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This in-person lecture is part of the Fall 2025 Sciame Lecture Series, "rePURPOSE."

, FAIA (he/him) and  (she/her) co-founded the New York-based Architecture, Interior Design, and Planning firm  in 1987 on the principle that architecture should engage the urban fabric while enriching the human spirit. Regardless of typology, CetraRuddy’s work is about “home” – a commitment which was born and encouraged during their time as students at CCNY.

Through his practice, John Cetra (right) has experienced the interrelationship of architecture, urban design, and planning. He is a recognized industry leader in tall building technologies, historic building and analytic site development. John holds a Master’s degree in Architecture and Urban Design from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Spitzer School of Architecture of the City College of New York.

Nancy J. Ruddy’s (left) career is defined by analytic problem solving, contextual sensitivity and the integration of crafted details and innovative use of materials. Her work reflects an underlying commitment to the human experience at all scales, and a deep belief in the importance of community and a sense of home in all building typologies. Nancy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural History from New York University and has studied architecture at City College of New York.

"Creating Home and Community at 25 Water Street: The Nation’s Largest Residential Conversion": As cities worldwide grapple with climate imperatives, housing shortages, and a lower demand for commercial building stock, adaptive reuse has emerged as a transformative design and policy tool. In this lecture, John Cetra, FAIA, and Nancy J. Ruddy, founding principals of CetraRuddy and long-time leaders in the field of adaptive reuse, will present the ambitious office-to-residential conversion of 25 Water Street. Drawing from nearly four decades of experience navigating New York’s unique regulatory landscape, they will explore how the project serves not only as a model for future large-scale conversions but as a framework for rethinking urban reuse at scale. The lecture will examine how reimagining this underutilized commercial structure challenged prevailing zoning, structural, and mechanical systems, and ultimately introduced new architectural typologies to support community, livability, and sustainability. Through this case study, Cetra and Ruddy will interrogate the intersection of technical innovation, policy reform, and the human experience of home—asking what it takes to build community through reuse in the heart of the contemporary city.

"rePURPOSE" centers on the practice of adaptive reuse in the built environment. Repurposing, the practice of adaptive reuse, embedded in historical patterns of city building, and for the most part discarded in the modern movement, is undergoing a remarkable renaissance. In the Fall 2025 rePURPOSE lecture series, architects, planners, developers, advocates, and engineers will present the technologies, designs, economic incentives, and policy changes that are needed to advance a substantively renewed and at-scale program of repurposing in New York and other global cities. The reuse of old structures is not a new idea. (After the fall of the Roman empire, for example, the Colosseum was repurposed for housing and workshops during the medieval period). Although reuse is understood as a convention that both requires and imposes minimal impact, rePURPOSE shines light on how the methodology might not be entirely benign, how it might in fact have impact, and the ways in which it challenges and would necessarily disrupt the very conventions with which we typically assume it is aligned. Of special, although not exclusive, interest is unpacking the relationship of repurposing to the climate crisis. Might historic preservation sit at the center of technical innovation? Are all older buildings valuable as climate mitigation assets? What rules, laws, and incentives are needed to sustain innovative approaches to meaningful reuse?

Do preservation rules and laws need to be amended to allow for modification to protected historic fabric?
Will financing tax credit incentive programs need to be created to enable ROI and economic impact?
Measuring the environmental impact of reuse and whether it promotes or offsets economic development in emerging economies.
Will new uses, such as data storage in old buildings, undermine the LCA embodied carbon savings achieved?
To what extent will conversions such as office to residential require new zoning frameworks and complete reform of regulatory, density, and FAR considerations?
Could conversions enable innovation in ventilation systems and even off-site transfer of geothermal energy systems energy and if maximized could represent significant impact?

All lectures are free, open to the public, and held in the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture Sciame Auditorium. For live captioning, ASL interpretation, or access requests, please contact  ssadean@ccny.cuny.edu " rel="noopener" target="_blank"> ssadean@ccny.cuny.edu .

This lecture series is made possible by the Spitzer Architecture Fund and the generous support of Frank Sciame ’74, CEO of Sciame Construction.

(Photograph ©Paul Raphaelson)