Austin Crowley & Robert Blaser of Michael Graves Architecture | Cutler Bay Legacy Park and Resilient Community Design
Courtesy of Michael Graves
Plus The Vision for “Michael Graves 2.0”
We’ve officially reached 100 episodes of American Building, and to mark the milestone, I’m joined by Austin Crowley, Senior Associate, and Robert Blaser, Principal, of Michael Graves Architecture.
We center the conversation on one of Austin and Robert’s current projects: Cutler Bay Legacy Park, a civic project that addresses how a Florida community can engage with its government and waterfront. The project brings together municipal facilities, public programming, and coastal resilience in a site that had been degraded by years of industrial use and contamination.
We explore the technical challenges of building in South Florida's climate, material choices inspired by the historic Old Cutler Trail, and maintenance strategies for long-term durability. Through extensive community input and environmental remediation, the design team created a destination that will serve both daily civic functions and large community gatherings.
Beyond the project, we take a step back to look at the current architectural landscape. With the recent passing of industry titans Frank Gehry and Robert A.M. Stern, the architectural world is reflecting on the mark they left. Robert offers his perspective on where Michael Graves fits into that era of design and discusses his own role in carrying Graves’ humanist philosophy forward. Austin, speaking from his decade of experience with the team, highlights how Michael Graves Architecture draws inspiration from Gehry’s approach to technology, emphasizing that the future of the firm lies in thoughtful integration and strategic acquisitions.
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“I don’t think you pay homage to Michael Graves by continuing his stylistic legacy forever. Because, honestly, he didn’t. If you look at how Michael’s career evolved, it was constantly changing.”
Courtesy of Michael Graves
About Austin Crowley, AIA
Austin Crowley joined Michael Graves’s Princeton office in 2016 and has consistently been a valued member of Robert Blaser’s design teams, working on diverse projects of many types and scales internationally and throughout the US. He has been a key design architect for several multi-family and mixed-use developments in New Jersey, as well as master plans and ultra luxury residential projects in Asia and the Middle East.
Austin brings creativity and imagination to projects of all scales and sectors, formulating powerful concepts and translating them into built form. He was a senior designer for new construction of 720,000 SF of LEED-Silver offices in Northern Virginia, which included a corporate “university” classroom and training center, an interdisciplinary technology innovation center, and various shared facilities including dining and conference space. He also has been involved with innovative giga-projects in the Middle East and resort developments in the Caribbean.
Austin has been an advocate for design technology integration and research, helping to bolster the imagination and storytelling process among the firm. In the August 2019 issue of Interiors + Sources magazine, he was selected as “1 of 5 Up-and-Coming Design Disrupters” nationally.
Courtesy of Michael Graves
About Robert Blaser
Since joining Michael Graves in 1998, Robert Blaser has become one of the firm’s most accomplished project designers with experience working at all scales, from master planning complex sites and designing the buildings to overseeing interior design.
Robert is a place-maker passionate about building the user experience around ideas of context and character. He imagines buildings that are unique to their sites and improve their urban surroundings, including historic areas. An active, thoughtful and engaging collaborator, he helps developers, operators and designers capture the desired architectural character in an artful manner.
His hospitality experience goes back decades and includes award-winning, trend-setting food and beverage outlets as well as hotels. His high rise and mid-rise residences sell themselves based on their stories and the marketing materials he leads. His boundless creativity is balanced with innate practicality, and his convincing articulation of design ideas streamline approvals.
Robert was the Project Designer for Resorts World Sentosa, a 3.5-million SF mixed-use development in Singapore, including the master plan and architectural design of 6 hotels, a major spa, theaters, destination retail, and a maritime museum. He has recently been the Project Designer for several multiple-dwelling-unit midrise and high-rise projects in Northern New Jersey and South Florida, including overseeing the interior design and marketing collateral.
Courtesy of Michael Graves
Courtesy of Michael Graves
Episode Timestamps
(01:52) Austin and Robert's paths into architecture and Michael Graves Architecture
(09:28) Winning the Cutler Bay Legacy Park RFP through narrative-driven design strategy
(13:37) Managing community input without compromising the project vision
(18:10) Navigating environmental remediation constraints and budget implications
(21:48) Building with flood zones, hurricane codes, and material costs in mind
(27:29) The vision for the visitor experience: moving through community and civic spaces
(39:06) Evolving Michael Graves’ design legacy beyond stylistic replication
(49:03) Geographic expansion and entering new markets through acquisition
(58:15) AI integration in design and business operations
Site Map - Courtesy of Michael Graves
Resources
Episode 43: Austin Crowley of Michael Graves Architecture & Design | Next Gen Interview
Episode 2: Samer Hanini of Hanini Group | Peoples Bank Building in Passaic, NJ | Preserving History
This episode of American Building is brought to you by New Blueprint Partners — making industrial real estate accessible to the everyday investor. They provide a simple, hassle-free, and transparent path to owning industrial properties, backed by experienced operators. You may remember founders Ron Schinik and Marc Esrig from our episode on the Vancouver Innovation Center, where they shared how collaboration and communication shape successful projects. Learn how you can build your industrial real estate portfolio at newblueprintpartners.com.
About your host:
Atif Qadir is a licensed architect and entrepreneur, interested in solving big problems through innovation and technology. He has founded two proptech companies and a real estate development firm, building products ranging from software to workforce housing.
His work has been covered by Technology Review, The Real Deal, Commercial Observer, and Propmodo. He’s also a frequent speaker on the future of buildings and cities on popular industry podcasts and at conferences, including this past year at the Commercial Observer National DEI Conference, Yale AREA Conference, Columbia Real Estate Symposium, Open Data Week NYC and Austin Design Week.
About Michael Graves
The world-famous design firm Michael Graves is also a founding sponsor of American Building. Its namesake, the iconoclastic designer Michael Graves, FAIA was a fierce advocate for people-centric design. His work defines a generation of American architecture and includes the Portland Building, the Humana Building and the Denver Public Library. The 1st season of American Building was filmed live at The Warehouse, his historic home in Princeton, New Jersey:
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