Archispeak Podcast

David Prutting joins Evan and Cormac to talk about what 50 years of building high-end contemporary homes has taught him about the relationship between architects, owners, and builders. They explore the trust triangle that makes or breaks a custom project, why David actively steers clients away from design-build, and the floor plan theory he's developed over decades: the stranger the plan, the bett...

Sven Shockey, FAIA joins Evan and Cormac to talk about Virginia Tech Academic Building One — a 300,000-square-foot computer science and computer engineering building on a new campus in Alexandria, Virginia whose faceted, photovoltaic-integrated form was derived through 1,400 computational iterations. They explore what it means to design a building's exterior before the interior program is finalize...

A van conversion project that was supposed to take three days is now four months in and an eighth of the way done. Evan and Cormac dig into what actually happened and why an architect's brain might be the single biggest obstacle to finishing a personal fabrication project on time. They cover the scope creep hiding in "wouldn't you do it differently?", why one wrong cut forces every subsequent piec...

Cormac spent last week driving from Detroit to Baltimore for a punch review, then north to a factory two hours outside Toronto to inspect replacement vestibule glass — only to reject it for the second time because the print scale was still wrong. Along the way, he squeezed in an unplanned tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin Martin House in Buffalo, ended up teaching the docents, and toured AGNORA'...

Five years into one project. Ten into another. Three principals retired before the second one wrapped. Evan and Cormac dig into what long-duration architecture projects reveal about career identity, why the profession has always romanticized the architect who works until death, and what retirement actually looks like when architecture is all you've ever done. They also get into the slow erosion of...

Ten years into a $600M research laboratory project, Cormac reflects on what it actually means to see a complex build through to the end — the COVID-era redesign, the permit battles across three code cycles, and the people who've been on site since day one. He and Evan unpack the case for continuity: why the architects who know every decision that was ever made are essentially irreplaceable, and wh...

Cormac spent twelve hours trying to send one email. Evan has seventeen apps open at all times. This week they trace the architecture of modern distraction — from "you're on mute" killing the flow of real-time thinking, to AI making it easier to do more of the wrong things faster, to the structural reason architects keep saying yes when they should say no. The profession runs on availability, respo...

Architecture firms are adopting AI faster than they're building the expertise to judge it.In this episode, we explore the AI and expertise paradox with Christopher Parsons, Founder and CEO of Knowledge Architecture, the firm behind Synthesis — a knowledge and learning platform built for AEC firms — digging into what happens when the tools your firm is counting on require more institutional knowled...

In this episode of Archispeak, we catch up after Evan’s trip to New York City and the AECtech conference, where he moderated a panel with design technology leaders who’ve climbed all the way into firm leadership. We also talk about the continuing education grind it takes just to keep our licenses alive, why there’s really no such thing as “architecture without technology” anymore, and how technolo...

In this episode of Archispeak, we pull back the curtain on what modern practice actually feels like when AI, meetings, and the architecture grind all collide. We talk about coming back from travel feeling not three weeks behind but three months, calendars that look like Tetris played on hard mode, and what happens when you join a call and realize you’re the only human in a grid full of AI note-tak...

In this episode of Archispeak, we sit down with architect Anthony Laney to explore the ideas behind his new book, Poetics of Home. We talk about what it really takes to design spaces that feel deeply human and how his team at Laney LA has built a practice around clarity, rigor, and emotional resonance.We dig into the invisible forces that shape a great project: the trust between architects and bui...

In this episode of Archispeak, we talk about that elusive quality that aligns people with great art (and spaces)—but this time through the lens of a real-world architectural field trip. Evan shares his recent trip to Iowa, where he spent time touring projects and hanging out with the folks at OPN Architects. We dive into why the atmosphere of a place, both in architecture and in practice, matters...

In this episode we discuss how taking a step back from work leads to better architecture. We talk about concrete ways to break free from constant busyness, when to pause instead of charging ahead, and how technology can both help and hurt creative solutions. We offer clear, practical advice on finding the right balance between thinking things through and getting work done.-----Have a question for...

In this episode of Archispeak, we trade fresh field notes from Cormac’s latest midwestern architecture road trip and wrestle with the title theme: Misalignments of Rigor. Cormac stands in the rain in Toledo to watch a Gehry facade actually perform, peek at SANAA’s elegant double-skin glass and its (imperfect) parapet detail, and then compare all of it to a new addition grafted onto a Louis Kahn bu...

In this episode of Archispeak, we dive into the tough reality of how the architecture profession often fails its own. From the way firms accelerate project timelines while under-developing young talent, to the disconnect between academia and practice, we ask hard questions about why architects feel overworked, underprepared, and sometimes completely betrayed by the system they’ve dedicated their c...

In this episode of Archispeak, we walk across the street in New Haven—literally and figuratively—to explore two masterworks by Paul Rudolph and Louis Kahn. These buildings, separated by time but connected by place and purpose, offer a rare opportunity to see two giants of architecture in conversation across the street.We kick things off outside Paul Rudolph’s brutalist Art and Architecture Buildin...

In this episode of Archispeak, we walk through the Yale Center for British Art by Louis Kahn and reflect on what makes this building truly great. From its masterful use of natural light and honest materials to the clarity of its spatial organization, Kahn’s final building is both a work of art and a place for art. We discuss what it feels like to experience the space firsthand, how it invites cont...

In part 1 of our summer series centered on the 2025 AIA Conference on Architecture, we discuss Evan's first visit to Boston and share his and Cormac's impressions of the city.Rather than focusing on CEUs or presentations, we explore how the AIA Conference continues to serve as a powerful gathering place for the profession. The serendipity of in-person meetups, the nuance of hallway conversations,...

In this episode of Archispeak, we’re joined by Carla Johnson—author, speaker, and innovation strategist—for a conversation that’s both energizing and reflective. We dive into the idea of “slowing down to speed up” and how reconnecting with our innate curiosity might be the most important skill for architects and creative professionals today.Carla shares her journey from engineering to architecture...

In this episode of Archispeak, we explore the evolving frontier of home automation with Jeff Thomas of Control4 and Michael Smith of Bromic Heating. Together, we unpack the layered relationship between architecture and integrated technology—why it’s critical to bring smart home specialists in early, how lighting, heating, and sound are blending into seamless user experiences, and where the real op...

What makes architecture memorable? Why do some spaces hit you in the chest while others feel hollow? In this episode of Archispeak, we explore a concept that’s rarely taught but deeply felt. Genius loci. The spirit of the place.From volunteering as a docent at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home and Studio to taking a group of recent grads on an architectural pilgrimage through Chicago, Cormac shares storie...

In this episode of Archispeak, we’re joined by Jessica Orlando, Vice President and President-Elect of the AIA Pasadena Foothill chapter, to explore how architects are stepping up in the aftermath of the recent Altadena and Palisades wildfires in Southern California. Jessica shares how the AIA’s volunteer-led “Ask an Architect” initiative is connecting displaced residents with licensed professional...

In this episode of Archispeak, we sit down with Robert Yuen, CEO and co-founder of Monograph, to dive into the findings from their latest Architecture and Engineering Salary and Business Benchmarks Report 2025. We discuss how Monograph’s anonymized real-world data provides a clearer picture of salaries, utilization, and realization rates across the industry—without relying on traditional survey me...

In this episode we explore the intersection of structural engineering, adaptive reuse, and creative problem-solving in architecture. From a lighthearted discussion about ratchet straps as unconventional structural solutions to a deep dive into the challenges of modernizing existing buildings, this episode showcases how architects and engineers tackle complex design problems with ingenuity.-----Hav...

Join us for an engaging discussion with Chad Clary where we explore how architectural projects differ from movies and video games in terms of crediting contributors. We talk about whether the industry needs a better system for recognizing all those involved in building projects. The conversation also covers the critical importance of specificity in architectural documentation, examining how evolvi...