Marc Vlessing on navigating a changed environment

The housing market is at a breaking point, and old solutions are no longer enough. Join us on October 13th to hear from Marc Vlessing, founder of Pocket Living, on why fixing the crisis requires a radical shift in perspective.

With a background spanning banking, theatre, and film, Marc brings a unique "outsider" rigour to development. He successfully challenged industry dogma with Pocket Living, London’s first private developer of affordable starter homes, delivering over 2,000 units on tricky small sites.

But as the economy shifts, the original models are harder to replicate. Marc will argue that the survival of the SME sector—which has plummeted from 65% of the market to less than 10%—is critical to hitting housing targets. For architects and developers today, long-term success demands relentless innovation over simple imitation.

Don’t miss this chance to learn how to navigate a changed environment with one of the industry’s most innovative thinkers.

Amanda Baillieu and Gus Zogolovitch set up Developer Collective in 2018 to teach professionals how to become design-led property developers and give them the contacts and resources to deliver their projects.

Their book How to be an Architect Developer was published in September '23. The Developer Collective Club was launched in 2026.

The talk will be followed by networking drinks and nibbles.

This event is supported The Society Building.