Marissa Kasdan

Biography: Marissa Kasdan, Associate AIA, holds the position of Director of KTGY’s Research and Development Studio. KTGY’s dedicated R+D Studio develops conceptual design solutions to address a broad range of housing topics and issues: housing affordability, societal trends, multigenerational living, community placemaking, creative mixed-use, modular construction, and adaptive reuse. Since 2016, Marissa has led the creation and execution of R+D projects at KTGY, exploring new and emerging ideas related to building design and technology. She acts as the liaison for the studio, working with KTGY’s national executive leadership on new concepts and developing these concepts together with the R+D Studio team. Marissa represents KTGY’s R+D Studio with presentations and education on new technologies, residential design strategies, and implementation of research and development ventures within the housing industry at national venues such as the International Builders Show, the Pacific Coast Builders Conference, and the ULI Housing Opportunity Conference. She also contributes by-lined articles and news media commentary on housing trends and futuristic ideas. Marissa offers more than 18 years of design experience to the thought leadership of KTGY, having joined the firm after she obtained her BArch from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Her varied architecture experience includes work on residential, retail, and mixed-use developments both at KTGY and for several years with a competitive regional design firm. KTGY’s R+D Studio has been awarded numerous design awards including the 2019 NMHC Innovation Challenge for Park House, a reuse concept that transforms an under-used parking structure into a modern residential community. In 2022, KTGY’s R+D Studio was honored by Multi-Housing News with the Gold award in the Unbuilt category of their MHN Excellence Awards for The Branches, a concept for reducing operational carbon within multifamily design.