Jon Gambrill and Michelle Liebling, Co-Managing Directors of Gensler Denver, join the show to talk about their Swiss-army-knife-type experiences and career trajectories that brought them to running the Colorado branch of the largest architecture firm in the world. They talk about the practicalities of leading an architecture office, the benefits of a large corporate firm, the low and high points of their careers, the biggest issues facing architecture in the future, and advice to young architects and women entering the field.

After the credits we talk about “sympathy” interview strategies for winning projects during COVID, Michelle’s time away from Gensler, and the time Jon hired Rebekah Wagoner instead of Adam Wagoner.

This episode is sponsored by Herman Miller and Modern In Denver.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chris Gray and Steven Perce, Founders of BLDG.Collective, join the show to talk about each of their unique journeys that eventually led them to graduate school at the University of Colorado Denver and to founding their practice in the Great Recession of 2009. They talk about the lessons learned in leading an architecture firm as a partnership, and how they have methodically crafted their design and business approach to collaborate with ideal clients on meaningful projects.

After the credits we have an extended conversation about business and marketing advice, the Boulder architectural community and ways to talk about architecture to clients and your grandma.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Alex Gore, Co-Founder of F9 Productions and Inside the Firm Podcast, joins the show as part of a podcast swap to talk about his life as a serial entrepreneur from his beginnings drawing spaceship fuel tanks, to studying only the courses he was interested in at North Dakota State, to landing a job with Daniel Libeskind, to obtaining a Masters in Construction Management, to founding F9 Productions in one room with a folding lawn chair around 9 basic principles set upon “multiple legs” of different revenue streams.

Check out Alex and his business partner, Lance Cayko’s podcast Inside the Firm, where they dive into the nitty-gritty details of how to start, run, and grow a small business.

This episode is sponsored by Modern In Denver.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

E.J. Meade, Principal at Arch11, joins the show to talk about how his car broke down in Boulder, and he never left. After gaining a philosophy degree, E.J. picked up a “How to Carpentry” book, and built his first home. A summer at the GSD propelled him into architecture school at the University of Washington and then CU Denver where he was mentored by the uncompromising Douglas Darden. From school E.J. founded Arch11 (1 more than 10) and never looked back.

In the bonus segment, we talk about the future of Arch11, the longevity of an architect’s career, how you have to get fired to understand you can survive it and how Rodolfo Machado compared E.J. to his maid.

This episode is sponsored by Modern In Denver and Herman Miller.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Peter Blank, co-founding partner of milehimodern, joins the show to share why he is not a normal real estate broker. He talks about the genesis of his passion for design growing up in Brazil, his circuitous journey to mid-century architecture and founding milehimodern, his experiences working with some of the best designers in Colorado (I ask him who his favorite Colorado architect is, listen for his answer), his hatred of barn doors and his projections for the future of Denver architecture. With his close relationship to residential clients and design trends, Peter occupies a unique role within the design process and shares his insights into the role of an architect and the possibilities of architecture.

This episode is sponsored by Herman Miller and Modern In Denver.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Marc Swackhamer, the Chair of Architecture at the University of Colorado Denver and co-founder of HouMinn Practice joins the show to discuss discovering architecture at the University of Cincinnati and setting up a thesis at Rice that would plague/challenge him the rest of his career. We talk about issues of inclusion and equity within the profession and academia, winning the national search to be the Architecture Chair at CU Denver, explorations with his partner Blair Satterfield at HouMinn and LoDo Labs, and experiments that borrow strategies from nature to produce unexpected results like a Nursepod that can repopulate forests after fires.

This episode is sponsored by Herman Miller and Modern In Denver.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Christy Headlee, founder of Be.Studio and Be.Women, joins the show to talk about starting her firm and social platform during the pandemic, her beginnings in small town Kansas, discovering design at the University of Nebraska, developing her skills at Oz and Gensler and working to better combine family and children with the professional design environment.

After the credits we swap advice about starting a firm and Christy talks about the future of Be.Women.

This episode is sponsored by Herman Miller and Modern In Denver.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

John Rowland and Sarah Broughton, founders of Rowland+Broughton Architecture, share their experiences running their Aspen/Denver based firm. They talk about their education at CU Boulder, working in New York, building a strong design team, engaging with the art and design community and receiving the AIA Colorado Firm of the Year Award.

This episode is sponsored by Herman Miller and Modern In Denver.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Harry Teague, founder of Harry Teague Architects, joins the show to talk about his origins growing up in a family of designer, attending Yale in 1969 during the birth of post modernism, Black Panther trials and burning of the school, developing the architectural fabric of Aspen for the last fifty years and his advice to the next generation of architects.

After the credits we have an extended conversation about his experience jointly designing the first group up building in Denver’s Taxi development with Will Bruder and David Baker.

This episode is sponsored by Modern In Denver.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this first live, public recording of Architect-ing during Denver Design Week, Adam is joined by Stephen Dynia of Dynia Architects, Kevin Nguyen of Regular Architecture, and Joana Emhof and Hans Osheim of ArcDen Studio.

This episode, which consists of an introduction by Adam, 5 minute Pecha Kucha-style introductions by each guest, panel discussion and audience Q&A, revolved around this brief: Every company has its beginning. The impetus to go it alone, embracing all the autonomy such a choice brings, is often met with excitement and clarity—as well as an unavoidable dose of trial and tribulation. What does it take to build a business from the ground up? How does a founder balance creative vision with the practicalities of professionalism?

See the slides each guest presented on the @Architecting-stories Instagram page.

This episode was sponsored by Modern In Denver and hosted at Pear Workplace Solutions in downtown Denver.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.