Working out of the Box is a series of features presenting architects who have applied their architecture backgrounds to alternative career paths.

Are you an architect working out of the box? Do you know of someone that has changed careers and has an interesting story to share? If you would like to suggest an (ex-)architect, please send us a message.

New York has become an interesting case study on the burgeoning collaboration between design and marketing. Recently, notable contemporary architecture has been encouraged and embraced by the forces of real estate marketing. For better or worse, luxury residential real estate has dominated New York’s stake in contemporary architecture and high design, and continues to celebrate the (literal) value of prominent national and international architects.

Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group is a New York-based real estate consultant that has sold over $20 billion in new residential development in New York, Los Angeles, and select national and international locations. Established and led by Elisa Orlanski Ours, the CS Planning & Design Department guides the architectural design process throughout all phases of residential and public space planning in order to achieve the property’s maximum potential value during predevelopment and post development.

Archinect interviewed Elisa Orlanski Ours, VP, Nadia Meratla and Will Tims, Directors, of Planning & Design (PD) at Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group.


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166 Perry www.166perryst.com
Asymptote Architecture / Perry Street Development Corp. / Archpartners
(Click on this and all of the images to get a detailed view)

Archinect: Where did you study architecture?

Elisa: As lame as it sounds, don’t we as designers make an effort to “study” architecture everyday? On the job site, in studios, and especially in spaces we occupy.

But back to the question, I studied architecture at Barnard College (1994-1998) and received my M. Arch. from Columbia (1998-2001) / ETH in Zurich (2000). While my direct academic focus was urban design, I honed my interest in architecture through explorations in computer science, finance, physics and teaching.

Nadia: I completed undergraduate and graduate studies in architecture at McGill University (M. Arch. 2001), a very enriching experience. I also taught design studio at McGill upon graduation which afforded me the opportunity to straddle theory and practice.

Will: I studied architecture at the University of Virginia (1993-1997) and earned my M. Arch. at Yale (2000-2003). Both were a great fit for me— Virginia for its focus on the fundamentals of modern design and for the rigor it demanded, and Yale for forcing me to think beyond what I already knew, or thought I knew. The program at Yale encourages such a dynamic and eclectic range of thought— everything is on the table, and the spirit of the collaborative studio lives on very strongly there.

Elisa: The three of us are very involved in giving back to our own academic communities. We feel that it is important to offer guidance to recent grads by helping them network and learn how to market themselves.


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The Dillon, Smith-Miller + Hawkinson / SDS Procida / dbox

At what point in your life did you decide to pursue architecture?

Nadia: I grew up in transition between the US, UK and Canada and had the good fortune to travel extensively and be inspired by great design and horrified by bad design. Architecture mediated well the classic art-science duel.

Will: I was drawing house plans since 6th grade and my parents encouraged me by pointing out interesting buildings and details on our family road trips across the country. During the summer before my senior year in high school, I spent four weeks at an Introduction to Architecture program at UVa and really loved it and the school. Jefferson’s campus alone could inspire one to study architecture. After this experience, I committed to pursuing this path in college.

Elisa: My earliest memories involve building Lego houses for my dolls and Lego cities for my brother’s cars. My father fostered this interest in buildings by exposing me to the multiple scales of architecture and dynamic systems through travel, meteorology and cooking. Growing up in both the quiet enclave of Princeton and the stimulation of Buenos Aires raised intriguing questions on urbanism that I find myself answering today. It is interesting to see the cycle repeat itself in my nephew now when I see him navigate through the Lego Factory on the computer.


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40 Mercer www.40mercersoho.com
Atelier Jean Nouvel / SLCE Architects / Hines Interests / HotesAB / Whitehall Capital / Pandiscio Co. / Studio AMD

When did you decide to stop pursuing architecture? Why?

Will: First off, I don’t think I’ve stopped, I just think that I pursue it from a different angle now. A couple of years out of Yale I became frustrated with the slowness of the profession in terms of success and advancement. I had also spent my time either working in small firms or for myself, on smaller high-end residential projects, and was longing for something that was larger, more complex and urban in its influence. I took a year and did the Masters of Science in Real Estate Development program at Columbia. Right around graduation, in October 2006, I came to work for Corcoran Sunshine Planning & Design.

Nadia: Likewise, I consider myself still pursuing architecture however from a real estate perspective. In traditional practice I was greatly intrigued by feasibility analyses that informed development and also the delightful complexities of program, conflicting priorities and the multitude of objectives that were influenced and essentially governed by an intricate balance of both design and real estate. The conceptual stage, massaging of program and critical evaluation of a development’s potential from a design perspective has always had a particular allure. Ultimately, marketing and programmatic innovation are not distinct but rather inherent to architecture.

Elisa: Stopped? Come on, we’re just getting started.

Throughout Columbia, I tried to always alternate between practice and theory in my apprenticeships and combine the two in my studios and seminars. When I graduated from my seven years there and worked for firms like Wendy Joseph and Peter Eisenman, I might as well have been voted least likely to depart from parametric designs and urban theory. With that, I became a Project Manager for RDRice Construction, a boutique New York City construction company, for almost four years building residences designed by 1100 Architects, Steven Harris, Jacques Grange and BKSK. There I learned the craft of detailing from the installers themselves, demands of New York-centric clientele, and that every line on a drawing has an impact to the schedule and budget. After building six highly detailed residences, from a 16,000SF modernist townhouse gut renovation to installing a priceless Giacometti mantle, it was time to leave and finally try to combine the art of building with my urban theories. That is when I came to Corcoran Sunshine.


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Soho Mews www.sohomews.com
Gwathmey Siegel and Associates / United American Land / Archpartners

Describe your current profession.

Elisa: CS Planning & Design (PD) is involved in properties during predevelopment and post development; meaning from site feasibility studies to construction punch lists. CS is the only marketing and sales organization with a full service product planning and design studio led by trained architects/planners.

With our diverse backgrounds, my esteemed colleagues (including Matt Goodwin, Leeana Khalique and Sarah Hardy) and I redefined the scope of the “marketing consultant” by providing a design / construction / urbanism perspective. Our strategic services are informed by sales feedback and market intelligence that shape the end product and ensure that the offering meets the buyers’ expectations. While not the designers of the buildings, we are instead the multi-scale design programmers for master plans down to bathroom fixtures, and often punch-list watchdogs.

Positioned as a boutique studio with the resources of a corporation, Corcoran Sunshine’s multiple departments collaborate to customize our approach and recommendations for every site with the benefit of deep market knowledge. PD consults to assist developers, designers, financers, value representatives, contractors and ancillary consultants through the development process for new construction, conversions, condominiums, rentals, hotel-branded properties, master plans, resort destinations and the unfortunate latest product type, bank workouts.

Will: Similar to the shifting forces of the real estate market and the economy at large, we are able to tailor the scope of our services to the needs of our developers in a very fluid way. While Corcoran Sunshine is primarily a marketing and sales company, we are increasingly able to provide the sort of strategic and product-specific consulting on a variety of projects regardless of their phase and whether or not we sell the real estate. This targeted approach, whether meant to add-value, speed absorption, reposition an offering, or facilitate a sale through a quick re-design, provides developers and their design teams with the sort of facile expertise so necessary in today’s challenging environment.


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One Jackson Square www.onejacksonsquare.com
Kohn Pedersen Fox / SLCE Architects / Hines Interests/RFR Holdings / Eric Schuldenfrei & Hayes Davidson

Nadia: PD expertise substantiated by market research assists both developers and design consultants in order to strategically position a development as a premium competitive product. We frequently serve as a referral matchmaker between the design and development communities. Our expertise is actively cultivated by innovative design research, attendance of international design shows, internal seminars, design publications, and a critical review of developments on the market and in the pipeline.

Elisa: CS has been at the dynamic forefront of high-design developments, collaborating with renowned architects and designers such as Alan Wanzenberg, Annabelle Selldorf, Asymptote, Bernard Tschumi, Cesar Pelli, David Chipperfield, Frank Gehry, Gwathmey Siegel, Herzog de Meuron, Incorporated Architecture & Design, Jacques Grange, Jean Nouvel, John Pawson, Legorreta + Legorreta, Piero Lissoni, Philip Johnson, Philippe Starck, Polshek Partnership, Richard Meier, Rockwell Group, Skidmore Owings and Merrill, Shigeru Ban, Steven Learner, Tsao & McKown, UN Studio and Zaha Hadid, among many others.

Any trends or emerging designers Archinect readers would like to recommend are welcome. Pease email pd@corcoransunshine.com .


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166 Perry www.166perryst.com
Asymptote Architecture / Perry Street Development Corp. / Archpartners

What skills did you gain from architecture school, or working in the architecture industry, that have contributed to your success in your current career?

Will: Architecture school taught me to think critically, to push myself to try new things and take a chance, even if it was uncomfortable. It is an amazing course of study that involves so many varied disciplines and lines of thought, from art and engineering to psychology and science— I don’t think there is another path that includes so many interesting and related fields.

Much time working for Steven Harris Architects, Ryall Porter Architects, and then for myself was spent trying to find solutions to residential design problems—New Yorkers want it all and there is rarely enough room! This experience enabled me to understand the wants and needs of a primarily luxury clientele, and to thus provide recommendations that result in elegant yet functional living spaces in exceptionally designed buildings that feature unparalleled lifestyle offerings.

Nadia: Architecture school nurtured inspired collaboration and an innovative and experimental creativity. It further nourished a persuasion toward minimalism. Upon graduation, working at Saia Barbarese Topouzanov in Montreal, I was afforded the exposure to exquisite design principles and a unique collaborative spirit and creative milieu. At Gluckman Mayner Architects in New York I was inspired by a culture of design finesse and rigorous standards. Here my curiosity for real estate was stimulated by strategic feasibility analyses for New York development bids, residential acquisitions and working on “Olive 8,” a luxury residential hotel complex in Seattle. My pursuit of architectural journalism has also afforded me an exploration of innovations and opportunity to expose younger firms.

Elisa: I always knew I wouldn’t fit into the traditional role of an architect, designer, developer, builder, teacher or planner. In a way, I had to create a career that didn’t exist to combine my design/ marketing accomplishments at architecture studios, my management/ negotiating skills from construction, my passion for dynamic modeling and curiosity in parametric designs.

The biggest challenge and greatest success of my role in starting this department at Corcoran Sunshine has been to strategically collaborate with brilliant teams to innovate truly exceptional architecture.


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