Design Fuel Podcast, Episode 3: "Risk + Responsibility" with Alloy Development's Jared Della Valle
July 16, 2025
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In the latest episode of the Design Fuel Podcast, host David Polzin sits down with Jared Della Valle, CEO and co-founder of Alloy Development, to explore a radically different model of architectural practice where architects own not just the design, but the entire process.
Jared shares how his frustration with the traditional architecture industry led him to reimagine what it means to be a designer. Rather than waiting for clients or working within systems defined by others, he built Alloy as a vertically integrated company that includes architecture, development, construction, asset management and brokerage, all under one roof.
Throughout the conversation, Jared reflects on Alloy’s one-project-at-a-time philosophy, the values that shape their work, and how deep community engagement — especially in Brooklyn — has become central to their approach. He talks candidly about the risks they take, how the company evolved from a graduate school business plan to a five-entity “platypus,” and why they’ve embraced sustainability not just as a goal, but a default. From pioneering the first all-electric skyscraper in New York to developing affordable housing rooted in equity, Jared explains how personal values, civic responsibility, and intentional growth are fueling the next era of architectural impact.
About Design Fuel
Hosted by our Executive Director of Design, David Polzin, and rooted in our Living-Centered Design ethos, the Design Fuel Podcast features thought-provoking and necessary conversations around the ideas and forces driving innovation in the built environment and beyond. It amplifies the role design can play in shaping a more equitable, healthy, sustainable and beautiful world.
