Few people begin as interns and rise to Chief Architecture Officer over a 30-year career at the same firm.

Robin Bellerby is one of them.

Over three decades at Humphreys & Partners Architects (HPA), Robin advanced through six roles, beginning as a Project Manager responsible for more than 10,000 units and $1 billion in construction costs. She later became Vice President, then Risk Management Director, where she established the firm's risk management practice and reduced losses by 85% in her first year.

Robin later served as Principal and Senior Vice President of Strategy & Risk before assuming her current position. Today, she leads one of the nation's largest multifamily architecture firms through its first chapter without its founder as its CAO.

At HPA, Robin oversees all architectural operations and risk management across the firm's global practice. She holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science in Learning and Organizational Change from Northwestern University.

Inside this week's episode:

• How Robin balances career ambition and home life—and why her 5-year hiatus was crucial to her growth
• What it means to be a developer’s architect—and how Humphreys embeds that philosophy into their design approach
• How Robin turns claims into lessons learned
• Essential contract terms for design professionals: limitation of liability, errors and omissions, and accounting for insurance limits
• A look inside Robin’s day-to-day as CAO

Thank you so much for listening and thank you for joining the Design Development community. Don't forget to subscribe to hear about the latest episodes dropping every Wednesday. If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend.

Our goal is to help people in the industry identify opportunities for growth by sharing the journey of top performers. There is no one path. Success isn't a straight line. There is something to learn from everyone's story. Let's go!

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In 2008, Philippe Saad was handed his first senior living project. It wasn't the market sector he envisioned pursuing, but he had to take the opportunity in light of the great financial crisis. This decision unexpectedly became the foundation of everything he's built since.

Seventeen years later, Philippe is not only a Principal at DiMella Shaffer; he's also the Co-Founder of Project Q Communities and a Founding Board Member of LGBTQ Senior Housing, two nonprofits creating homes for LGBTQ+ older adults in Greater Boston. Philippe's works include The Pryde, The Baldwin, Orchard Cove, and many more.

Philippe co-chairs the Design for Aging Committee at the Boston Society for Architecture, sits on the board of Environments for Aging, and is a Director of SAGE (Society for the Advancement of Gerontological Environments). He has spoken at LeadingAge national conferences, the Global Ageing Network, and the University of Toronto School of Architecture.

Inside this week's episode:

• How Philippe found his way into senior living: the market's stigma, his first project, and how his father's experience in independent living changed his perspective on aging.
• What the transition to firm leadership looks like: delegation, partnership, growing talent from within, and the responsibilities that come with the role.
• How growing up in Lebanon, losing three homes during the civil war, and building a life as an immigrant in Boston shaped Philippe's understanding of community and design.
• The Pryde: a surplus Boston school becoming one of the first LGBTQ+ senior housing developments in New England.
• DiMella Shaffer: how a firm of 60 operates across multiple market sectors, why interdisciplinary practice is a differentiator, and what the next generation of leadership looks like.

Thank you so much for listening and thank you for joining the Design Development community. Don't forget to subscribe to hear about the latest episodes dropping every Wednesday. If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend.

Our goal is to help people in the industry identify opportunities for growth by sharing the journey of top performers. There is no one path. Success isn't a straight line. There is something to learn from everyone's story. Let's go!

Leave your thoughts in the comments and reach out if you want to be a valuable guest on the show!

Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram & YouTube

Find out more at https://h-o.engineering/podcasts/

Laura Gollinger has spent 13 years at The Collaborative Companies (TCC) advising clients on decisions that make or break a project. Rental, condo, or hybrid? How big should the units be, and who will they be built for? What will residents be willing to pay? What kind of parking is necessary, and what amenities will actually be used?

Across billions of dollars in real estate, she's learned exactly what the right answers look like.

As Senior Vice President of TCC, a Boston-based advisory firm specializing in market analytics, design consultation, sales, and leasing, Laura has shaped some of Greater Boston’s most recognized projects. Over 40 years, TCC has sold more than $20 billion in assets, including Raffles, One Dalton, Echelon Seaport, Pierce in Fenway, and South Station Tower.

Laura is a member of NAIOP and ULI, serves as Council Chair of WLI Boston, and frequently speaks at Harvard GSD, MIT, and Bisnow. She holds a BSBA from Boston University's Questrom School of Business, where she was a Division I Academic All-American in tennis.

Inside this week's episode:

• TRIO Newton: When data contradicted market sentiment and won.
• Parking strategy based on bedroom count, price point, and product type, including how the dominance of SUVs changes the calculations.
• Successfully selling luxury condos in Fenway, and what the resale data proved.
• Transforming laundry into an amenity when it didn't pencil in small units - and what made this a success.
• Where Boston’s affordability and rent control debate misses the economics behind new development, and where new homes are heading.

Thank you so much for listening and thank you for joining the Design Development community. Don't forget to subscribe to hear about the latest episodes dropping every Wednesday. If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend.

Our goal is to help people in the industry identify opportunities for growth by sharing the journey of top performers. There is no one path. Success isn't a straight line. There is something to learn from everyone's story. Let's go!

Leave your thoughts in the comments and reach out if you want to be a valuable guest on the show!

Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram & YouTube

Find out more at https://h-o.engineering/podcasts/