MSRED Architect-Developer Dialogue: Sam Alison-Mayne + Florian Idenburg (Tankhouse | SO - IL)

Sam Alison-Mayne | Co-Founder, Tankhouse

Sam is a real estate and construction specialist who has been committed to New York City’s urban environment since 2007.

Sam grew up in Los Angeles and earned his BA in philosophy at UC Berkeley (2003). After spending years in the construction industry in NYC, Sam earned a master’s degree in real estate development from Columbia University (2013). Sam founded Tankhouse that same year.

Sam has served as an adjunct professor at Columbia University and has been actively involved in graduate student mentorship. He currently serves on the board of the Fort Greene Park Conservancy, the Myrtle Avenue BID and co-chairs the Steering Committee for the Gowanus Improvement District.

Florian Idenburg | Co-Founder, SO - IL

Florian Idenburg is an internationally renowned Dutch architect with over two decades of professional experience. After learning the ropes in Amsterdam and Tokyo, he founded SO–IL in 2008 together with Jing Liu. His years of working in cross-cultural settings make Florian a thoughtful and collaborative partner. With a joyous demeanor, he pursues innovation through working together. He has a particularly strong background in institutional spaces, leading the office on projects as Kukje Gallery and the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at UC Davis as well as Amant in Brooklyn. His strength lies in generating imaginative ideas and transforming those into real-world spaces and objects.

Idenburg has a strong intuition for the orchestration of form, material, and light, and enjoys developing projects to a level where those elements become places for people to experience and use. He combines a hands-on approach with a theoretical drive, sharing this creative spirit with clients, collaborators, and students. A frequent speaker at institutions around the world, he has taught at Harvard, MIT, Columbia, and Princeton University and is currently a Professor of Practice at Cornell University. In 2010, Idenburg received the Charlotte Köhler Prize from the Prince Bernhard Culture Fund. He is a registered architect in the Netherlands and an International Associate of the American Institute of Architects.

This event is open to all GSAPP students.