront, 420 Kent Avenue.
Chen’s firm, ODA, has designed a handful of new buildings along Brooklyn’s waterfront, including 10 Jay Street for Glacier Global Partners and Triangle Assets, and Quay Tower for RAL Companies and Oliver’s Realty Group.
For Spitzer’s part, the three-tower Brooklyn complex represents one of the first ground-up projects he’s led since taking over his father’s company, now called Spitzer Enterprises, in 2014. The second is a 1.4 million-square-foot mixed-use project with Related Companies in Hudson Yards.
Watch the video above to see Chen and Spitzer’s unfiltered assessment of their collaboration.