Antonia
banner
antoniamdprjct.bsky.social
Antonia
@antoniamdprjct.bsky.social
RE Developer, doer, design & construction geek, owner @ MADDPROJECT, work from anywhere specialist, RA, NCARB. I build teams that design & build buildings.
www.maddproject.com
maddproject.substack.com
When discussing our built environment, people often mention "the code."

However, there isn't really one "code," and most people have no reason to know exactly how codes affect our towns and cities.
January 25, 2025 at 9:13 PM
You know those 50-page documents with complicated charts that contractors issue (AKA schedules) that nobody looks at?

You need to look at them & reviewing them is not that hard.

This is how I do it & the things I look for:

1-Procurement
2-Buy-outs
3-Submittals
4-Installation/overlap
5-Milestones
December 18, 2024 at 5:15 PM
One of the golden rules of building:

The longer you wait to make a decision, the less options you have.
December 4, 2024 at 9:19 AM
Hello BSky!

Here’s a bit of a personal intro.

I was born in Colombia and came to the US when I was 9.

I grew up with my mom in Miami where I went to the University of Miami, where I completed a 5-year professional degree in architecture.
December 1, 2024 at 8:08 PM
From experience working in multi-family projects, we have gathered 7 rules of thumb for housing that help us work very quickly to assess project feasibility:
November 30, 2024 at 3:33 PM
Every week, there seems to be a post about NY office bldgs that sold and "crazy" discounts.

Or that went to auction and didn't get bids.

Those posts tend to leave out the facts.

Here are some facts why 29 West 35th Street didn't get any bids at auction, and why that shouldn't be surprising.
November 22, 2024 at 4:10 PM
Just because someone can raise money, it doesn't mean they know how to execute a plan.
November 20, 2024 at 11:17 PM
Clear indication you're paying for legal services you don't need:

Counsel insists you cannot sign a document before they even open it.
November 20, 2024 at 12:57 AM
If you cover all that you need to before the end of a scheduled meeting time, don't be shy to end the meeting.

Nobody appreciates someone's rambling to simply fill up time.
November 19, 2024 at 9:33 PM
#1 reason a project stalls or takes longer than it should?

Owner isn't making decisions quickly enough.

#2

Owner doesn't pay people in a timely manner.
November 18, 2024 at 7:00 PM
I've seen this building get a lot of flack on social media.

Some posts chastise the architect and make fun of the choices made.

In some ways, that attitude stems from ignorance around how development, design and construction work.

(Photo by Michael Young)
November 17, 2024 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Antonia
Strip Mall Guy a fake too.

He confirmed.

@bsky.app you’d better figure out how to confirm people are real or this site is doomed quickly.
November 17, 2024 at 1:06 PM
Reposted by Antonia
Hate to start out this way but just FYI the Nick Huber/Sweatystartup account on here is not actually Nick Huber. I’ve confirmed with Nick.

Prolly should block.
November 17, 2024 at 1:10 AM
“I know this market, I’ve lived here for 30 years”

Me: what’s the typical cost of construction for a building like the one you’ve lived in for those 30 years?

🦗
November 17, 2024 at 12:43 AM
Reposted by Antonia
Cars move quickly when streets are engineered for speed, and cars move slowly when streets are designed to slow them down.

What the heck does that mean?!

It can look like this photo, but read on in the 🧵 to see how we've slowed cars at Camp North End.
1/9
November 16, 2024 at 4:31 PM
One of my favorite things about Twitter was the “resident expert” aspect around which we saw string micro-communities grow.

I’d guess many of us are here because it seems that forum is gone.

The access to real industry experts was unmatched.
November 16, 2024 at 3:59 PM
Cheat sheet for anyone entering into construction agreements (yup, this one is not just for RE owners!)

These are the *minimum* terms you should understand before signing a construction contract:
November 15, 2024 at 9:22 PM
From working on dozens of branded hotels, here are 12 design standards that boutique hospitality can borrow from their less ‘hip’ cousins.

(Hope you enjoy the "beautiful, magical, art deco" images h/t midjourney)
November 15, 2024 at 4:21 PM
The overarching thought that construction will always be a huge risk and that there’s no way to avoid getting ripped off is a fallacy.

There IS another way. 👇🏼
November 14, 2024 at 5:18 PM
Since the 1920s, the average size of new single-family homes has more than doubled.

While there are many economic factors that affect affordability, this drastic increase is rarely mentioned in the discussion.
November 13, 2024 at 12:57 AM
Project owners often have a tough time leveling estimates or bids because every estimate they receive is in a different format.
To solve for this, I always recommend asking for estimates in CSI master format.

So, what is ‘CSI master format’? 👇🏼
November 12, 2024 at 4:04 PM
99% of people who experience your building will never go inside.

Yes, the interior is important, but the exterior is your gift to the street.

So, let's talk about urban design.

(Not urban planning, that's an adjacent but different field)
November 11, 2024 at 3:17 PM
Hello (Bsky) world!

I'm just starting to explore this place.

I have a lot of thoughts and ideas I'd love to share and want to do that in a thoughtful way that will contribute the most to this place.

For folks who know me from elsewhere, what is a topic or discussion you'd love to see around here?
November 10, 2024 at 6:25 PM
It still blows my mind that this was designed and built without modern computers.

65 years ago.
November 10, 2024 at 4:35 PM