LivLive: Design, Building, and the Business of Remodeling

In this episode of LivLive, Dave sits down with Nicholas Cooper, architect and leader focused on housing, community, and the long-term impact of the built environment.

This conversation goes beyond architecture as a profession and gets into architecture as responsibility. Nicholas shares his journey—from early career influences and firm experience to stepping into leadership with a clear mission around housing, equity, and creating meaningful places for people to live.

A major theme throughout the episode is housing as a system—not just buildings, but the social, economic, and generational implications tied to it. Nicholas brings a thoughtful perspective on everything from single-family homes to multi-family, senior living, and mixed-income communities, and how design can elevate outcomes across all of them.

Dave and Nicholas also explore the intersection of personal life and professional risk—particularly how fatherhood and family can shape major career decisions. There’s an honest look at what it takes to step into something new, take a leap, and build with intention.

From large-scale planning to individual responsibility as designers and builders, this episode is a grounded and meaningful conversation about where the industry is—and where it needs to go.

• Why housing should be viewed as a long-term societal system, not just a product
• How architecture firms shape outcomes beyond design—through leadership and decision-making
• The role of mixed-income and intergenerational communities in the future of housing
• How fatherhood and personal values influence career risk and entrepreneurship
• The difference between designing buildings vs. creating places people truly belong
• Why architects and builders need to think bigger about impact, not just projects

00:00 – Intro & Welcoming Nicholas Cooper
Dave introduces Nicholas and sets the stage for a conversation around housing, design, and leadership.

02:30 – Early Career & Path into Architecture
Nicholas shares his background, early influences, and the firms that shaped his thinking.

07:45 – Chicago, Richmond & Career Decisions
A look at geographic decisions, missed opportunities, and how career paths evolve over time.

12:10 – Fatherhood & Taking the Leap
How becoming a father influenced Nicholas’ decision to pursue a new direction.

17:30 – Housing as a Core Mission
Why housing—across all types—is central to Nicholas’ work and worldview.

23:40 – From Single Family to Mixed-Use Communities
Discussion on scale: designing everything from homes to large master-planned environments.

29:15 – Equity, Access & Responsibility in Design
The role architects and builders play in creating more equitable housing opportunities.

35:20 – What Makes a Great Community
Breaking down the ingredients of successful, livable places.

41:10 – The Future of Housing Development
Where Nicholas sees opportunity and change coming in the industry.

47:00 – Advice for Architects & Builders
Guidance for those looking to grow, lead, and make a bigger impact.

52:30 – Closing Thoughts & Final Takeaways
Wrapping up with perspective on purpose, risk, and building a better future.

Michael Anschel joins the show — builder, educator, and a driving force in pushing the remodeling industry to think more critically about how we build.

What made this conversation different is how naturally it connected three worlds:
building science, teaching, and emerging tools like AI.

Michael talks about what actually drives him — not just building, but helping people understand why things work (or don’t). From teaching flashing details at IBS to getting follow-up emails months later, there’s a clear throughline:
when people “get it,” everything changes.

One of the more interesting threads is the tension between being a maker and using tools that remove the “making” part. That shift — mentally more than technically — might be the biggest hurdle for builders right now.

This was a thoughtful, honest conversation about:
what we build, how we think, and what might need to change next.

Michael shared a few tools and projects he’s actively working on:

• AI Pulse (Weekly Tech Roundup)
https://aipulseweb-bqfxmg34.manus.space/search

• Tech of Interest (Ideas, tools, experiments)
https://technewslet-ysuopz87.manus.space/

• ConstructAI (Drawing + Spec Analysis Tool)
https://constructai-kears88n.manus.space/project/1

→ Upload drawings + specs to identify conflicts, missing info, and query your project instantly.

And the incredible Basement/Crawlspace tool that he has built: https://belowgrade-qthxut5u.manus.space/

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro + LivLive kickoff (and no Instagram today)
02:00 – How Dave and Michael first connected (COVID + Remodelers circles)
03:30 – Who Michael is + IBS demo / teaching background
04:30 – Why teaching matters (and what makes it fulfilling)
07:30 – Helping people “get it” — impact beyond the jobsite
10:30 – Transition: building science mindset vs typical construction thinking
14:00 – Where projects actually break down in the real world
18:30 – Drawings vs reality: gaps, interpretation, and risk
23:00 – The hidden time drain: reviewing documents and chasing info
28:00 – Introducing AI in a practical way (not hype)
32:00 – 3D printing, visualization, and using AI to generate models
36:00 – The “maker vs machine” tension (big mindset shift)
40:00 – Using AI for real applications (design, communication, tools)
45:00 – Basement tool + building science applications
50:00 – Where this is all heading for builders
55:00 – Closing thoughts + future opportunities

LivLive Ep. 34 – Todd Hansen (QuarterSawn Design Build)Why “Director of Experience” Might Be the Most Important Role in Design-BuildIn this episode of LivLive, Dave sits down with Todd Hansen, Director of Experience at QuarterSawn Design Build in Minneapolis—a role that challenges the way most remodeling companies think about structure, culture, and client experience.

Todd wasn’t a founder.
He wasn’t brought up through the trades.
He was brought in early—when the company had just nine people—to build something most companies talk about but never actually implement: a deliberate, managed experience for both clients and the internal team.

The conversation unpacks how QuarterSawn’s founder, architect Jeff Nicholson, recognized that building culture and experience wasn’t his strength—and instead of ignoring it, made it a dedicated leadership function.

From there, Todd has shaped a role that sits across client experience, team culture, trade relationships, and overall company alignment.

This episode dives into what that actually looks like in practice—and why this kind of role may be one of the biggest opportunities in design-build today.

• What a “Director of Experience” actually does in a design-build company

• Why culture doesn’t happen by accident—and why most companies fail at it

• The difference between talking about culture vs. actually building it

• How experience applies to clients, trade partners, and internal teams

• Why Jeff Nicholson intentionally hired for this role early (at ~9 employees)

• How to address retention and turnover through experience design

• The idea that leaders should build around their weaknesses—not ignore them

• Why this role is starting to spread across top design-build firms

00:00 – Intro + Todd’s role at QuarterSawn
02:00 – What is a “Director of Experience”?
05:00 – Why Jeff created this role early
08:30 – Culture vs. actually doing the work
12:00 – Internal vs. external experience
16:30 – Retention, turnover, and team dynamics
21:00 – Leadership self-awareness (playing to strengths/weaknesses)
26:00 – How this role is spreading across the industry
30:00+ – Applying this thinking to other design-build firms
Wrap Up – Key takeaways

Spatial AI, Machine Intelligence, and the Future of Building

In this episode of LivLive, Dave sits down with Yu-Han Chang—Harvard graduate, MIT PhD, and longtime AI researcher—to unpack what artificial intelligence really is, where it came from, and where it’s headed—especially for the design and construction world.

Yu-Han brings over 20 years of experience in AI, going back to a time when the term itself was avoided and the field was simply called machine learning. He walks through the evolution from early classification models—think reading handwritten mail or identifying simple patterns—to today’s explosive wave of generative AI and spatial intelligence.

But this isn’t just a history lesson.

The conversation digs into a much bigger idea: machines are no longer just recognizing the world—they’re starting to understand it.

That shift—from classification to contextual understanding—is what opens the door to spatial AI: systems that can interpret environments, geometry, and human interaction in real-world spaces. And that’s where things get very real for architects, builders, and designers.

Dave and Yu-Han explore what this means for the building industry:

• How AI could move from back-office automation into design thinking and decision-making

• The potential for machines to interpret drawings, spaces, and construction intent

• Why the biggest opportunity isn’t replacing people—but augmenting human expertise

• And the real challenge ahead: separating hype from meaningful, usable tools

A key theme throughout the episode is timing. While AI feels like it “arrived overnight,” Yu-Han makes it clear this has been decades in the making—and we’re still early in understanding how to apply it responsibly and effectively.

The conversation stays grounded in reality: AI is powerful, but only when paired with human judgment, domain knowledge, and clear intent. Especially in an industry like construction, where context, nuance, and execution matter.

This episode is less about tools—and more about mindset.

If you’re in design, construction, or development and trying to make sense of AI beyond the headlines, this is a conversation worth paying attention to.

• Why “AI” used to be a dirty word—and what changed around 2016 and again in 2023

• The difference between early machine learning (classification) and today’s AI (understanding + generation)

• What spatial AI actually means—and why it matters for architecture and construction

• Where AI can realistically support (not replace) designers and builders

• Why the biggest risk right now is misapplying AI—not missing it

• How to think about AI as a long-term shift, not a short-term tool

00:00 – Intro & Guest Background
Dave introduces Yu-Han Chang and his deep academic and industry experience in AI.

02:00 – The Early Days of AI (Before It Was “AI”)
Why the field avoided the term and focused on machine learning instead.

05:00 – What Machine Learning Actually Did Back Then
From OCR and classifiers to the limitations of early models.

10:00 – The Inflection Point (2016 → 2023)
How breakthroughs—and public awareness—changed everything.

18:00 – From Recognition to Understanding
The critical shift that unlocks real-world applications.

28:00 – What Is Spatial AI?
How machines begin to interpret physical space, not just data.

40:00 – Implications for Design & Construction
Where AI could realistically impact workflows, drawings, and decisions.

52:00 – Hype vs. Reality in AI
Why most people are either overestimating or misapplying the technology.

1:05:00 – The Human + AI Future
Why domain expertise becomes more valuable—not less.

From Client to Industry Insider: Renovating Your Own Home While Working in Building Products

In this episode of LivLive, Dave sits down with Noor Boyle from James Hardie, who brings a unique dual perspective to the conversation: she works inside the building products industry and she was once a LivCo client herself.

See Noor's family's Western Springs house here!

**** Also credit to Kevin Harris, AIA on the "Funk Chart"

Noor shares the story behind her family’s major home renovation in Western Springs, Illinois, including how they decided to remodel instead of move, the rigorous process she used to evaluate contractors, and what it’s really like to experience a full home addition from the homeowner side.

Because Noor works in the building products world, the conversation also dives into the intersection between manufacturers, builders, architects, and homeowners—and why collaboration between those groups matters more than most people realize.

Dave and Noor explore how homeowners evaluate remodeling partners, how the renovation process feels from the client’s side of the table, and how the building industry can better support both homeowners and contractors.

It’s a great conversation about trust, design decisions, industry relationships, and what happens when the professional world of construction meets the personal world of home.

• How Noor evaluated over a dozen remodeling companies before choosing a design-build partner
• Why many homeowners ultimately choose to renovate instead of move
• What it feels like for a homeowner when their house is “blown up and expanded” during a major remodel
• The advantages and tradeoffs between architect-builder vs. design-build approaches
• How building product manufacturers like James Hardie interact with builders and designers
• Why collaboration between manufacturers, contractors, and homeowners leads to better projects
• Lessons Noor learned going through a renovation as both a client and an industry professional

00:00 – Introduction
Dave introduces Noor Boyle from James Hardie and explains the unique crossover of having both a building-products professional and former LivCo client on the show.

05:00 – Why Renovate Instead of Move
Noor explains how her family outgrew their home during COVID and how they ultimately decided to renovate instead of relocating.

10:00 – Interviewing 12 Remodeling Companies
A deep dive into Noor’s rigorous selection process and how homeowners evaluate architects, builders, and design-build firms.

15:00 – Choosing a Design-Build Team
Why the design-build model made sense for Noor’s project and how LivCo approached the renovation.

20:00 – Renovating While Working in the Industry
Noor shares the perspective of working for a major building-products company while also experiencing a renovation personally.

25:00 – Lessons from the Homeowner Side
Key takeaways from living through construction, communication expectations, and what makes the renovation experience successful.

30:00 – Builders, Manufacturers, and Collaboration
How companies like James Hardie support builders and why relationships across the construction ecosystem matter.

35:00 – Final Thoughts
Reflections on the renovation, industry relationships, and advice for homeowners considering a major remodel.

In this episode of LivLive, Dave sits down with Ben Blodgett, owner of TDS Design Build in Madison, Wisconsin, to unpack one of the most interesting career paths in the design-build industry: going from employee to owner.

Dave and Ben first met years ago through their Remodelers Advantage roundtable, when Ben was still the general manager at TDS Custom Construction while founder Sam was preparing to transition out. What followed was a six-year journey toward ownership—filled with uncertainty, financial risk, leadership growth, and ultimately purchasing the company right before COVID.

Ben shares how he went from farm kid to carpenter to business owner, why the opportunity to buy the company wasn’t something he originally pursued, and what it actually takes to step into ownership when you’ve spent most of your career in production.

The conversation explores the real challenges behind ownership transitions: learning financials, developing leadership skills, navigating economic uncertainty, and deciding whether the responsibility of ownership is actually worth it.

For anyone in the design-build world who has ever asked themselves “Should I start a company or buy one?”, this episode is full of hard-earned lessons.

• How Ben Blodgett transitioned from carpenter to owner of TDS Design Build
• What a 6-year ownership transition actually looks like behind the scenes
• Why buying a company during COVID created unexpected challenges
• The mindset shift required to go from manager to true business owner
• How industry peer groups like Remodelers Advantage shape leadership growth
• Why many talented builders hesitate to take the leap into ownership
• The financial and emotional risks involved in buying a construction company
• How TDS evolved from TDS Custom Construction to TDS Design Build

00:00 – Introduction to Ben Blodgett and TDS Design Build
02:30 – How Dave and Ben met through Remodelers Advantage
05:10 – Ben’s background growing up on a farm
08:00 – Getting started in construction and becoming a carpenter
11:30 – Moving into leadership at TDS as general manager
15:40 – When the opportunity to buy the company first appeared
19:30 – The six-year journey negotiating the ownership transition
24:15 – Learning how to become a business owner
29:10 – Buying the company right before COVID
33:40 – The financial and operational challenges of that timing
37:20 – The mindset shift from employee to owner
42:10 – Lessons for builders considering ownership

LivLive Ep. 30 – With Adam Steiner of Birnam Design

In Episode 30, Dave sits down with Adam Steiner, founder of Birnam Design in Indiana, to unpack the intersection of engineering, home design, and the evolving business of residential plans.

Adam’s story starts long before Birnam Design. He grew up in a multi-generation construction family — great-grandfather with a historic octagon house in Ohio, grandfather a builder, father a builder. Though he earned a civil engineering degree from Purdue, he quickly realized he was more drawn to the creative + structural tension of home design than pure engineering.

The conversation covers:

• How growing up inside a builder family shaped Adam’s design lens

• Why he chose to start his own firm in 2020

• The difference between being close to construction… and intentionally staying one step removed

• What he saw and learned at IBS in Orlando

• How engineering thinking influences residential floor plans

• The stress divide between designers and builders

There’s a candid thread throughout the episode about distance from the jobsite. Adam respects what builders endure daily — coordination chaos, dust control, sequencing trades, HVAC protection — but has intentionally structured his role around design rather than construction management. Dave, now rebuilding a construction arm in North Carolina, offers the counterpoint from inside the field.

This episode is less about flashy architecture and more about the mindset behind great residential design.

• How a civil engineering background can sharpen residential design thinking

• Why constraint (structure, mechanicals, code) actually fuels creativity

• The emotional and operational difference between designing a house and building one

• What IBS in Orlando revealed about where the building industry is headed

• Why some designers intentionally stay at “arm’s length” from construction stress

• How starting a firm in 2020 reshaped Adam’s trajectory

00:00 – Episode 30 & How Adam and Dave Met
A callback to Adam’s “Builder vs. Buyer” podcast and how the relationship started.

05:00 – Construction in the Blood
Adam’s family history, the octagon house legacy, and growing up inside the industry.

10:00 – Purdue, Engineering, and Finding Design
Why Adam pursued civil engineering — and why he ultimately gravitated toward home design.

18:00 – Creativity Within Structural Constraints
The tension between engineering rigidity and residential creativity.

25:00 – Starting Birnam Design in 2020
Launching an independent firm and defining his role in the marketplace.

32:00 – IBS Orlando Takeaways
Reflections from the Builder Show: scale, industry energy, and what stood out.

40:00 – Designers vs. Builders: The Stress Gap
A candid discussion about jobsite chaos, trade coordination, and why some designers choose distance.

50:00 – The Future of Residential Design
Technology, AI, online floor plan culture, and how specialization may shape the next era.

This episode is a thoughtful look at what happens when engineering discipline meets residential creativity — and how defining your lane inside the design-build world can protect both your sanity and your edge.

Leadership Lessons with Joe Cliggott

Live from the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Dave sits down with Joe Cliggott, Studio Director and Principal at HKS, for a deep conversation about leadership, humility, and building culture inside major architecture firms.

Joe shares his journey from graduating during a recession at Penn State, packing up a U-Haul without a job, and moving to Chicago — to eventually leading one of the most influential studios in the city. But this episode isn’t about titles. It’s about what actually drives long-term impact: people, trust, culture, and consistency.

Dave and Joe dig into what makes Chicago’s architecture community unique, how firm culture is shaped (and reshaped), and why humility and steady leadership matter more than ego in scaling teams. They also unpack the realities of navigating downturns, earning influence inside large organizations, and building a reputation that lasts decades.

If you’re an architect, design leader, or builder trying to grow without losing your values, this one hits.

• Why starting a career in a recession can be an advantage

• How to build influence inside large architecture firms

• The difference between having a title and earning leadership

• What actually shapes culture inside design organizations

• Why humility may be the most underrated trait in architecture

• How Chicago became a proving ground for architectural careers

• The mindset required to sustain a decades-long career in design

00:00 – Live from IBS & Chicago Architecture Roots
Dave introduces Joe and sets the stage from Orlando. Joe reflects on Chicago as the “capital city of architecture” and why it drew him there.

05:00 – Graduating Into a Recession
Joe’s Penn State graduation story, moving to Chicago without a job, and how economic downturns shape resilience early in a career.

10:00 – Building a Career Without a Master Plan
Why Joe didn’t have a perfectly mapped-out path — and how opportunity plus initiative created momentum.

15:00 – Chicago’s Architecture Culture
What makes the Chicago design community unique, interconnected, and influential.

20:00 – From Team Member to Studio Leader
Joe’s evolution through major firms and what changes when you move from contributor to culture-setter.

25:00 – Leadership Inside Large Firms
How influence works in big organizations, earning trust, and aligning teams around shared goals.

30:00 – Titles vs. Impact
Principal. Senior VP. Studio Director. Why titles matter less than how you show up daily.

35:00 – Culture Isn’t a Poster on the Wall
How firm culture is created through behavior, mentorship, and consistency — not mission statements.

40:00 – Humility as a Leadership Advantage
Why Joe sees himself as a “prince, not a king” — and how that mindset sustains long-term success.

45:00 – Navigating Change & Growth
Lessons from moving firms, scaling teams, and adapting across economic cycles.

50:00 – Advice to the Next Generation
Joe’s perspective for young architects: risk, relationships, resilience, and showing up.

55:00 – Final Thoughts on Legacy & Influence
What it really means to have an impact in architecture — beyond projects.

In this episode of LivLive, Dave sits down with Christopher Lawton and Micah Stanley, co-founders of Lawton Stanley Architects, for a deep conversation about architectural authorship, restraint, and building a practice rooted in clarity rather than noise.

Based in Chicago, Lawton Stanley is known for highly refined hospitality and residential work, including landmark restaurant projects like Ever and Grace. Throughout the conversation, Christopher and Micah reflect on how restaurant design fundamentally shaped their approach to architecture — teaching them to think about sequence, pacing, light, materiality, and experience as inseparable from form.

Rather than chasing trends or signature gestures, they discuss the discipline of editing, the value of restraint, and the importance of trust — both between partners and with clients. The episode also explores how their partnership functions in practice, how design intent survives real-world constraints, and why smaller, more intentional studios can produce deeply meaningful work.

This is a thoughtful, practice-level discussion for architects, designers, builders, and anyone interested in how great spaces are actually made — from concept through experience.

• How hospitality projects influence architectural thinking at every scale

• What restaurant design teaches about sequence, mood, and human experience

• How Christopher and Micah navigate partnership, authorship, and trust

• Why restraint and editing are often the hardest — and most important — design moves

• How design intent can survive budgets, construction realities, and real-world constraints

• Why staying intentionally small can be a strategic advantage for design studios

00:00 – Introduction & background
Dave introduces Christopher Lawton and Micah Stanley and their Chicago-based practice.

04:30 – Founding Lawton Stanley Architects
How the firm began and the shared values that shaped its direction.

11:45 – Partnership & authorship
How collaboration works without ego and how responsibilities evolve.

20:10 – Designing restaurants as architecture
Lessons learned from hospitality projects and why experience drives form.

34:40 – Restraint, editing, and clarity
Why doing less often creates more powerful spaces.

49:15 – Translating hospitality thinking to residential work
Applying sequencing, materiality, and mood to homes.

1:03:30 – Growth, focus, and staying intentional
Why Lawton Stanley resists scale for scale’s sake.

1:15:50 – Closing reflections
What continues to motivate them as architects today.

In this episode of LivLive, Dave sits down with Adam Reed Tucker — architect, artist, and the original creator of the LEGO® Architecture Studio series.

Adam’s work sits at the intersection of architecture, sculpture, and storytelling. From designing the first fifteen LEGO Architecture sets to exhibiting massive brick-built skyscrapers around the world, Adam shares how his architectural training shaped his creative philosophy — and why stepping outside traditional practice unlocked an entirely new path.

The conversation explores what it means to make versus design, how constraints fuel creativity, and why physical craft still matters in a digital-first world. Adam also dives into his current work with Atom Brick, reflecting on how experimentation, play, and curiosity continue to drive his process decades into his career.

This episode is a deep, thoughtful look at creativity beyond labels — and a reminder that architecture education can be a launchpad, not a box.

• How architectural thinking translates into art, sculpture, and product design

• Why constraints (like LEGO bricks) can actually expand creative freedom

• The shift from traditional architecture practice to creative authorship

• How physical making influences problem-solving and design intuition

• Why play, experimentation, and curiosity are essential to long-term creative growth

00:00 – Introduction
Why this episode stands out and Adam’s impact on architecture and LEGO culture

01:00 – From Architecture School to Brick Art
How architectural training shaped Adam’s creative foundation

06:30 – Designing the LEGO Architecture Series
The origins of the first LEGO Architecture sets and design philosophy behind them

14:45 – Making vs. Designing
What changes when architects move from drawings to physical craft

23:10 – Exhibitions, Scale, and Skyscrapers
Lessons learned from building massive brick-based architectural works

32:40 – Constraints as Creative Fuel
Why limited systems often produce the strongest ideas

41:15 – Atom Brick and What’s Next
Adam’s current work and how his creative practice continues to evolve

49:30 – Closing Thoughts
Advice for architects and designers exploring non-traditional paths