MIT/CRE Meet the Visionaries

In this episode, architect and urban planner Janet Marie Smith joins us to reflect on her career shaping some of baseball’s most beloved ballparks. Her work has redefined the role of sports venues as engines of urban vitality and cultural identity.At Oriole Park, Janet Marie helped pioneer the “retro” ballpark movement that reconnected stadiums with their urban surroundings. In Boston, she led the modernization of Fenway Park, balancing preservation with progress. Moving west to Dodger Stadium, Janet Marie honored a mid-century icon while creating a more vibrant, inclusive fan experience. “A great ballpark,” she notes, “isn’t sustained by architecture alone but by the energy it inspires.” Her challenge was to distinguish what made the stadium’s design timeless from what had simply become dated. The resulting updates, including the new Centerfield Plaza, created a lively fan experience that celebrates Los Angeles’ culture and diversity.Now through The Canopy Team, Janet Marie continues to champion community-driven development, showing that great ballparks, like great cities, are defined not by their structures but by the people who bring them to life.Interview by: Cherry Tang / MSRED Candidate 2026Director: Denise DeLoreyProduction: Cherry Tang / Lacey CochranMusic from #Uppbeat:https://uppbeat.io/t/mark-july/dance-with-meLicense code: KQAWWN4CWQXDF01ELearn more about The Canopy Team: https://canopyteam.com/

In this episode, we sit down with Aun Abdullah, Vice President of Lodha Group and head of the Environment and Sustainable Urbanization agenda at the Lodha Foundation. Aun leads the Net Zero Urban Accelerator, a partnership between Lodha and the RMI India Foundation, and his work spans every scale of the built environment—from ultra-efficient buildings to the design of Palava, a planned urban township built on the 5-10-15 neighborhood planning principle. Aun is shaping India’s national decarbonization and urbanization pathway. We explore the personal side of Aun’s journey: what first sparked his passion for climate-positive development, how he became involved in the creation of Palava, and the lessons it offers for cities worldwide. Along the way, Aun discusses how policy, industry practices, and market forces must evolve in sync to make efficiency and sustainability a defining principle of construction. With 100 million Indian households projected to enter homeownership in the coming decade, Aun situates Lodha Group’s work within the larger challenge of creating livable, economically viable, and low-carbon urban spaces.Interview by: Soala Ajienka / MSRED 2025Director: Denise DeLoreyProduction: Soala Ajienka / Lacey CochranMusic from #Uppbeat:https://uppbeat.io/t/mark-july/dance-with-meLicense code: KQAWWN4CWQXDF01E

In the final episode of season two, we meet with Gregory Dewerpe, the Founder and Partner of NOA (formerly A/O), Europe's leading venture capital firm pioneering the transformation of the real estate and construction industries. Driven by a critical mission to decarbonize the built world and enhance its sustainability, Gregory brings a visionary and investment-focused perspective to identifying and scaling the innovative technologies essential for this transition. Sam Jakshtis (current MSRED student) and Gregory discuss how NOA's strategic investments are not just funding companies, but actively shaping a more efficient, resilient, and healthier future for how we build, live, and interact with our physical environment.Interview by Sam Jakshtis | MSRED 2025Director: Denise DeLoreyProduction by: Lacey CochranMusic from ⁠⁠#Uppbeat⁠⁠License code: KQAWWN4CWQXDF01Ehttps://cre.mit.edu/

In this episode, we're incredibly excited to welcome Brad Hargreaves and Paul Stanton of Thesis Driven.Thesis Driven's flagship online newsletter is widely considered one of the more thought-provoking and well-written real estate publications today, diving deep into emerging real estate themes, technologies, and funding models. The brand has grown in the past few years to include a podcast, an online and in-person learning platform, and a developer database that inventories hundreds of qualified, active real estate developers and owners. In this conversation, we discuss how Brad & Paul came together to form Thesis Driven, the platform's evolution, and what they see at the frontier of innovation in commercial real estate. Co-hosted by MIT graduate students Robby Mulcahy and Dean Firouzian, this conversation is a fun, free-flowing round table, full of thoughtful insights and fascinating anecdotes. Paul and Brad share a wealth of knowledge and years of experience founding, operating, and exiting successful real estate ventures, and their insider perspective is second-to-none.Interview by: Robby Mulcahy / MSRED Candidate 2025, Dean Firouzian / MSRED Candidate 2025Director: Denise DeLoreyProduction by: Robby Mulcahy, Soala AjienkaMusic from ⁠⁠⁠⁠#Uppbeat⁠⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠https://uppbeat.io/track/mark-july/dance-with-me?rt=uc-referral⁠⁠⁠License code: KQAWWN4CWQXDF01Ehttps://cre.mit.edu/

Greg MacKinnon, Director of Research at the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) and a long time collaborator of the MIT Center for Real Estate, joins us on this episode of the Meet the Visionaries Podcast. Drawing on PREA’s deep industry reach and rigorous consensus forecasting, Greg offers a panoramic view of how shifts in capital markets, technology, and investor behavior are reshaping real estate.As head of research, Greg’s vantage point cuts across market cycles and geographic boundaries, giving him clear insight into how institutions are broadening their horizons, innovating through new construction methods, and even democratizing real estate for retail investors. He also expands on how rising insurance costs and climate events are making resilience a top priority for portfolios. Tune in to discover how Greg’s bird’s-eye view at PREA illuminates the forces shaping a more inclusive, agile, and forward-thinking real estate landscape. Papers: MultifamilyRisk ExposureInterview by Soala Ajienka | MArch, MSRED 2025Director: Denise DeLoreyProduction by: Soala AjienkaMusic from ⁠⁠⁠#Uppbeat⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠https://uppbeat.io/track/mark-july/dance-with-me?rt=uc-referral⁠⁠License code: KQAWWN4CWQXDF01Ehttps://cre.mit.edu/

In this episode, we welcome Kabir Seth, Principal at San Francisco-based Presidio Bay Ventures, a vertically-integrated developer of commercial real estate for private and public sector tenants across the U.S. Presidio Bay Ventures' portfolio consists of mid- to large-scale office, life science and R&D spaces, mixed-use, urban infill multifamily communities, industrial distribution centers and other special-use facilities, with an emphasis on bespoke strategy and tailored design for each end-user. Kabir shares his own career journey, from growing up in Dubai to his studies at UC Berkeley, an early career in investment banking, and eventually partnering with PBV Managing Partner Cyrus Sanandaji to work first with public sector tenants and then strategically enter private development for a variety of uses. He reflects on the state of the San Francisco real estate market, particularly in the context of the "doom-loop" narrative of the past few years, and why he thinks the city remains an excellent geography for investors and developers willing to adapt. We dive into several of Presidio Bay Ventures' most recent office projects, including Springline, the firm's "office resort" concept that's proved to be a smashing success. Kabir's insights and candor make this episode a truly inspiring and thoughtful listen. Tune in for another great conversation with the visionary Kabir Seth. Interview by Robby Mulcahy | MSRED 2025Director: Denise DeLoreyProduction by: Robby Mulcahy, Soala AjienkaMusic from ⁠#Uppbeat⁠: https://uppbeat.io/track/mark-july/dance-with-me?rt=uc-referralLicense code: KQAWWN4CWQXDF01Ehttps://cre.mit.edu/