Michael Kirchmann of GDSNY | Met Tower: Creating Five-Star Hotel Experiences in Office Buildings
Met Tower 16th Floor Interior
Courtesy of GDSNY
The Rise of Design-Led Workspaces
The return-to-office policies have settled, but the real challenge has just begun. As companies bring employees back to their desks, the question isn't whether people will return—it's whether they'll want to stay. The office buildings succeeding in this new era aren't necessarily those with the best locations or lowest rents, but rather those that approach office spaces with a hospitality mindset. Michael Kirchmann understood this shift before most developers even recognized the opportunity.
As co-founder and CEO of GDSNY, Michael transformed the Met Tower from 20% to 84% leased in 15 months. His strategy includes offering a premium experience at $85-90 per square foot (versus $220+ for new Plaza District towers), hiring former Four Seasons concierges as building staff, and creating amenities like members-only clubs. This approach recognizes that employers now use office environments as recruitment and retention tools, making design quality a competitive necessity rather than a luxury.
Beyond development, GDSNY operates GDS Brightstar, a lending platform that combines its construction and leasing expertise, creating unique opportunities to underwrite office deals that traditional lenders avoid. As both borrower and lender, they can identify promising assets and provide rescue capital, construction finance, and workout solutions. Their hands-on approach has saved borrowers tens of millions in construction costs by leveraging existing contractor relationships, making them valuable partners when deals need creative restructuring.
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Watch on YouTube
“Real estate is not just about the buildings. In fact, it’s more so about the people. It’s the people that are designing the projects, building the projects, financing the projects, and very much so about the people who are servicing the projects once they’re up and running. ”
Courtesy of GDSNY
About Michael Kirchmann
Michael D. Kirchmann, AIA, MSRE, RA, LEED AP ® is the co-founder and CEO of GDSNY, a unique international real estate consultancy firm based in New York. Founded in 2007, GDSNY is an innovative, design-led practice whose interests comprise architecture, real estate development, brand communications, art, sustainability and strategic planning.
Michael is a registered architect in the State of New York and has completed over 15 million sf of residential, commercial and hospitality projects, including a combined 4,500 residential units completed throughout New York City.
Michael was a Director at Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM) in New York for eleven years. He has worked on projects across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, India, Korea, the United Kingdom, China, and Africa. He has received recognition for his extensive work around the globe that includes large-scale urban design masterplans, office towers, residential developments, airports, museums, art installations, and brand communications across a broad range of development typologies.
He has received numerous awards from institutions including the American Institute of Architects, the Chicago Athenaeum, Business Week, MIPIM, SINI, Architectural Review, Architectural Record, and Metropolis Magazine. He has increased his exposure within the fields of architecture, design and development through regular lectures, juries and reviews at Harvard University, New York University’s Masters Program in Real Estate, Columbia University, Cityscape, MIPIM, the Architectural Association, Parsons New School, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Michael has 30 years of diversified design and real estate experience and has worked on projects with a number of industry leaders including Shell, Oracle, Pfizer, JP Morgan, Four Seasons, Hilton Hotels, Ritz Carlton, ING Real Estate, HRO, Empire Property Group International, London & Regent, Siemans, Guggenheim, Marriot Group, Bouygues, European Central Bank, Related and Brookfield Properties.
Over the years Michael has also sat on advisory boards for several real estate, commercial, private equity, and art organizations worldwide.
Met Tower Current Lobby
Courtesy of GDSNY
Met Tower Lobby Rendering
Courtesy of GDSNY
Met Club Render
Courtesy of GDSNY
Episode Timestamps
(01:54) Growing up in a real estate family and the path from architecture to development
(03:31) European development experience with SOM and Howard Ronson
(09:15) GDSNY's mission of creating exceptional real estate through design differentiation
(14:40) Assessment of Met Tower's condition and repositioning potential
(19:12) Creating hospitality-inspired office experiences and targeting new tenant types
(27:37) Walking through the transformed tenant experience from street to suite
(31:02) Real estate debt market opportunities and GDSNY's lending platform
(38:17) Key elements of successful loan workouts and preventing problems through relationships
Met Tower 16th Floor Interior
Courtesy of GDSNY
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:
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
Did you love this episode? Let us know by rating and review our show on Apple Podcasts. It’s easy - simply click this link, click on Listen on Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom of the page, and select “Write a Review”. Let us know what you liked best about the episode, and what others can expect when they listen to our show.
While you’re at it, consider subscribing to American Building. When you subscribe, you can guarantee you never miss a conversation with one our renowned designers, architects, and developers. Subscribe now!