2008 Speakers
Jared Della Valle, AIA, LEED AP
Founding Partner, Alloy Development
With dual masters in both Architecture and Construction Management and years of practical experience as a Project Manager with an elite contractor in NY, Della Valle has a unique ability to transform thoughts into reality. He is a founding partner of Alloy Development, a design-oriented real estate development company that seeks projects whose design creates economic opportunity. Whether acting as architect or developer, Della Valle has the opportunity to make decisions with rigor and speed uncommon in the design and real estate development communities. Understanding what clients go through, how the economics of a project influences design, and what it means to take a risk is an invaluable insight.
With his partner Andrew Bernheimer, Della Valle has tested these practices in projects of all scales. Recently, Della Valle was the partner in charge of the sensitive renovation of Paul Rudolph’s former Manhattan residence, and the ground up construction of three luxury condominium buildings in Chelsea, the West Village and Hudson Yards and he is currently managing the design of a ground up 95,000sf boutique hotel in SoHo. Personally engaged in all DB’s projects, Della Valle actively participates in the entire design process, all phases of documentation, and construction.
Della Valle is a licensed architect in New York State, a member of AIA, NCARB Registered, LEED certified, a member and supporter of the Architecture League of NY, and a supporter of the AIA’s New York chapter. With Bernheimer, he is currently teaching at the Seinfeld Studio at Syracuse University.
Perla Delson
Principal, DELSON or SHERMAN architects pc
Perla J. Delson grew up in Manhattan. She received her bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and worked at Prentice & Chan, Ohlausen before attending Yale University for her master of architecture. After graduate school, she worked in private practices in New York, Vienna, and Milan. After three years as Assistant Museum Architect at the Brooklyn Museum, she founded Delson or Sherman Architects pc with Jeff Sherman. Currently based in Brooklyn’s DUMBO, the firm’s work includes a range of residential and commercial projects in New York and around the country. She lives in Boerum Hill with her husband and three children.
Jill Fehrenbacher
Founder and Publisher, Inhabitat.com
Jill Fehrenbacher is the founder and publisher of Inhabitat.com – an influential weblog about sustainable design innovation. She is also a freelance designer and green design consultant based in New York City. Jill created Inhabitat in 2005 as a way to catalog her search for new ways to improve the world through forward-thinking, high-tech, and environmentally conscious design. Educated at Brown University, where she received a B.A. in Art Semiotics, and Central St. Martins, where she received an M.A. in Design Studies, she currently resides in New York City, which suits her obsession with rooftop gardens and vegan junk food restaurants.
Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan
Founder, ApartmentTherapy.com
Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan is the founder of ApartmentTherapy.com and the author of Apartment Therapy Presents. He’s a regular commentator on the HGTV show Small Space, Big Style and has been featured in the New York Times, the New York Post, and the Wall Street Journal. He lives in a 250-square foot apartment in New York’s West Village.
Wendy Goodman
Design Editor, New York magazine
Wendy goodman is the design editor of New York magazine. She is the co-author of the best seller, Tony Duquette, published by Abrams. She also is a contributing editor at Departures magazine and writes for German and French Architectural Digest.