The Building Culture Podcast

I invited Thomas Dougherty, or lead urban designer, back on the Podcast to discuss real life lessons behind several of our current projects at Building Culture.  We discuss Townsend, a 1+ acre infill site with 19 townhomes, a couple live/works and 10,000 SF of boutique commercial, that we are nearing approvals on.  We get into some really practical stuff we’ve learned, such as how we are parking i...

Inspiring and equipping architects, developers, and anyone working in the built environment to craft a more beautiful and resilient world for people .

Las Catalinas might be the most beautiful town built in the 21st century.  And my guest today, Sara Bega, has stewarded its evolution as Town Architect for a decade.  Las Catalinas is a car-free, kid-friendly, multi-generational community in Costa Rica. Their goal is to create a pedestrian-first environment that maximizes kid freedom and allows for independent exploration and discovery. The town i...

Today I get to speak with Alan Pullman, founder of Studio One Eleven, an architecture, urban design and landscape architecture practice focused on human scaled, mixed-use infill projects.  They have a truly impressive portfolio of work.  I love their “practice themes” which I think will resonate with many of you: housing for all, building community + place, renewing the public realm, 21st century...

I had the opportunity to speak with Bobby Fijan today, who sometimes refers to himself as the Bill James of floorplans.  His focus?  Building apartments for families – and helping others do it too.  He’s a developer, entrepreneur and consultant.   We discuss the lack of family-friendly apartment buildings and the impact on loneliness and community, and how we need to make cities and apartment buil...

Trilith is a newly built (and growing) walkable community located next to Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.  It is one of the most successful TNDs and New Urbanists communities in the country.   Rob Parker, as President, leads a team of designers, architects, planners and builders in creating the 235 acre master-planned residential and mixed use development.  Rob is a transformational leader wi...

In part 2 Justin Mares and I discuss the broken food and health systems in the US and the need to prioritize human flourishing. We get into the weaponization of our instincts by companies that produce addictive food, the importance of fixing our environment and food system, and the role of human health in the built environment. Justin shares his experience in the health industry and highlights the...

Justin Mares is the founder of Kettle and Fire, Perfect Keto, and Surely Non-Alcoholic Wines, and is working on his fourth company: Truemed.  I am super impressed with what Justin has accomplished, and am a big fan of Kettle and Fire.  My wife and I drink their bone broth regularly.  What I am most inspired by is that Justin isn’t in business just to be in business.  He is in business to solve pro...

I got the chance to chat with Andy Boenau today, who sometimes refers to himself as a Plangineer, with a background in urban planning and engineering.  We chat about the flaws in traffic engineering and the need for a different approach to the built environment.  Andy is passionate about questioning established norms and finding shared interests to drive positive change. He advocates for the need...

Micah is the founder of Monumental Labs, one of the most exciting companies in the architecture and construction industry right now.  It blends humanistic values with tech – much like Apple did to revolutionize the computer industry in the 80’s. His company is building robotic stone carving factories to unleash a renaissance in art and architecture, using robots to create sculptures, architectural...

In this episode I get to chat with Matt Dean of Dean & Co, an award-winning agency that we at Building Culture hired to collaborate on our Townsend project, an urban infill, mixed-use neighborhood breaking ground later this year (2024).  While out of LA, he made a trip to Oklahoma City in the middle of our collaboration, and it was awesome to get to meet and chat in person! After trying severa...

Devon Zuegel is planning a bold, people-centered town from scratch. She has a background in software engineering and has worked at some of the big firms in Silicon Valley. She discovered a passion for urbanism and housing while living in San Francisco when she started looking into why there wasn’t more housing, and she draws a lot of inspiration from her childhood experiences at Chautauqua, a smal...

I met Philippe Block while studying historic masonry structures in Spain last summer. He presented his work and I was blown away. He is a pioneering structural engineer who, as part of his research group Block Research Group, is inventing the future of sustainable construction by blending old knowledge and precedent with new technology, materials and innovation. He's BUILDING off of thousands...

Today I interview Ruben Hassan, a Dutch podcaster and founder of the Aesthetic City podcast. Ruben shares his journey from being an engineer to becoming a full-time podcaster and filmmaker. We discuss the state of construction and development in the Netherlands and the importance of creating beautiful and sustainable built environments. We also explore the day-to-day life in the Netherlands, inclu...

Today, I have friend and colleague Thomas Dougherty on the podcast. Last year Tom joined the Building Culture team as our lead Urban Designer. He studied architecture and urban design at Notre Dame and focused on inner block development and has become known as the "alley-guy" for his expertise in creating spaces in these areas. It's a great conversation focused on the centralization...

I'm thrilled to have Coby Lefkowitz on the show today. Coby is an urbanist, real estate developer, writer, and consultant based in New York, and I would add, all around optimist. I've been following him on X for several years, and while it was our first conversation it felt like we had known each other much longer. We are saving the technical conversation on building and development for a...

Today I'm dropping the second half of my conversation with Sam Day. In case you missed Part 1, head back to Episode 8 in our Podcast series to check it out. Sam is an architect, urbanist, and infill developer based in Oklahoma City--a rare combination of someone designing buildings (architect), creating spaces with those buildings (urbanist), and actually facilitating them coming out of the ground...

In the first half of today's episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with a friend and colleague, Sam Day. Sam is an architect, urbanist, and infill developer based in Oklahoma City--a rare combination of someone designing buildings (architect), creating spaces with those buildings (urbanist), and actually facilitating them coming out of the ground, including buying land, figuring out financin...

Today I sit down with the infamous and inspiring R. John Anderson, also known as 'R John the Bad'. We dive into John's unique story, from his early days quitting high school to pursue his passion in the trades, to his transformative experiences as a developer and influential figure in urban planning. I met John in 2016 at an Incremental Development Alliance workshop he was putting on i...

Today I get to chat with my business partner and mentor Matthew Myers, a successful entrepreneur, syndicator and real estate developer of unique, infill projects. As a local developer renowned for his work on infill pocket neighborhoods, Matthew shares a wealth of knowledge and personal insights. This episode is a blend of technical expertise, cultural commentary, and personal anecdotes, providing...

In this conversation, Austin Tunnell shares a personal story of surviving a bus accident and the life changes and challenges he has faced since then. He discusses the importance of identity and acceptance in adapting to new circumstances. Austin also talks about the evolution of Building Culture's identity. He emphasizes the mission of cultivating a better human habitat and the need for advoca...

In this conversation, Trevor Acorn, a structural engineer, discusses his background and experience in the field. He explains his interest in structural masonry and how he became familiar with it through restoration work. The conversation also covers the strength and durability of masonry compared to other construction materials. Trevor emphasizes the importance of designing buildings that we love...

In this episode, Austin interviews Anthony Catania, an experienced architect and urban designer who specializes in New Urbanist communities and TNDs. They delve into the essence of building for people, the challenges faced in the process, and the vision required for creating vibrant, walkable communities. Anthony shares insights gained from his diverse career, spanning Washington, D.C., to his rec...

Listen in on the one-year anniversary of Matt Hayes joining the Building Culture team. Whether you're considering architecture as your field of study, want to hear what the day to day of working for a Design & Build small business is like, or are just curious to hear more on what makes beautiful places, this one is for you. Prior to joining Building Culture in 2022, Matt graduated from the...

I was thrilled to have Ashley Terry, VP of Development for Wheeler District on the Building Culture Podcast. Wheeler District is a Traditional Neighborhood Development, or TND, just a mile from downtown Oklahoma City. Ashley Terry has an amazing story. She started off as a hairdresser and as her career progressed she started to feel the itch for something more. Upon reading one of Jan Gehl's b...