Activating Vitality in the Housing Sector

As part of the Summer 2025 Allen Matkins / UCLA Anderson Forecast, OFFICEUNTITLED Principal Shawn Gehle joined Allen Matkins Partner Spencer Kallick on the Anderson Forecast Survey Podcast to discuss the state and future of housing in California. The episode, Activating Vitality in the Housing Sector, coincided with the release of the latest UCLA Anderson Forecast, offering timely insight into the economic and regulatory forces shaping development across the state.

In the conversation, Shawn shared a forward-looking perspective on how architects and developers are responding to a challenging environment defined by rising construction costs, shifting office vacancies, and increasing regulatory pressure. Drawing from OFFICEUNTITLED’s work, he described how these constraints can be reframed as opportunities—particularly through adaptive reuse, office-to-residential conversion, and new approaches to hybrid construction systems. As wildfire recovery efforts strain the availability of traditional wood construction, the discussion highlighted a growing need to rethink the dominance of five-over-two housing, with concrete and steel poised to play a larger role in California’s housing future.

Beyond material considerations, the episode emphasized the importance of restoring social and civic vitality in cities. Shawn underscored the need for housing, public space, recreation, and infrastructure to operate in concert, arguing that meaningful urban recovery depends on coordinated design and policy thinking. The conversation offers a thoughtful look at the creative, material, and regulatory shifts required to address California’s urgent housing challenges.