Peopleverse

In this Peopleverse Podcast episode, Evan Troxel talks with Tim Yeiser of Dricrete about their innovative approach to concrete with integral waterproofing which is often used in underground parking. Dricrete pioneered a chemistry and concrete admixture to go into the concrete during the mix, which enables the building to ultimately be faster, cheaper, safer, less risky, and more sustainable than traditional membrane waterproofing systems. Tim and Evan also discuss the challenges of introducing a new product to the construction industry and the importance of partnerships and knowledge transfer throughout the design and construction process.

Episode Links:

• Tim on LinkedIn
• Dricrete website
• Dricrete on LinkedIn

In this episode Mehmet Zenginler of Tantimber joins host Evan Troxel on the Peopleverse podcast for an in-person interview in Tect's booth at the 2023 AIA Conference on Architecture in San Francisco, CA.

Today we discuss the benefits of using Tantimber Thermowood as a sustainable and durable building material, the importance of building relationships with architects and providing value early in the project by working to become trusted, reliable sources of the latest information in their product category, and more!

Episode Links

• Tantimber website
• Mehmet on LinkedIn

In this podcast episode, Patricia Yulkowski and Candace Kitchen of Total Door Systems join Evan Troxel in the Peopleverse to discuss the importance of building relationships and trust between the design community and the manufacturing community, particularly in the context of life safety and the importance of early engagement to avoid expensive mistakes in the field.

Episode Links:

• Total Door Systems website
• Patricia on LinkedIn
• Candace on LinkedIn

In this episode Cherise Lakeside, FSCI, CDT of RDH Building Science joins host Evan Troxel on the Peopleverse podcast for an in-person interview in Tect's booth at the 2023 AIA Conference on Architecture in San Francisco, CA.

The conversation covers topics such as the importance of product reps and their relationship with design professionals, the challenges of product selection, and the changing dynamics of the industry. They also discuss the AIA conference and the value of meeting and networking with other professionals in the field.

Episode Links

• Cherise on Twitter
• Cherise on LinkedIn
• RDH Building Science website
• Peopleverse episode 4 featuring Cherise Lakeside

Mike Kunard of Hidden Step Marketing joins the Peopleverse to discuss his experience in the building industry, including the importance of mentors and the value of wisdom over data. We also chat about the need to break down barriers and build relationships between design professionals and product experts to share knowledge and solve problems.

About Mike Kunard

After succeeding in the building materials industry for 20 years as manufacturer and distributor, Mike broke out on his own in 2020 to help small yet scalable manufacturers and lend his experience to help them come to market. His specialty is outdoor living products including decking and railing manufacturers. He is currently focused on supporting two frameless glass railing manufacturers: one from Australia serving residential markets and from Italy serving commercial and residential markets.

Episode Links

• Hidden Step Marketing website
• Mike Kunard on LinkedIn
• Hidden Step Marketing on Instagram

David Corle, CSI joins the Peopleverse podcast to talk about the importance of building personal relationships, mentorship, using humor on social media, the dangers of perfectionism, changing the perception of building product manufacturers from product-pushers to trusted advisors, and emphasizes the importance of authenticity, vulnerability, and service before sales in building trust and relationships.

Watch this episode on YouTube.

About David:

A third generation glazier, David spent the first fifteen years of his career gaining hands-on experience in the glass industry. Armed with that knowledge, in 2015 he joined one of the nations largest manufacturers of custom shower enclosures as the New England Regional Sales Rep. In 2018 he accepted the position of East Regional Sales Manager following the acquisition of a competitor and in 2020 was promoted to Director of National Hospitality Division, where he guides the development of A+D facing education and outreach initiatives. David carries his passion and experience with glass into every conversation and hopes to educate, inspire and start conversations with his LinkedIn audience and the wider design community around the subjects of design, hospitality and the glass & construction industries.

Episode Links:

• HMI Glass
• HMI Glass blog
• David on LinkedIn
• HMI on LinkedIn
• HMI on Twitter
• HMI on Instagram
• HMI's digital printing specs and information
• HMI's AEC Daily CE course
• David's previous Peopleverse podcast appearance
• Cherise Lakeside's appearance on the Peopleverse podcast & YouTube

Todd Miller of Isaiah Industries joins the Peopleverse to share his story and kick off season 2 with Tect's architectural community director and host Evan Troxel.

Here's an episode highlight:

Hear Todd's story of how the Metal Roofing Alliance was formed 25 years ago by a group of metal roofing industry competitors. What began with a plan that would sunset the organization in 5 years turned into an alliance of friends that helped transform the market share of steep slope metal roofing from 2% up to 17% and is still going strong after 25 years.

About Todd Miller:

Todd Miller is President of Isaiah Industries, a manufacturer of specialty residential metal roofing./ He is also one of the hosts of the Construction Disruption podcast. Todd has an educational website for property owners and others at www.asktoddmiller.com. He is also Vice Chair of the Metal Roofing Alliance as well as a current Board Member and Past Chair of Metal Construction Association.

Episode Links:

• Construction Disruption podcast
• Evan's appearance on Construction Disruption
• Letitia Hanke's episode on Construction Disruption
• Construction Disruption on YouTube
• Isaiah Industries website
• Todd's website
• Metal Roofing Alliance website
• Metal Construction Association website

Ian Merker, AIA, LEED AP joins the Peopleverse podcast live from the Tect booth in the expo hall at the American Institute of Architects National Conference on Architecture which took place on June 23-25 in Chicago, Illinois.

In this episode we talk about what attending the National Conference on Architecture is like from an architect's perspective and we discuss some professional activities architects are involved with—beyond their day job—to serve their communities. This peek into the life of an architect illuminates additional corners of the profession for those who want to know more.

About Ian:

Ian has close to 20 years of experience in managing the design and construction administration of major projects including developments in civic and education markets. Throughout his career, he has worked toward opportunities to practice high quality regenerative design and historic preservation. He is a strong believer that architecture and research combined with design thinking, strengthens society and in turn contributes to a positive sustainable effect on the world.

As an active leader in professional organizations, Ian has engaged in mentorship, industry commitments to climate action and historic preservation, and advocated the value of design and architecture to the community.

Episode links:

• Ian on LinkedIn
• Ian on Twitter
• CannonDesign website

Dena Prastos, AIA of Indigo River joins the podcast to talk about her multidisciplinary background and approach to a career in architecture. The bulk of this conversation is about how architects can and should differentiate their practice using examples from her waterfront-focused work and about the value of architects through specialization during changing times, among many other important topics listed in the notes below.

About Dena:

As Founder and CEO of Indigo River, Dena Prastos, AIA, is the first "waterfront architect," trailblazing a new category in the industry. Indigo River is a women-owned transdisciplinary design firm focused on progressive waterfront architecture, resiliency, and climate adaptation. A leading authority in New York Harbor and beyond, the firm specializes in climate adaptation through waterfront solutions that seamlessly transcend boundaries - guiding and executing projects from ideation through final construction and operations.

Waterfront architect, civil engineer, futurist, climate adaptation expert, entrepreneur, and creative original, Dena is driven to transform the built world at the water's edge. With transdisciplinary and progressive views, she is fueled by the overlapping of design, technology, and nature.

Dena is a licensed architect with a graduate degree in civil engineering. Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, she deeply appreciates nature and humankind's ability to design, build, and create infrastructure in some of the world's harshest conditions. Dena is an experienced leader of innovative leading projects around the world, directing infrastructure construction, marine engineering, and the design of waterfront architecture. This experience has given her the tools to navigate the firm's diverse client work with her unique vision and competency in construction, engineering, and waterfront architecture.

As a one-stop shop for solutions at the water's edge, Indigo River works on notable projects around New York Harbor including East Side Coastal Resiliency in Manhattan, Robert De Niro's Wildflower Studios in Astoria, River Ring in Williamsburg, and the Harlem River Greenway in East Harlem.

Before starting Indigo River, Dena worked at DCAK MSA Architecture and Engineering as the Director of Project Management and Business Development, McLaren Engineering Group as a senior project manager and The Conti Group. Dena earned her Bachelor of Architecture at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), where she subsequently completed a graduate degree in Civil Engineering. At NJIT, she was a Division 1 soccer player. After gaining valuable experience in the industry, she went to Harvard Business School's "Leading Professional Service Firms" Executive Education program.

She serves on the National Council of Architectural Registration Board's (NCARB) Future's Collaborative. In 2021, she joined the AIA Resilience and adaptation Advisory Group, and in 2022 she was asked to join AIA's YAF Summit 30: Mission 2130; the Summit seeks to respond to critical issues present in the profession, namely, to address challenges the architecture profession will face in the next century, focusing on architecture, society, and our planet. She also serves on her local Planning Board in historic Grand View-on-Hudson, New York.

About Indigo River:

Indigo River is a women-owned transdisciplinary design firm focused on progressive waterfront architecture, resiliency, and climate adaptation. A leading authority in New York Harbor and beyond, the firm specializes in climate adaptation through waterfront solutions that seamlessly transcend boundaries - guiding and executing projects from ideation through final construction and operations.

In this episode we discuss:

• her journey that began growing up in Alaska to practicing architecture in NYC through architecture school, civil engineering, construction, the marine team, getting her architecture license
• the definition of what an architecture license is actually for
• her specialization in the waterfront and how it interfaces with the built environment, resiliency, climate adaptation, while protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public
• an in-depth discussion about the value of an architect for solving problems and protecting the public in the built environment
• the disproportionate and unsustainable nature of the architect's standard business model in relation to fees and liability for services and outcomes over the lifetime of a project
• recreating the architects' role in society for the future of the profession by reasserting the agency of design professionals who are licensed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public
• what Dena is doing to differentiate her practice to protect against commoditizing the value of her services
• a discussion about the opportunity for specialization within the architectural profession to differentiate and provide more value
• observations why architecture is lagging behind the evolution of societal behavior and expectations which furthers the devaluing of architects
• the gap between innovation and adoption regarding technology
• artificial intelligence as a possible shortcut to addressing larger issues by architects instead of being considered a threat to the profession
• the large range of projects Dena and Indigo River are working on including piers and docks for residences, marinas, ports, bulkheads, keys, wharfs, and natural shorelines
• the constantly shifting nature of the edge condition where land meets water and the amount of regulation involved in that area of practice
• the regulatory expertise needed to practice on dynamic waterfront projects
• the potent combination of a diverse background with a focused geographical typology of waterfront projects that has led to the success of Indigo River since launching in 2018
• what the day-to-day life of a waterfront architect is like and how it's different than other areas of practice
• what some of the more exciting opportunities while working on waterfront projects using prefabrication and logistics
• what she experienced as a woman working early on in a male-dominated field
• her favorite part of being an architect (and more)
• the problems with merely reaching for sustainability in the built environment

Episode links:

• Indigo River website
• Indigo River on LinkedIn
• Indigo River on Instagram
• Dena on LinkedIn
• Dena on Twitter
• Dena on Instagram
• Thomas Heatherwick article about the "boringness of architecture" on Dezeen
• Peopleverse episode #4 with Cherise Lakeside, FCSI

Kyle Morck of Reynolds+Myers joins the Peopleverse podcast live from the Tect booth in the expo hall at the American Institute of Architects National Conference on Architecture which took place on June 23-25 in Chicago, Illinois.

In this episode Kyle shares his insight into modern marketing strategies for building product manufacturers. Key takeaways from this discussion are how product manufacturing marketing and sales teams should be moving beyond design professionals as "lead gen", how marketing and sales should be differentiated for results, the only worthwhile marketing BPM's should be doing, and how these teams can be best prepared to interact with architects and design professionals early in the design process when it matters most in order to build long term relationships.

About Kyle:

Kyle is VP of Strategy at Reynolds+Myers. R+M works with B2B companies in the food and shelter industries, including Boise Cascade, BASF, Simplot, and Idaho National Lab. Kyle's work on strategy, research, and consulting enables marketing leaders at these companies to navigate the chaotic world of modern marketing.

Kyle began his career in the arts. He's worked with a number of internationally renowned nonprofit dance companies in both an artistic and executive capacity. Most recently he was the managing director of LED, one of Dance magazine's "25 to Watch" in 2020.

As a filmmaker, Kyle has directed one feature-length film, a handful of narrative short films, and over fifty short dance films. His work has been featured in publications including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Dance Magazine, and Slate.

Episode Links:

• Reynolds+Myers website
• Reynolds+Myers on LinkedIn
• Kyle on LinkedIn