Blueprints and Breakthroughs - Harvard Real Estate Review

David Smith, Deputy CEO of Echelon Data Centres, joins Blueprints & Breakthroughs to discuss the data centre investment thesis and unpack how Echelon is building powered hyperscaler campuses across Ireland, the UK, Italy, and Spain. Drawing on nearly a decade at Starwood Capital before joining Echelon, David explains how Echelon grew from an Irish office developer into one of Europe’s leading...

Join us for an insightful conversation with Raj Singh, Managing Partner at JLL Spark, the corporate venture capital arm of JLL. With over 20 years of experience in venture capital, technology, and strategic leadership, Raj shares his career journey and his mission to drive innovation in the real estate industry through PropTech investments. We explore why real estate has lagged in tech adoption an...

Join us for an engaging conversation with Wan-Li Zhu, the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Suffolk Technologies, as he shares insights from his extensive background in venture capital and his motivation for launching Suffolk Tech. Suffolk Technologies, the venture capital affiliate of Suffolk Construction, is at the forefront of driving innovation in the construction industry. In this episode,...

Join us for an insightful conversation with Catherine Buell, a distinguished Loeb Fellow at Harvard University, known for her impactful work in urban planning and development. Catherine shares details about her role at Amazon, where she has played a pivotal role in developing the Housing Equity Fund. Amazon's Housing Equity Fund deployed significant funding for community development and affordable...

Join us for a compelling conversation with Dan McKenna, an esteemed architect and educator, as we explore his work with Nightingale Housing. Nightingale is addressing critical issues in housing affordability and sustainability in Australia, striving to create socially, financially, and environmentally sustainable urban communities. In this episode, Dan will provide insights into Nightingale's uniq...

Join us for an engaging discussion with Joe Sumberg and Nicolette Jaze from Galvanize Climate Solutions. Joe is Managing Partner and Head of Real Estate and Nicolette is the Head of ESG & Sustainability for the Real Estate strategy. In this episode, we'll explore: Their climate-oriented investment thesis Their mission to decarbonize buildings through innovative technology Galvanize's unique va...

Join us for an insightful conversation with Zach Aarons, Co-Founder & General Partner at MetaProp, the world’s leading venture capital firm focused on the PropTech industry. With over a decade of experience, Zach is one of the most active early-stage PropTech investor in the U.S. His diverse background spans real estate development, commercial asset management, property marketing, and commerci...

Welcome to Season 2 of Harvard Real Estate Review's podcast series titled "Blueprints and Breakthroughs," where we interview innovators and industry experts to discuss the future of real estate by covering themes and ideas that sit at the intersection of real estate, design and technology - themes that will govern and revolutionize the industry over the next few decades.  Co-hosts: Samika Jai...

As COVID vaccines rolls out in countries around the world, we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel, looking forward to having the pandemic behind us in the near future. While remote work is still the norm for now, many are yearning for a return to normalcy with in-person collaborations and interactions at offices. With the lessons we’ve learned from COVID about the importance of healthy...

PropTech has been the buzzword in the real estate industry for the past few years. People are looking for ways to disrupt this traditional industry whether through revolutionizing ways of living, changing mode of operation, or coming up with new models of investments. Post the 2008 financial crisis, disruptions now known as Housing and Homebuilding 2.0 - such as prefabrication, 3D printing, and sm...