A dog run almost triggered another stair.

The solution? Convince the building official that the space wasn’t assembly space. It was a fitness center.

For dogs.

That story is a good snapshot of this conversation with Ben Kasdan, Principal at KTGY Architecture + Planning.

Great multifamily design isn’t just about creating something that looks good. Every decision sits at the intersection of resident behavior, building code, construction cost, site constraints, operational efficiency, and ultimately whether the development pencils.

Ben has spent more than two decades navigating those tradeoffs across multifamily, mixed-use, affordable, student, and urban infill housing.

In this episode of Design Development, we get into the decisions shaping the next generation of multifamily development:

• Why the “amenities arms race” may be over and what residents actually value now
• The multifamily efficiency benchmarks triggering an architect’s “BS meter”
• Why co-working space has evolved far beyond one big communal table
• How pools, pet amenities, and even “catios” influence the resident experience
• Why KTGY created a dedicated R&D studio to solve problems before they show up on real projects
• What makes office-to-residential conversions far harder than they appear
• How architects can use research, data, and experimentation to make better development decisions

We also explore a bigger question:

How do you know which design features actually create value - and which ones are simply consuming valuable square footage and development dollars?

Ben brings the architectural perspective. Rens brings the structural and cost lens.

The result is a practical conversation about designing buildings people want to live in without losing sight of the economics required to get them built.

Listen to the full conversation with Ben Kasdan of KTGY on Design Development.

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