Business of Architecture Podcast

Hello and welcome back, Architect Nation. I'm Enoch Sears. and this is the show where you'll discover tips, strategies and secrets for building an architecture practice that lets you do your best work, more often. Today our topic is how to increase your firm's visibility. My guest is Karl Feldmen of the professional services marketing firm Hinge. Hinge is known for their well-researched and cuttin...

Today our topic is the visible expert. How can greater visibility for you and those on your team help you in your quest to be a better architect? In this episode, I'm interviewed by Kelly Waffle and Karl Feldmen of Hinge. Hinge is a professional services branding and marketing agency. They are known for their well-researched industry reports. Kelly is the Managing Director of the Hinge Research In...

Today I speak with Karen Compton and Gabrielle Bullock. Karen Compton is the Principal of the Architecture Business Consulting firm A3K Consulting, and Gabrielle Bullock is the Director of Global Diversity at Perkins and Will. I invited Karen and Gabrielle on the show to discuss their new vodcast - Breaking the Silence of Design, which you can find on YouTube. On the vodcast Karen and Gabrielle di...

Today our topic is client acquisition - how do you get more of the projects that are aligned with you and your firm? Our guest is Mark Wainwright, who describes himself as a Part-time Sales Manager for Part-time Salespeople like architects who need to organize their sales efforts and build future sales leaders so they can grow and succeed. To learn more about Wainwright Insight, head on over to: h...

Architect Dave Pollard started LivCo in 2012 to provide quality design to suburban homeowners, but with some twists to the traditional architectural services model. Following on the heels of his graduate thesis work stating "to make architecture more accessible, it's time we stop trying to re-design the building systems, and architects lead the charge in re-thinking the design systems." This evolv...

Adam Steiner is 3rd in a generational line of home builders and as such this industry has always been in his blood. From early on he knew he loved homes, design, and building. After a decade and a half of working as lead designer for various builders, he ventured out on his own. As the owner of Birnam Design Co. and the podcast Builder vs. Buyer, his mission is to take the mystery out of the home...

Today I speak with Australian architect Nicole Hardman. Over 15 years ago Nicole and architect Bryan Miller started Practicing ARChitecture Pty Ltd (PARC), a small education provider specialising in professional development programs for Architects, specifically helping emerging architects pass the Australian Architecture Practice Examination. On today's episode you'll discover how Nicole and Bryan...

Architect Dave Pollard started LivCo in 2012 to provide quality design to suburban homeowners, but with some twists to the traditional architectural services model. Following on the heels of his graduate thesis work stating "to make architecture more accessible, it's time we stop trying to re-design the building systems, and architects lead the charge in re-thinking the design systems." This evolv...

Today we speak with the founder of the firm that was named the #1 design firm in the US by Architect Magazine in 2019. Trahan Architects has won over 100 national, regional, and local awards, including four National AIA Awards, as well as several international design competitions, in less than 25 years. Victor F. "Trey" Trahan, III, FAIA, is an American philanthropist and the founder and design pr...

Today I speak with Scott Kelsey, FAIA. Kelsey is the managing principal of CO Architects, a 120-person firm that has seen incredible success since its founding in 2006. Kelsey describes the firm as a practice-centered business - a firm that focuses on design while not ignoring sound business fundamentals. This attitude and culture have allowed CO Architects to become one of the world's leading fir...

Today I speak with Jeffery Morris. Morris comes from the graphic design and branding industry, his firm has been recognized as one of the best design firms in the United States. His mission is to help companies move out the design ghetto, or as he puts it on his website: "We help our clients define their business, dramatize their brands and harness the power of design, as a strategic asset." We st...

Nic Granleese is a self-proclaimed "recovering architect" who is now the CEO of BowerBird. BowerBird is an online platform that makes it easy to submit your architecture to 1487 magazines, newspapers & websites. Today, Nic pulls back the curtain on his entrepreneurial journey, sharing valuable and hard-won tips and lessons you can use in your architectural journey. Early in his career, Nic took a...

Architect Zach Soflin was frustrated with the tedium of keeping track of as-built measurements, existing conditions, and job site photographs. He knew there had to be a better way to leverage today's powerful software tools and technology and streamline the connection of real world and computer data. Because of that, Zach created Layer, a software tool that makes it easy to link data such as descr...

Today's guests are famed architect Lorcan O'Herlihy and renowend LA developer Richard Loring. Richard Loring is the Director of Design + Construction for Domos. He's an award-winning developer with a long-standing history of working with many of the most forward-thinking architecture firms. After receiving his masters in the History of English Architecture at Cambridge University, Loring founded A...

Today's guest is architect Alyse Makarewicz. "Be better today than I was yesterday." Alyse Makarewicz applies this philosophy to her life as a mother, wife, architect, small business owner, and volunteer. She is the founder and president of AMB Architects, based in Houston, Texas. In this role, she ensures happy clients and successful outcomes on projects the firm undertakes and maintains a work c...

Our guest today is Ren Yee, the Head of Innovation Strategy and Forecasting at UN Studio. He is also the Head of Design Strategy at UN Sense. UN Studio is an international architectural design network with four full-service international offices in Amsterdam, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Frankfurt. You may have seen the firm's work in publications such as Architectural Record, Architect, and ArchDaily....

Julia Gamolina is dedicated to the built environment and the visibility and advancement of the women who work in it. She is the Director of Strategy at Trahan Architects, a global architecture firm where she focuses on new business, digital communications, and brand development. Julia is also the Founder and Editorial Director of MadameArchitect.org, an online publication about, by, and for the wo...

Matthew Gullo is a native Houstonian and graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in architecture. After 14 years into an architecture career as a licensed architect he found himself as a principal of a multi-office Texas based firm with a need for a change. In 2013, after being married for almost two years to his supportive and beautiful wife, his back felt like it was against the wall c...

Today, I speak with Iben Falconer.  Iben Falconer is the former Business Development Director of the Americas for BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group. Iben joined BIG's NYC office in 2010. During her tenure, the NYC office grew from 13 to 200 employees, and greatly expanded its market reach, winning its first North American cultural and institutional projects. In addition to being involved with the company'...

Today, I speak with Ondřej Chybík, co-founder of Czech architecture and urban design practice, CHYBIK + KRISTOF. On today's episode, you'll discover how Ondřej and his partner Michal Krištof have built and grown a design-focused practice of 56 people in the Czech Republic by building their reputation and getting recognized through joining competitions. To view CHYBIK + KRISTOF's work, visit: https...

Today, I speak with Jerónimo van Schendel. Jerónimo van Schendel is a Harvard-trained architect who is currently the Director of the Master's degree program in Business For Architecture and Design at the IE University in Spain. In today's episode, Jerónimo shares the three qualities he feels are most important in the intersection of architecture and business, and he also shares about this new prog...

Today is the second half of my interview with former HOK CEO Patrick MacLeamy. In this episode of the Business of Architecture podcast, you'll discover how to lead through crises and challenges, as well as the essential building blocks for a long-lived company culture. MacLeamy spent 50 years at HOK, which grew into one of the largest architecture and engineering firms in the world during his time...

Today's guest should need no introduction, but you may not have heard of him because the firm he led as CEO from 2003 to 2017, one of the largest and most successful architecture firms in the world, doesn't revolve around the fame of one individual. Our guest is Patrick MacLeamy, former CEO of the firm HOK. MacLeamy just released a book on his experience in leadership and business through his time...

Today we have the privilege of hearing from one of the icons of architecture - the man who co-founded one of the largest architecture firms in the world, Kohn Pedersen Fox or KPF. Now In its 46th year, KPF spans the world with offices in 8 countries and with projects in more than 40. KPF founder Gene Kohn has, with his two partners, built an architecture business that flourishes because when it co...

Today, we speak with the co-founder of the architecture firm Wingate Hughes, based out of Washington DC. The firm Wingate Hughes has made a big splash since they came on the scene and were founded over a decade ago in the year 2010. In this episode, co-founder Gavin Daniels shares how he and his partner have been able to win work from more established firms, how they've grown their firm to a team...