TRXL

Mariusz Hermansdorfer joins the podcast to talk about turning an internal tool into a product for the whole profession. We explore how he spun Jifto out of Henning Larsen as the firm's first ever tech spin-off, why letting go of corporate control was the thing that made it possible, and how a Rhino plugin can put wind, stormwater, and microclimate analysis in the hands of architects who never had...

Tatjana Dzambazova joins the podcast to talk about why the AEC industry deserves a brand new tool, one built for AI from the ground up instead of bolted onto software designed 25 years ago. We explore the end of what she calls the terror of technological expertise, the difference between hoarding artifacts and capturing the process behind a building, and why she believes AI could bring joy back to...

In this special partner episode, Jack Sadler joins the podcast to talk about the phase of a project where architects quietly lose control: construction administration. We explore why CA became a cost center instead of a profit center, what happens when architects run their work out of someone else's software, and how AI can automate the routing, logging, and paperwork without ever touching the pro...

Keith Gerchak joins the podcast to talk about the double life he's been living for thirty years: designing spaces for storytelling as the Design Principal at TheatreDNA, and inhabiting those spaces as an actor and filmmaker. We explore what makes performing arts buildings unlike any other building type, the surprising parallels between directing a feature film and managing an architecture project,...

In this special Campfire Series episode, Jeff Mottle joins the podcast to tell us the full story of CGarchitect — from a side project launched in 2001 to a 21-year platform, a sale to Chaos Group, and everything in between: the 3D Awards, CGschool, the evolution of archviz from expert-only technical gatekeeping to storytelling, and what COVID revealed when it stripped away all the travel and in-pe...

Steve Burrows CBE joins the podcast to talk about why the construction industry keeps rewarding dysfunction instead of fixing it. We explore the gap between selling time and creating value, why startups keep failing to change construction by trying to change all of it at once, and what the collapse of Katerra actually taught the people who were in the room when it happened. This episode is especia...

Rachel Riopel joins the podcast to talk about why enterprise transformation keeps failing in AEC and what it actually takes to make it stick. We explore the gap between running pilots and operationalizing technology across an organization, why the industry's obsession with productivity as the primary metric is a race to the bottom, and how cybersecurity is quietly becoming one of the biggest frict...

Charles Portelli joins the podcast to talk about what you learn when you leave architecture to build software, and what you bring back when you return. We explore the gap between how buildings are designed and how they're actually fabricated, why the most valuable work inside a large firm is often the least glamorous, and what it would take to build an AI-powered project assistant that actually kn...

Antonio González Viegas joins the podcast to talk about the open source infrastructure layer he's building for BIM software and why the barriers that have protected legacy vendors for decades are collapsing faster than most people realize. We explore why every BIM company has been forced to reinvent the same foundational technology from scratch, how That Open Company is giving those pieces away un...

Martyn Day joins the podcast to talk about the forces quietly dismantling how architecture and engineering work gets done, and how it gets charged for. We explore how AI-driven solvers are compressing months of project coordination into hours, why BIM 1.0 is becoming a drawing conduit as open SDKs erode software moats, and what layered cloud and AI token costs mean for firms reconsidering where th...

Pablo Zamorano Mosniam joins the podcast to talk about what it looks like to build a technology practice around design values rather than the other way around. We explore the “door scale,” the intimate layer of texture and touchable detail that most firms skip and Heatherwick obsesses over, why tools leave recognizable fingerprints on the buildings they produce, and how the studio's most-used inte...

Mirco Bianchini joins the podcast to talk about where AI automation is actually headed in AEC and why the industry is likely focused on the wrong problems. We explore the gap between Grasshopper prototyping and real product deployment, why LLMs are about to democratize computation far beyond the specialist niche, and how MCPs could finally connect a construction industry that has always been fragm...

Joachim Viktil joins the podcast to talk about the growing gap between how architects are trained to think and how architectural firms are structured to operate. We explore the hidden cost of staying busy, the limits of billable-hour business models, and why architects, despite being trained as systems thinkers, are often confined to producing deliverables instead of improving the systems behind t...

Joshua Schultz joins the podcast to talk about lightweight structures, including cable nets and glass design, as well as insights from his upcoming book, “Structural Design of Lightweight Structures,” co-authored with Christian Stutzki, highlighting the future of architectural design. To learn more about Joshua Schultz, see the full show notes with links at https://trxl.co/220 To get more great co...

George Guida joins the podcast to talk about how AI is reshaping architectural practice. As founder of xFigura, George shares insights on building tools that keep architects in control while leveraging AI for ideation and collaboration. We explore the challenges of AI adoption, the future of design interfaces, and how the profession can thoughtfully integrate these technologies without losing the...

Zach Kron joins the podcast to talk about what it really means to apply architectural thinking to products for AEC from inside a technology company. We explore designing systems, learning by shipping imperfect work, the real tradeoffs that come with pursuing leverage beyond traditional practice, and more. This is an honest conversation for architects considering a move into tech, or looking to evo...

In this special Campfire Series episode, Neil Katz joins the podcast to tell us about the evolution of architectural technology from first principles. Long before CAD, BIM, parametrics, or AI became industry buzzwords, Neil was there. From technics and morphology, to early programming in BASIC and geometry-driven thinking, to custom software at SOM, to landmark projects that pushed behavior-based...

Randy Deutsch joins the podcast to talk about what real adaptation looks like inside architectural practice. Not trend-chasing. Not tool collecting. But a fundamental shift in how architects think, learn, and operate in an AI-accelerated world. Randy draws on decades of experience as an educator, practitioner, and author to explore why resilience, convergence, and continuous learning are now core...

Wes Reynolds and Hugh Soward join the podcast to talk about how OPN Architects is intentionally shaping its future through digital practice, experimentation, and culture-building. They discuss the evolution of OPN’s digital practice group, how they evaluate and adopt emerging technology, and why their long-running annual retreat has become essential infrastructure for aligning design, tech, and pe...

In this special partner episode, Todd Henderson and Christopher Parsons join the podcast to talk about what it really takes to build a learning culture inside an architecture firm—one that actually sticks, scales, and improves project delivery over time in this final installment of the KM 3.0 series. Drawing from Todd’s background in Lean, Scrum, and healthcare design—as well as Chris’s leadership...

Jonathan Nelson, Nirva Fereshetian, Heath May, and Shane Burger join the podcast to talk about one of the biggest questions facing our industry: How do design technologists grow into firmwide leaders? What was originally planned as a one-way presentation quickly became a true two-way conversation. Instead of a traditional panel format, we created a space where the audience guided the discussion wi...

Ashley Hastings joins the podcast to talk about what it really means to make curiosity a key performance indicator (KPI). 📐 A note from Evan: The phrase “curiosity as a KPI” contains its own contradiction, and hopefully the irony landed with you, dear listener. Obviously, KPIs are about measurement, control, and predictability—the very things that can kill curiosity when applied too rigidly. True...

In this special partner episode, Evan Troxel is joined by James Martin and Jess Purcell of Shepley Bulfinch, along with Christopher Parsons of Knowledge Architecture, to explore how AI experimentation in architecture is revealing tangible value inside real firms. The conversation dives deep into how disciplined experimentation—running small, intentional AI pilots with measurable goals—helps firms...

Matt Goldsberry joins the podcast to talk about how data is reshaping architecture practice. From computational design roots to leading digital strategy, Matt shares how Power BI and analytics can uncover insights that drive better business and design outcomes. The conversation covers building dashboards that matter, translating BIM data into meaningful decisions, and helping architects evolve fro...

Cesar Escalante joins the podcast to talk about his journey from practicing architect and early CAD adopter to firm technologist and now national AIA leader shaped the way he’s guiding the AIA Technology in Architectural Practice (TAP) Knowledge Community today. The conversation centers on how TAP is creating new connections across the AIA, especially with the Committee on the Environment (COTE),...