"This party is for all of you: 

The original two and all the rest of us; 

Those who were there at the beginning of the office and those who will be back at 560 Harrison tomorrow working on a deadline; 

The oldies but goodies and the new-fangled things; 

Project leaders and office party icons; 

You who are articulate orators and you who are diligent drafters; 

Critical thinkers and crafty figure-it-outlets; 

Late night workers and early flight departers; 

Trusted partners and trusting clients. 

It is an awesome honor to stand here and speak in front of all of you, and I want to thank you for attending tonight to celebrate. 

Tonight we are celebrating many things: Jorge and Rodolfo and their incredible legacy that has seeped into so many areas of the field, but has congealed and is best represented in the office that they founded, built, and led. We celebrate the future of the office, the next 40 years, and the evolution of Machado Silvetti into a place that people have wanted to work not just because of its relevance, but because it has always challenged and worked to redefine what relevance is. But most importantly, we are here to celebrate this group of people in this room today. 

People came from across the city and around the world for this. That mirrors something from the Machado Silvetti marketing playbook used over decades: 'Machado Silvetti, an architecture and urban design practice with distinctive projects across the United States and around the world.' A claim both true and misleading. The true part because, well, it’s true. The misleading part because it belies the reality of the scrappy, inventive, edgy, non-corporate, design-first nature of the firm. I am constantly asked how an office with an average size of about 20, and never bigger than about 50, is able to work on all these big projects all over the world—geographically dispersed, stylistically diverse, programmatically distinct, and within radically different climates, contexts, clients, and cultures. 

Beyond the philosophies and ideologies, which have been and remain essential to framing the conceptual trajectory of the firm and each project, it inevitably comes down to the people involved in its invention, design, documentation, creation, and celebration. And the only way to do this work, the work that Machado Silvetti has done and will continue to do, is to gather the raddest bunch of badass and beautiful people and unleash their energy, passion, and creativity on the world. 

For me, a dorky kid from Idaho who got lucky enough to get into the GSD and luckier still to be invited by Jorge to work at this office, and now in this position, I see this moment not as a crest, or as a peak, or a hinge, or an ideological transition, but rather as an acceleration of a continuous evolutionary transformation that has been in progress since the moment the office was founded in 1985. 

The contemporary practice of architecture is, in my opinion, still in its relative infancy. It’s not that our business models are outdated; they just need to grow up and enter the adult world. Our office cultures need to reflect our present society; our technology needs to be more cutting-edge and lead the industry rather than just follow. But most importantly, our projects and our designs need to be optimistic—leveraging whatever forces we can to create buildings and spaces that uplift, challenge, celebrate, and provide places where people can actually feel good about the world we live in together. 

Machado Silvetti has always been a laboratory of sorts where new practices, methods, technologies, and interests are tested and put to work in the service of unprecedented and real outcomes. This is our legacy and our future. 

Jorge and Rodolfo, thank you for your unwavering dedication to your convictions and your investment in the lives and futures of so many. We celebrate you tonight for this world that you’ve created, for forming and nurturing the intellectual and professional space that has brought this incredible group together over the past 40 years. 

Stephanie, thank you for your courage to show up to Machado Silvetti day after day after day for nearly 25 years and in so many different situations and projects, assembling the skills, commitments, and interests that are now part of you and core to the identity of Machado Silvetti. 

And to all of you, thank you for every minute you put into Machado Silvetti: every line, every pinup, every drawing, every ASI to get it right, every meeting, every high, and every low. 

Architecture is not easy. It is extremely hard. And it takes the contributions and the unprecedented realism of every single person involved to make it work. You are all amazing. This gathering is amazing. Thank you again for coming to celebrate this milestone with us." 

-Jeffry Burchard, October 17th 2025