Paul Andersen, founder of Independent Architecture, joins the show for a long conversation about his top five buildings in Colorado, the meaning of “good” within architecture, his beginnings at UCLA with Greg Lynn, his times teaching at Cornell, Harvard and UIC, how he started his own firm, and his experience co-curating the US Pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale.

After the credits we have an extended conversation where we swap our best architecture school review stories (he does a spot-on Peter Cook impression). He talks about what community means to him, traveling between Denver and Chicago, and we talk more about the idea of “good”.

This episode is sponsored by Sierra Pacific Windows and Modern In Denver

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Rob Pyatt and Janna Ferguson, principals at Pyatt Studio, join the show to give a window into the life of their tight knit firm.

Rob had a winding path to find architecture before studying at the University of Colorado and then starting Pyatt Studio. He was one of the early instructors at CU’s Colorado Building Workshop as well as the Executive Director of the Building Collaborative at the Native American Sustainable Housing Initiative (NASHI) and a Board Member of AIA Colorado.

Janna, who began as one of Rob’s students at CU, went on to earn a Masters degree from Portland State and study under Glen Murcutt at the International Master Class. She has stayed with Pyatt Studio her entire career but also works closely with NASHI, AIA Colorado and a number of other organizations.

In this episode we talk about the genesis of their firm and core principals as well as their work and community-based design philosophies with Native American communities.

This episode is sponsored by Modern In Denver.

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Ignacio Correa-Ortiz, Senior Architect and Urban Planner, joins the show to give us the stories of his varied experiences and talk about how he is working to make Denver a more equitable environment.

Ignacio grew up in Columbia but studied in Belgium and then Wisconsin. He worked for firms such as CCY, SOM, HDR, and OZ before joining RTD in 2011. Beyond these offices, Ignacio engages in many community organizations and volunteer roles such as serving as a Planning Board Member for the City of Denver, the Denver Director for AIA Colorado, a Board Member for the Denver Architectural Foundation and the Co-Chair of the American Planning Association EDI Committee. We talk about his personal theory of Regenerativism as well as his current research into Troglodyte Architecture.

After the credits we discuss a recent burglary that occurred in his home and his thoughts on the roles that zoning, social housing and accessory dwelling units can play within the city.

This episode is sponsored by Modern In Denver.

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Adam Harding, principal of Roth Sheppard Architects, joins the show to talk about his uniquely Colorado career and the new path he has been plotting since taking over leadership at Roth Sheppard.

We talk about his art-influenced background through his education at the University of Colorado. Out of school, Adam started at Roth Sheppard and has never left, becoming a principal in 2016. Adam creates goals and relentlessly drives towards them. He was awarded the AIA Colorado and AIA Western Mountain Region Young Architect of the Year Awards in 2015 and the AIA National Young Architect of the Year in 2021. He is heavily involved in creating a better community and giving architects a stronger voice in his multiple roles at AIA Colorado. He navigated the pandemic as the president in 2020.

This episode also includes a bonus segment where we talk about the larger goals Adam has for Roth Sheppard, the office’s Department of Curiosities, and the development of their Denver Rabbit House.

This episode is sponsored by Modern In Denver.

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Laurel Raines of Dig Studio and Ransom Beegles of R Design Landscape join the show for a special Landscape Architect discussion, inspired by the Modern in Denver article “In Praise of Place” (https://view.publitas.com/modern-in-denver/modern-in-denver-summer-2021/page/122-123). With ten slides in ten minutes, each architect introduces who they are, how they got here and what excites them. From there, we join to discuss the state of Colorado landscape design, its past and where they see the profession going.

Ashley Stevens of Evoke was scheduled to join as well but unfortunately had to drop out because of technical issues. 

This episode also includes an extended conversation, after the end credits, about “archi-gawking” and both architect’s educational backgrounds at Harvard and Colorado State University.

This episode is sponsored by Modern In Denver.

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Renée del Gaudio, sole employee of Renée del Gaudio Architecture, joins the show to talk about her vision for an authentic Colorado architecture.

We talk through her journey from Michigan to Washington to California to Peru and finally to Colorado where she has formed her own firm, literally out of the ashes of a forest fire. She purposefully works on few projects but all at an extremely high quality, gaining her many AIA Design and Firm of the Year Awards as well as write ups in Dwell, Modern in Denver, 5280 and the Wall Street Journal.

Renée has had a clear vision for her life and career with the inspiring directness and energy to get her there. Her mission is to create architecture that belongs in Colorado, the same way her mentors were designing projects rooted in the Pacific Northwest. Beyond this work, she has also completed design build projects around the world in places like Cuba, Mexico, and Kenya.

If all that doesn’t excite you (somehow) then listen in for her story about being smuggled out of Peru under a blanket in the back of a jeep!

This episode is sponsored by Modern In Denver.

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Rich Carr and John Cottle, two of the partners at CCY Architects, join the show to talk about their roots and what brought them to architecture and to their Aspen based firm. CCY is an architectural giant in our state being founded some 50 years ago. They constantly produce work of high quality that is critically rooted in its place, whether that be in the mountain environments of Colorado or spread out in other areas of the world.

On top of our conversations about their careers and design process, we dig into their new monograph, Connection which is full of photographs, plans and drawings not seen on their website before.  Check it out once it hits the bookshelves.

This episode is sponsored by Modern In Denver.

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Kitty Yuen, Principal and Denver Studio Leader at Ratio Design, joins the show to give a low down on the Colorado design scene.

Kitty has been a mainstay in the Denver for the last two decades, moving up the ranks at firms like Klipp Colussy Jenks Dubois, Oz, Gensler, Burkett Design, EUA and now to the Studio Leader position at Ratio Design which was previously Humphries Poli. Beyond all this work, raising her twin daughters and being married to another architect, Kitty is also very active in the AIA where she was the Denver president in 2011.

In this episode we get into her childhood growing up in Hong Kong and then moving to Minnesota before becoming the rebel in her family and attending architecture school in Arizona. Kitty has a great approach to design and leadership, pushing for the profession to be positive force in our community and inspiring other young architects as a role model.

After the credits we have an extended conversation about why she doesn’t go after awards, how she collects selfies from famous architects and what I am going to do with all the blackmail I have been collecting.

This episode is sponsored by Modern In Denver.

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Julian Lineham and Chris O’Hara, founders of the structural engineering and façade design group Studio NYL join the show to share their great wealth of experiences and stories working with international architects like Michel Rojkind, Peter Bohlin, Sasaki and Studio Gang as well as local architects like Brad Tomecek, Joseph Montalbano, Rob Pyatt and Rick Sommerfeld. 

Chris and Julian are from two different parts of the world, NY and London but were brought together by their extreme passion for design and architecture. They are active in the AIA and other engineering associations and speak widely at conferences and events pushing for more innovative and sustainable developments within architecture.

And after the credits, this episode also includes our extended conversation about their early Bjarke Ingles experience and stories about hanging out with Mexican presidents.

This episode is sponsored by Modern In Denver.

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Katie Donahue, co-founder of K Works Studio, associate architect at Handel Architects, instructor at The University of Colorado Denver and at Parsons School of Design in New York, joins the show to talk about her passions and exploits within her busy architectural life.

Beyond all her professional roles, Katie is also busy pushing for sustainable practices like Passive House and reuse of different materials. She lends her talents to organizations like Architecture for Humanity and the Open Architecture Collaborative and consistently and powerfully advocates for underrepresented groups of designers.  Katie has also won a number of awards, most notably AIA Colorado’s Young Architect of the Year in 2013.

After the credits, this episode includes bonus recordings of us hanging out and talking about work life balance, adventures in Nepal, and designing shoes and candles and then were interrupted by both my kids while we were talking about parenthood and the profession.

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.