Mancini Duffy Bill Mandara on expanding through diversification

In this segment for HorizonTV, BD+C's John Caulfield interviews Mancini Duffy's CEO and Co-owner William Mandara about his firm's recent growth, which includes an acquisition and new HQs office.

Topics discussed:

• What prompted Mancini Duffy to open a third office in Red Bank, N.J., and how did the pandemic of the past two years shape how that office has been set up and staffed?
• Your company also expanded in May by acquiring Gertler & Wentz Architects, a New York-based firm. What attracted Mancini Duffy to that firm, and what did they bring to the party?
• That acquisition coincided with your firm moving into a new headquarters on Eighth Avenue, at a time when other companies have been walking away from office space.  Please provide details about the new office, in terms of size, employee capacity, etc. It is my understanding as well that you tripled the size of your Design Lab — please elaborate.
• Mancini Duffy was on the design-build team for TSX Broadway, a $2.5 billion 550,000-sf mixed-use building that included lifting the Palace Theater 30 feet, or six stories, above street level, and creating a new entertainment location within New York’s Times Square. Talk about the clients’ vision, and why such a complex design and engineering maneuver was necessary.
• Your portfolio includes Peloton’s first real headquarters, on West 25th Street, as well as several high-profile building repositions, such as 888 Broadway. What were the clients’ design goals, and what were these projects’ challenges and noteworthy features?
• What’s next for Mancini Duffy? Do you see the firm expanding outside of the New York metro area? Are there other practices you are considering? What roadblocks will the firm need to navigate for successful growth?  How id diversity, equity, and inclusion factoring into your plans?