Architects Explained

Megan Radebaugh is a Studio Director at the Gensler's New York office. She completed a Bachelor of Science in Architecture at Catholic University and her graduate studies in architecture at Washington University in Saint Louis. Megan began her architectural career at Gensler where she has worked for the past 16 years, starting as a Job Captain in 2010. 

In this episode we learn about Megan’s beginnings in architecture, her insights into her role as Studio Director, her experience working on the iconic 550 Madison building, and her advice for the next generation of architects and designers. 

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Leon Rost is an architect, and a partner at BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group and leads the Los Angeles office. After completing his architectural studies at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, he gained work experience at numerous international practices, including at Space Group in Oslo, Kjellander + Sjöberg in Stockholm, Klein Dytham Architecture and Shigeru Ban in Tokyo, as well as BIG, where he interned in the Copenhagen office. In 2009, he also co-founded ONOFFICE based in Porto, Portugal. 

In this episode we will learn about Mr. Rost’s journey into architecture, his experience working on projects such as the Google Bay View Campus, Toyota Woven City, his extensive work on higher education projects, and the advice he offers for the next generation of architects. 

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Peter Ferretto is an architect and Director of the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s School of Architecture. He obtained his Bachelor of Science from the University of Liverpool, and Master’s degree at the University of Cambridge. 

He gained work experience at numerous international practices including Odile Decq & Benoit Cornette Architects, Eric Parry’s office, and at Herzog & de Meuron as an Associate and Project Architect for the CaixaForum in Madrid. He has also founded his own office PWFERRETTO based out of Seoul in 2009. 

Currently in his role as Founding Director of Condition_Lab since 2018, he works with students, researchers, and architects helping people use design as a tool to make change through mission driven buildings, exhibitions, and installations. 

In this episode we will learn about Peter Ferretto’s beginnings in architecture, his experience working on the CaixaForum with Herzog & de Meuron, theories present in his papers on urbanism in Hong Kong, projects with Condition_Lab, and advice for students (there are no formulas!). 

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James Von Klemperer is President and Principal at Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), leading more than 750 people spread across 7 global offices. He obtained his Bachelor of History and Literature from Harvard University, Master of Arts from Cambridge University, and Master of Architecture from Princeton University. He continues to stay involved in the academic realm lecturing regularly at universities, and architectural foundations. Jamie also chairs the Board of Directors of the Skyscraper Museum, the Storefront for Art and Architecture, and the Urban Design Forum and is a Trustee of Bard College.

Jamie’s designed and built portfolio spans diverse geographies and scales from working on the master plan of Songdo in South Korea, Meixi Lake in Changsha, and Boston Seaport, to towers like One Vanderbilt in New York, North Bund (Lot 91) in Shanghai, One Nine Elms in London, and Lotte Tower in Seoul, and a residential mid rise building, 64 University Place in the heart of Greenwich Village. 

In this episode we will learn about Jamie’s beginnings in architecture, focus on materiality, design approach from the building to urban scale and advice for the students entering the profession.

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 Hugh Trumbull is an architect and design Principal at Kohn Pedersen Fox KPF. He obtained his B.Arch and M.Arch from Cornell University’s AAP program and continues to stay involved in the academic realm teaching studios and participating in design juries. At KPF, Mr. Trumbull’s designed and built portfolio ranges from new build projects like the Time Tower and HONY Center in Shenzhen, and several repositioning projects including Centra at Metro Park, 712 Fifth Avenue, 280 Park Ave, and 60 Wall St. In this episode we discuss what brought him to architecture and continues to inspire him, his repositioning and new build projects, along with the role of economics and communicated in design and his experience with KPF. 

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Eui-Sung Yi is a Partner at Morphosis Architects and the Director of The NOW Institute, a research center for urban strategy and sustainability with which he co-authored the bestselling 100 Buildings and the 730 page visual almanac HAITI NOW. He first obtained his B.Arch from Cornell University AAP program and his M.Arch II from the GSD.  Currently, he is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Southern California where he had served in the past as Director of the Graduate Programs. On the professional practice side, Mr. Yi has had experience as VP of design in Seoul, running his own practice, and now working at Morphosis as head of their architectural and urban operations in Asia and the Middle East. In this episode we discuss his career evolution, built work, research, and advice for aspiring architects. 

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Ismael Soto is an associate at Foster + Partners. He completed his undergraduate architectural studies at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he currently teaches with their LA Metro program and has also completed a master's in architecture from UCLA.  As a practicing architect, Ismael has had experiences globally starting with Coop Himmelb(l)au in Vienna, followed by Zaha Hadid Architects in London, SOM in San Francisco, UNStudio in Amsterdam, 3XN in Copenhagen, RIOS in Los Angeles, and Foster + Partners here in Los Angeles as well. In this episode, we focus on the design methods, city planning from an interpersonal to computational perspective, and advice to the next generation of architects. 

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Julia Sulzer graduated with a Master's in Architecture from ETH Zurich and continued taking an educating role as a design instructor for the Master of Advanced Studies in Urban Design. She has also been pivotal in Zurich’s Office of Urban Planning as the lead director of the Architecture and Urban Space division, successfully overseeing numerous public projects. Currently, Julia is a member of the faculty at the USC School of Architecture and a co-founder of the Co-urbanism group since 2021, committed to incorporating the principle of circularity in architecture.

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Brett Steele is the Dean of the USC School of Architecture. Dean Steele completed his architecture studies at the University of Oregon, the San Francisco Art Institute, and the Architectural Association and has been working as director of architecture schools since 2005. In this episode, we learn more about his prior experiences as a student, educator, architect, and director, his new role at USCArchitecture, and his goals for the program. 

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Julia Gamolina is the founder and editor-in-chief of digital magazine, Madame Architect that she began in 2018.  Madame Architect has been dedicated to celebrating the extraordinary women in architecture and demonstrating their unique paths as inspiration for young women entering the industry. She is currently working as an Associate Principal and Director of Business Development at architecture firm Ennead in New York.  Some of the designs she has worked on include a mixed use project called Frank 57 West designed for The Durst Organization. In this episode, we focus on her experience starting Madame Architect, the transitions from academic to professional practice, as well as her business and strategy approach to architecture. 

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