Design Voice Podcast

Marilyn Moedinger is the founding principal of Runcible Studios. Like the runcible spoon she is happiest operating at the seams between practicality and whimsy, utility and beauty, the esoteric and the mundane. Deeply passionate about the capacity for design to affect positive change in the world, Marilyn's interest in all aspects of housing, the connections between urban and rural life, the construction process, justice in the built environment, and the overlaps among disciplines, methodologies, and practices fuels Runcible Studios' mission to be nimble, rigorous, curious, fun, and meaningful.

An adjunct professor for over 10 years, she has taught design studios, construction detailing, building science, theory, and design-build and community engagement courses at Boston Architectural College, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and Northeastern University. In addition to her teaching, Marilyn has lectured on her research and served as a guest critic at architecture schools across the country.

In this episode, Marilyn talks about all the ins and outs of running your own architecture practice! We cover so many interesting topics in our conversation, from how Marilyn accidentally ended up starting her own business, to how she experiments with her business and is now getting into development, to finding the right clients and not undervaluing your work. We also talk about setting boundaries as a business owner and if you really have to be on all the time.

Kavitha Mathew is the Global Diversity Officer at KPF, and leads the firm's diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, as well as the development and implementation of the firm's global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment. Mathew oversees KPF's many internal Communities such as KPF Public, KPF Pride, and KPF+, helps guide KPF's recruitment and resourcing, as well as its philanthropic and volunteer efforts. Leveraging her experience as an architect, Mathew's work at KPF has a project-focused component, advising on engagement and communication with the community. Kavitha is also the Founder and President of Equity Co:LAB, and the Special Projects Director of the American Institute of the AIANY. Previously Director of Corporate Architectural Services for Ralph Lauren, she has also worked in various architectural roles at firms including KPF, Spacesmith, and Ted Moudis Associates, as well as her own practice.

In this episode, Kavitha talks about her career journey, from practicing as an architect, to working on the client side, to now becoming the Global Diversity Officer at KPF. Kavitha shares how her passion for equity and social justice work developed, what she thinks is needed at an organization to make equity and inclusion efforts successful, and her advice for companies who are just beginning equity work. We also talk about Corporate Social Responsibility, and the movement toward transparency.

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We want to hear from you! Please send your feedback to [email protected] and follow the show on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/designvoicepodcast.

Kat Dovjenko is the Senior Creative Director at Muse & Company. Inspired by the dynamic energy around architecture and urban planning, Kat believes that the more complex, ambitious, and unsolvable the problem, the better. She drives talented teams to unite and achieve outcomes they would not be able to do individually—at multiple scales and in multiple stages of the design process. She most recently worked at Google's R&D for the Built Environment where she oversaw workplace innovation projects.

Kat loves navigating speculative pockets of the future and weaving together how they might impact our built spaces. She never shies away from ambiguity, and is skilled at using foresight and storytelling to propel leading edge technologies into real products for the built world and beyond. She studied Finance in Vancouver, Canada, before earning her Masters in Architecture from the University of Toronto.

In this episode we talk about:

• Kat's role as Senior Creative Director at Muse & Company
• Her career journey and pivoting from architecture to tech
• Advice and resources for people who want to work in tech
• Kat's experience working at Google
• How switching careers can often feel like burning off a piece of your identity
• Why architecture as a profession has such a grip on people's identities
• On not tying your identity and self worth to your job
• The biggest challenges facing the world, and how the architecture profession needs to evolve in order to address them
• Kat's predictions for where the future of the architecture profession should head
• Why we need to make the built world more like manufacturing
• How architecture tools need a revamp

Resources Kat mentions:

• The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
• Architechie Slack channel
• On Deck Fellowship
• Teal HQ
• Lambda School
• Turning School
• Google UX Design Professional Certificate

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We want to hear from you! Please send your feedback to [email protected] and follow the show on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/designvoicepodcast.

Stacie Wong is a Principal at GLUCK+. Named by Fast Company as a top 10 most innovative companies in architecture, the firm is recognized for Architect Led Design Build. Stacie's considerable design and construction experience began 26 years ago with the Yale Building Project's design-build of a single-family residence in New Haven. Ever since, she has been involved in educational, commercial and residential work across the United States. Stacie brings expertise in leading strategic planning, research, programming, and community stakeholder engagement with private and public institutional clients, as well as stewarding the design and construction for the successful completion of many technically complex projects. She has been an advocate for architects' involvement in construction to increase their agency in the building process and impact on the design of the physical environment, including features in Metropolis Magazine, Wallpaper* and Architectural Design (UK). Notable award-winning projects include ONStage at Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York City, Pilkey Lab, a LEED Gold science research building for Duke University Marine Laboratory on their coastal campus; Artist Retreat in Upstate New York; and The East Harlem School in New York City. Current projects in progress include Van Sinderen Plaza, affordable housing in East New York and City Seminary of New York's campus in Harlem. Stacie received her Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Architecture from Yale University.

In this episode we talk about:

• Stacie's desire to become a complete architect, and know how a building actually gets put together, led to her interest in design-build projects
• How GLUCK+ scaled up its design-build work to include both single-family residences and public institutional work
• Stacie's experience working as a Superintendent on a construction site
• Advice for emerging professionals on navigating construction sites and Construction Administration
• Why there's no shame in not knowing everything, and the best way to learn
• How GLUCK+ is set up so everyone works on both the design and construction side
• Why there is less liability in design-build than people may think

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We want to hear from you! Please send your feedback to [email protected] and follow the show on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/designvoicepodcast.

Angelica Trevino Baccon is a principal at SHoP Architects in New York City. She leverages deep expertise in and a passion for evolving technology to create inspiring, sustainable spaces for people, often in next-generation workplaces. She led the SHoP teams for the new Uber Headquarters in San Francisco and the Atlassian Headquarters in Sydney, as well as several other large-scale projects for major global tech companies. Angelica has great success in meeting fast-paced and far-reaching design and delivery challenges and finding consensus with multi-layered stakeholder groups—in the interest of spatial vitality and community connection—for some of the firm's most complex projects. She holds a Bachelor in Architecture degree from ITESM in Monterrey, Mexico, and a Master of Architecture from Harvard University, where she has also served as a professor.

In this episode we talk about:

• What is was like having a baby during the pandemic, and the importance of flexibility
• How growing up in Monterrey, Mexico influenced the way Angelica views cities and spaces
• Seeing a city absorb a project after its completion
• What the future of work and workspaces will be like, and what elements will draw people to come back into the office
• Thinking about architecture as experiences rather than iconic forms
• Leveraging technology to think of space in a different way and to demystify the design process for clients
• On the patience and perseverance required to be an architect

SHoP projects mentioned in the episode:

• Uber Headquarters
• Atlassian Headquarters
• East River Waterfront
• Domino Sugar Master Plan
• Essex Market

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We want to hear from you! Please send your feedback to [email protected] and follow the show on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/designvoicepodcast.

Jennifer Sodo is a leading expert in the design and planning of dementia living environments. A senior associate with Perkins Eastman's senior living practice in New York City, Jennifer translates her own and others' research on biophilic design and whole-person wellness into thoughtful designs to create healthy and meaningful places for older adults living with dementia. She speaks regularly at conferences and industry events and has published articles and papers on a variety of topics pertaining to senior living. Jennifer is also co-host of Perkins Eastman's new Shaping Dementia Environments podcast, a show that explores uncommon thinking in design for dementia through interviews with industry leaders.

In this episode, Jennifer shares how, like many others in the field, her personal experiences drew her to the senior living practice. She talks about innovations and the guiding principles in the design of these spaces, and gives her pitch on why emerging professionals should join this area of work. We also have a super interesting conversation about podcasting! Not many architecture firms have produced their own podcasts, and Jennifer and her co-host's show was the first of its kind at Perkins Eastman. Jennifer shares her experience with creating the show, if others at Perkins Eastman will be following suit, and her thoughts on if more firms should start producing their own podcasts.

Resources / Links:

• Shaping Dementia Environments Podcast
• Missing Main Street: Reconnecting Older Adults with Dementia to the Fabric of Authentic Living
• Hogewey: The Un-Model Model
• Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande

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We want to hear from you! Please send your feedback to [email protected] and follow the show on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/designvoicepodcast

This episode features three women who all left architecture for the real estate world! Chi-Chi Lin, Danlu Li, and Yi Li all studied architecture and practiced for a few years before realizing that they wanted to do something else. After leaving the profession and getting MSRED degrees, they now all work in different areas of the real estate industry in New York City.

In our conversation, Chi Chi, Danlu and Yi Li share when each of them realized they didn't want to practice architecture anymore, how they transitioned to their new careers, what they miss about architecture, but what they love about their new work. They also give great advice for people who want to pivot from architecture to something else.

We also talk about the challenges of being a woman in real estate, finding a firm that has your same values, and how both architects and people in real estate are inherently futurists.

Lilian Asperin is a partner at WRNS Studio, where she helps lead the design process and build teams that deliver aspirational outcomes. Lilian values a firm culture that embraces collaboration, connection to the community, risk taking, and fostering talent.

Lilian attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned her BA in Environmental Design and graduated with honors. After completing her studies, Lilian worked at architecture firms around the Bay Area, including Stanley Saitowitz, the City of San Francisco's Bureau of Architecture, SOM, and NBBJ. Recently completed projects include the Salk Institute for Biological Studies Master Plan, the Center for Science and Innovation at USF, and UC Merced's 2020's Public-Private-Partnership (P3) project. A leader within the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), she organized the first-ever Hackathon for MOOC's as part of the Pacific Regional Conference and will be continuing her involvement with the organization as 2018-2021 Pacific Regional Chair.

Lilian utilizes her experience as a practice leader and licensed architect to develop synergistic relationships with leaders throughout the architectural and educational communities. Deeply involved with the local community, Lilian works to raise awareness and help break the cycle of poverty in the Bay Area through her work as a Tipping Point Community Partner. Lilian also acts as a Board Director of AIA San Francisco and is the Co-Chair of the Equity by Design Committee, a call to action for everyone to realize the goal of equitable practice and communicate the value of design to society.

In this episode, Lilian shares how her personal experience as a first generation Latinx student has informed her career and passion for the higher education sector. We also talk about inclusive design, how architects should re-think the timeline of the project process, how to map out your career goals with post-its and poster boards, normalizing mental wellness in the profession, and the importance of inviting everyone's full lives into the office.

Cecilia Cuff is a 20-year veteran of the hospitality scene and the Founder and Managing Principal of The Nascent Group, a hospitality design and project management agency. Cecilia has established herself as a pacemaker in the hospitality design industry, focusing on art and efficiency-inspired design, inclusivity, community development and sustainability.

Cecilia has managed hospitality openings and brand launches for companies like Hyatt Hotels & Resorts all over North & South America, Ski Resort and Adventure Resort Renovations for companies like Taos Ski Valley and M Vacation Resorts & Properties. Her involvement and enthusiasm for corporate brand development is always guided using community development, food sustainability and minority inclusion as a moral compass. Regenerative farming practices, local ingredient sourcing and at-risk youth professional development are common threads that link her work and programming that remain strong long after she has developed a project.

As a part of a career dedicated to flawless and carefully executed hospitality service, Cecilia's career client list brags seamlessly handling celebrities from Sheryl Crow, Lil Wayne, Emeril Lagasse, Snoop Dog, Rihanna, Kanye West, Seal, Brad Pitt & Angela Jolie. Elevated hospitality experiences in event production has remained her differentiator, creating and curating large scale wine festivals all over the United States, as well as aiding in the production of multi day music festivals and experiences.

Cecilia now operates her own firm, The Nascent Group, acting as an ally to urban planners and community developers to create more inclusive economic design, as well as aiding businesses with hotel and restaurant openings, operation brand launches and design. She also operates Parse SECO, a multidisciplinary art space offering art residencies and space for underrepresented communities and mentorship for at-risk youth with sister branches in New Orleans, San Francisco, New York and Mexico.

In this episode, Cecilia shares her career journey in the hospitality industry, using her entrepreneurial spirit as a force for good, and pushing for inclusivity in her work with developers. We also talk about how the hospitality industry has the power to change the trajectory of people's lives, and the magic of walking into a space and having your breath taken away.

It's a special podcast crossover episode, featuring Practice Disrupted!

The evolution of architectural practice has been relatively slow towards change, yet modern shifts in business and design management have prompted today's leading architects to rethink how they work. The Practice Disrupted podcast addresses how technology, cultural shifts, and emerging best practices in business are prompting industry disruption and transformation. The series features thought leaders on business, innovation, entrepreneurship, and/or architecture.

About the Practice Disrupted Hosts:

Evelyn M. Lee, FAIA, MBA, MPA is a licensed architect in the state of California, with over 15 years of experience working with individuals and companies that are looking to reshape their future. She is the founder of Practice of Architecture, the first-ever Senior Experience Designer at Slack Technologies, and the first female Treasurer to AIA National's Board of Directors.

Je'Nen M. Chastain, MBA, Assoc. AIA is trained in architecture and business management with a decade of experience working with award-winning architects. She founded Apostrophe Consulting to help architects improve firm culture, and strengthen their teams and businesses. She specializes in talent development, change management, and business strategy, including marketing and communication.

In this episode, Evelyn and Je'Nen share some great insights on how to push for change within an organization, how to know when to stay or leave your current job, the value of having an entrepreneurial mindset even if you work for someone else, what services architects should be offering but aren't, and more!

Check out more episodes of Practice Disrupted at: https://practiceofarchitecture.com/podcast/