The Birth of a Building: From Conception to Delivery

by Ben Stevens

We spend most of our lives in buildings and see new ones being created around us all the time. But the number of people and disciplines involved in a building's creation make it hard to understand the process as a whole. The Birth of a Building is an introduction to those aspects of finance, law, urban planning, architecture, engineering, construction, and real estate development which underlie this fascinating event.

Part One focuses on the "birds and the bees," explaining the economic story which motivates people to create new buildings in the first place. Part Two focuses on the longer pregnancy and delivery process, walking you through the specific stages that a building project will pass through. Every chapter begins with a simple analogy from everyday life that helps the total beginner relate to the subject matter. And because it takes an interdisciplinary approach, The Birth of a Building can serve as an introduction to many different fields.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction

275 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 9, 2021

Reviews

[Taylor Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must read for anyone interested in real estate or real estate development.

[Russell Romney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered how, in minute detail, a development project happens? Look no further, and it's somehow not too dry.

[Jose · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the title suggests Stevens uses the analogy of birth, along with gestation and conception, to illustrate how buildings come to be. Surprising to me the construction of a building takes a whopping ~20 pages of this book. The other ~280 talk about the intricacies of getting to lay the cornerstone, or pour concrete more likely, and how a slew of professionals and specialists interact pushing the building towards completion or setting up barriers (and how to overcome them).

This is a fantastic introduction to the real estate development industry, possessing not only a wide breath but also some depth in important subjects. And for those who this book gives an impetus to possibly consider a career in the subject, there’s a reading list to further specific subjects.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

80% of my job involves working with developers, so I picked up Birth of a Building to try to understand my work from their perspective. For that specific purpose, this book was perfect, giving me a high-level understanding of what goes into developing a building from finding investors to construction, and everything in between. I particularly loved the perspective that Stevens's background in planning gave to his insights. Worth noting that for its intended audience of people looking to get into developing themselves, I suspect this book is a little too cursory for any but the truest newcomers to the industry.

[Ermicioi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than expected. It covers almost all the process of building a building while also explaining how to do some basic calculations (such as for returns, and so on). I wouldn't use it as the only reference for real estate, but using this with a combination of other 2-3 good real estate books should give one strong foundations. Even if you only invest in real estate and don't build, it woul be stupid to invest in assets that you don't really understand how came to exist and how to spot some issues with the building that may be related to the period when the building was being build.

Will be used for future reference.

[Alexander Billy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s OK. It’s extraordinarily easy to read. Honestly, maybe the easiest non-fiction book I’ve ever read. There are interesting takeaways, but this isn’t a book that sticks with you. I read this for professional purposes hoping to learn to vet developments better. I’m just not too sure that the arrangement was right or that the book went in deep enough for those purposes.

If you know nothing about development, it’s fine.

[Collin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise and practicable book on real estate development and how buildings (in the U.S.) come to be built. A more technical overview, but definitely accessible to the average reader interested in real estate development. Also a good starting-off point for a reader more seriously interested in the subject. Covers inception, land, design, financing, and construction.

[Tony Crispin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great! It did exactly what I wanted to: explain how buildings come to be. Ben doesn't dick around and waste time with personal anecdotes or long-winded opinions about the real estate industry, but he still adds enough personal flair and conversational tone to make this book easy to digest and incredibly informative.

Gosh bless Ben, keep up the good work!

[Stephen long · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall pretty good book on the development process from beginning to end. No one else on my goodreads feed would probably care about this book but if you have ever wondered what it takes for a commercial development project to happen give this one a read.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another “textbook” for my real estate class that I didn’t realize I only had one page left of… whoops. Nothing too crazy to comment on, and definitely a good book for learning the very basics of the industry.

[Andrew Blunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read introduction to real estate development.. or human birth if you don't know how that works either.

[Justin Kloehn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for real estate students, professionals, investors, developers, and managers alike.

[Drew Mixson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great intro book if you are curious how development 101 works.

[Joseph Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this book for anyone that is looking to better understand real estate and development. A solid primer for anyone interested in learning more about the industry!

[Jeremy Welsh-Loveman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book on real estate development. Easy to read but thorough.

[Godzilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Development is a lot of project management
A lot can blow up in your face