Two Architects and a Lawyer

What’s in a name? For some of history’s greatest architects, the answer is "a complete rebranding." In this episode of Two Architects and a Lawyer, we explore the evolution of architectural identity. We journey from Imhotep and the first stone structures of Egypt to the modern corporate era of ARCOP. Discover why legends like Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, and Frank Gehry shed their birth names to build their legacies, and learn about the "clever guy" from Samos who gave us both the set square and deodorant.

Why do we dream of Versailles but live in "boxy little things"? Co-hosts William and Luis dive deep into the disconnect between architectural ideals and the reality of modern housing. William challenges the "budget cudgel" that architects often use to justify mediocre design. Meanwhile, Luis questions the "unlivable" nature of some of history’s most celebrated architectural icons—from Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye to Moshe Safdie’s Habitat 67.

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How did a single school invent the modern professions of industrial and graphic design? In this concluding part of their conversation, William and Luis dive into the "allied arts" of the Bauhaus—from typography and weaving to color theory and furniture. The duo contrasts the rigid, classical education of the past with the radical, emotive teaching methods of masters like Johannes Itten, who urged students to "draw what they felt" rather than what they saw. They also tackle the "sameness" of the modern International Style, the "bag of tricks" used by Mies van der Rohe in the Barcelona Pavilion, and how software has transformed visualization into construction.

William and Luis explore the profound and lasting legacy of the Bauhaus, a school that lasted only 14 years but effectively "wrote the rules of the future". The discussion begins with the physical experience of walking through ancient European cities versus modern North American ones, leading into a deep dive on how the wreckage of World War I birthed a radical new way of being human through design. The pair dissects the shift from the highly ornamented styles of the Neoclassical and Art Deco periods to the "less is more" philosophy of Mies van der Rohe. They also examine the economic and marketing forces that allowed the "International Style" to spread across the globe—driven by the prestige of American industry and the efficiency of new materials like glass, steel, and the curtain wall.

What makes design more than just construction or basic problem-solving? In this inaugural episode, co-hosts William and Luis reflect on their shared origins at McGill University in the late 1960s, growing up in households dominated by architecture, and the winding career paths that followed—from graphic design and legal practice to housing and research.

Together, they explore what distinguishes true design from mere utility, how constraints shape creative solutions, and why seeing the world through a design lens is a lifelong pursuit.

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