Carolyn Noble joins as a guest after she travels with Faraz to Italy for the international cultural exhibition, the Venice Biennale. They digest their creatively energizing trip with Ella and review the inspiring takeaways they wish to apply in their work soon.

Sense of Space music provided by: Black Light Smoke (Instagram, Spotify)

References:

Venice Biennale

Pavilions mentioned in this episode: Iceland, Canada, Uruguay, Egypt, Nordic Pavilion, Ireland, and Germany.

V.U.C.A Problems

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What do designers and an Emmy award-winning composer, songwriter, producer, and performer have in common? Ella and Faraz chat with Black Light Smoke, aka Jordan Lieb, about creative processes, adaptation through art, and self-care.

Jordan's Youtube: Adventure Family Team

Sense of Space music provided by: Black Light Smoke (Instagram, Spotify)

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Great hospitality is made up of several moving pieces. From graciousness to interior design, Ella and Faraz assess the necessary ingredients of being a great host...and hot dogs.

Sense of Space music provided by: Black Light Smoke (Instagram, Spotify)

References:

Unreasonable Hospitality

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters

Slice of Life: The American Dream

Starbucks Article

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Can emotions inform the way we design? Ella and Faraz discuss big feelings and how the built environment influences them. What helps us process feelings and emotions in a space?

Sense of Space music provided by: Black Light Smoke (Instagram, Spotify)

References:

Company that offers alternate death care and funerary practices.

EndWell Conference

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Programming

Article about podcast studio interiors

Article about rage rooms

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Has design school changed? What currently inspires students? Ella is back in school and on a journey. Hoping to guide today’s students, she and Faraz unpack their past education while exploring how their studies translate to real-life practice.

Sense of Space music provided by: Black Light Smoke (Instagram, Spotify)

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After trucking school, Burning Man, caffeine-fueled NeoCon planning, a new TDEC showroom, and designing a home in Vermont, Ella and Faraz catch up on life and all of their adventures from the past year.

Sense of Space music provided by: Black Light Smoke (Instagram, Spotify)

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Live from NeoCon 2025, Faraz and Ella sit down with Elizabeth Von Lehe of CannonDesign and Carolyn Ames Noble of Turf Design to explore how innovation is reshaping architecture and interiors. Together, they unpack the evolving design landscape and share an insider’s view of NeoCon’s immersive experiences and electric atmosphere.

As always, if you have something you want to share with us, please don’t hesitate to reach out via our socials. We want to know what’s important to you!

Turf | Facebook

Turf | Instagram

Turf | LinkedIn

This episode was recorded live in the NeoCon Podcast Lounge Powered by SURROUND, sponsored by Material Bank, and in partnership with HÅG, Stylex, KI Wall, and Turf.

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Have you ever walked into a space and immediately sensed it had a rich history? Faraz and Ella explore the idea of iteration from a musical context and how this occurs in the built environment through thoughtful preservation and adaptive reuse. What makes up the soul of a building or place? Does it start with the architecture or with the people and activities that bring a space to life?

Notes / Links:

Want to learn more about the things we’ve mentioned in this episode? Please find links to additional content below.

• Faraz’s YouTube Rabbit Hole
• Who we spoke with: Preservation Chicago
• Book Recommendation: Stewart Brand | How Buildings Learn
• Book Recommendation: Jane M. Jacobs and Stephen Cairns | Buildings Must Die
• Podcast Recommendation: Alie Ward | Ologies: Domicology Episode
• Article: Wax Trax building gets preliminary landmark designation | Urbanize Chicago!

As always, if you have something you want to share with us, please don’t hesitate to reach out via our socials. We want to know what’s important to you!

Turf | Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/turf.design/

https://linkedin.com/company/turf-design-acoustics-/

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Faraz and Ella explore what lies beyond the sense of sight in the built environment. Join us as we explore the relationship between our various senses and our surroundings and how it can be either integral to or dissonant with our experience of spaces.

Notes / Links:

Want to learn more about the things we’ve mentioned in this episode? Please find links to additional content below.

• Book Recommendation: Temple Grandin | Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions
• AI Product (that we don’t know how to feel about):  Friend Reveal Trailer
• Musical Artist: Black Asteroid
• Activity: Ellen Reid | SOUNDWALK
• TED Talk: Daniel Kish | How I use sonar to navigate the world

As always, if you have something you want to share with us, please don’t hesitate to reach out via our socials. We want to know what’s important to you!

Turf | Facebook

Turf | Instagram

Turf | LinkedIn

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Faraz’s son departs home to begin an education in design, inspiring a reflective conversation on our own educational experiences and the values and priorities of the next generation of designers. The squad investigates the importance of third spaces and inclusivity in these spaces. Is it possible that design for belonging can make things better for all of us?

Notes / Links:

Want to learn more about the things we’ve mentioned in this episode? Please find links to additional content below. 

• CDC Infographic: Disability Impacts All of Us Infographic | CDC
• TED Talk: Cory Paradis | Can Thoughtful Design Make Disability Disappear?
• Short Film: Guy Reid | Planetary
• Book Recommendation: Daniel Kahneman | Thinking, Fast and Slow
• TED Talk: Don Norman | Design for the Elderly

As always, if you have something you want to share with us, please don’t hesitate to reach out via our socials. We want to know what’s important to you!

Turf | Facebook

Turf | Instagram

Turf | LinkedIn

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.