Introduction
Christian Giordano is the president and owner of Mancini Duffy, an architecture firm in New York City with more than 100 years of history. In this episode of The Power of Design Podcast, he talks with host Jack Ossa about leading a firm through change, working his way up from a young designer to project manager and owner, and what he sees ahead for workplace design and technology.
Jack notes that he has few architects among his guests, and the two compare notes on selling design services, running a practice and using the design process to solve problems in other fields.
About the Episode
Asked which skill a leader must master to manage complexity, Christian answers that it is being honest with himself and with the people who work with him. He describes how his role moved from hands-on design to selling and steering the firm, and how he now tells clients when a partner or technical director is better equipped to answer a question. Jack adds that it is fine to say you will find the answer.
Christian recalls how he knew early that he wanted to be an architect, studied at the University of Miami and went to UCLA for graduate school, drawn by the chance to learn from Frank Gehry. A professor in his first year taught him to look at the negative space between buildings, which Jack connects to the idea that architecture shapes emptiness for people to live in. After a first job in New York, he spent most of his career at a large international firm, led its New York office and worked in Shanghai before joining Mancini Duffy and later buying the firm with his partners.
They discuss why business development hires rarely work in architecture, how the firm encourages ideas from staff, including an airport studio and in-house software, and how competition works in New York. Christian also describes the Tool Belt, a custom visualization tool linked to Revit, and his hope that a 3D model can one day replace flattened PDF drawings in construction.
Key Takeaways
- Honesty builds teams: knowing and admitting what you are good at helps a firm place the right person with the right question.
- Sell with the doer: clients want to talk with the person who will deliver the project, so Mancini Duffy follows a seller-doer model.
- Support internal ideas: staff ideas for an airport studio and for software became real parts of the firm.
- Name recognition helps: an established firm gets invited to bid, but corporate interiors in New York remain price-driven.
- Return to office is a design question: each company should study how it works instead of following interior trends.
- Flexibility will be a trend: a menu of work options, with fewer assigned desks, is likely to grow.
- Deliver the model: Christian wants a future where the 3D model, not paper or PDF sheets, guides construction.
Highlights from the Conversation
I think offices are here to stay, which is good news.
Christian Giordano
I believe that architects can do a tremendous amount.
Christian Giordano
It's okay not to know everything.
Jack Ossa
Topics Discussed
- Leadership and honesty in a design firm
- From designer to owner of a 100-year-old practice
- Negative space and learning to see differently
- Why business development is hard in architecture
- Competition in the New York and New Jersey market
- What return to office means for corporate interiors
- Virtual reality and the Tool Belt visualization software
- Delivering a 3D model instead of flat drawings
Why This Conversation Matters
Christian's view that each company should work out how it actually uses space applies to every client we meet. It is a core question in our interior architecture work and in our architecture work for office buildings. Projects such as the BWM Office and the Cunningham Office Building show how workplace needs, flexibility and design quality come together.
About the Guest
Christian Giordano is the president and owner of Mancini Duffy, an architecture firm in New York City with over 100 years of history. Raised in New Jersey, he studied architecture at the University of Miami and earned a graduate degree at UCLA before working in New York and Shanghai. Corporate interiors make up about half of the firm's revenue. Connect with Christian Giordano on LinkedIn.
