Archispeak

#397 - Drafting Was Never the Job

A look back at the '90s, from Nirvana and Napster to car stereos worth more than the car, turns into a look forward at what AI leaves for architects to do. Evan, back fro

#396 - Don't Judge Yourself by the Wrapper

Evan and Cormac dig into how Lawrence Tech's architecture studio is evolving its comprehensive design curriculum in real time, and why buildability still beats a flashy f

#395 - Thermal Reactive Umbrella

Some weeks the conversation just goes where it goes. Evan and Cormac spend this one reading Wikipedia and AI overviews at each other in real time — the AIA convention pin

#394 - Your Architecture Degree Isn't A Dead End

What do you do when you finish six years of architecture school, land in the profession, and realize none of it speaks to you? Evan and Cormac start with a former student

#393 - We Ceded This to the Contractors

Evan and Cormac dig into why architects deliberately stop detailing at "design intent" instead of shop-drawing level, and how that decision has handed constructability ov

#392 - Your Favorite Building Looks Like a Parking Garage

Evan and Cormac catch up on Cormac's 6,800-mile road trip from Detroit to the AIA National Convention in San Diego with his daughter, built around a bucket list of archit

#391 - A Builder’s Life Done Well with David Prutting

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,

#390 - From Idea to Execution: Heliomorphism

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

#389 - I Want To See Tears

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

#388 - Frank Lloyd Wright Lemonade

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 — on

#387 - The Walmart Greeter of Architecture

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 r

#386 - If not me, then who?

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 perm

#385 - Why Architects Can't Say No

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

#384 - The AI and Expertise Paradox, with Chris Parsons

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 Pars

#383 - Why We Still Love This Profession

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

#382 - AI, Meetings, and the Architecture Grind

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 abo

#381 - Anthony Laney on Craft, Clarity, and the Definition of Home

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 d

#380 - The Vibe

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 architectu

#379 - Step Back to Move the Work Forward

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

#378 - Misalignments of Rigor

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.