#458 - BRYAN ZABONICK, Vice President of Delivery at BQE
SUMMARY
This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design are joined by Bryan Zabonick, Vice President of Delivery at BQE. The three discussed Bryan’s professional background, tips to improve architecture business practice, fee structures, communicating with clients, contracts, invoices, budgets, managing overhead costs, architects undervaluing their service, and more. Enjoy!
ABOUT BRYAN
Bryan has over 15 years of experience assisting profession service firms in the Achitecture & Engineering sector optimize their business operations through technology, process improvement, and strategic guidance. Bryan has served as a consultant implementing enterprise firm software, worked as a Director of Operations for a professional service firm, and currently leads a team of software consulting professionals assisting customers implement new firm management solutions. His background and expertise span financial management, project management and accounting, and firm-wide process transformation.
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Bryan’s professional background.
(04:40) Improving business practices.
“The first thing I ask is, what's your time tracking? Do you track time? Do you have it in at least on a weekly basis? What is the expectation? I've worked with some firms where they stop entering time when they hit budget. That’s one of the worst things you can do to get visibility into your project and business. Because if they’re stopping when they hit the budget, they have no idea where and how much is overspent. This prevents us from [figuring out down the track], “Hey, last time we proposed $10,000, but we actually spent $12,000 of equivalent effort. Maybe we should propose [for more budget] on the next round and see if we can capture more revenue.” (06:05)
(14:05) Fixed fee vs hourly fees
(26:29) Contract & communicating with clients.
“We have to give our customer the roadmap. I use the analogy that the customer is the driver, and we are the passenger who has the map. They have no idea where we are going. They are relying solely on our expertise to navigate them through this process. A lot of clients don't know the different phases of a project, what to expect at each phase, or that there could be delays. It’s about setting a realistic expectation. [Otherwise, it’s as if the passenger who is guiding us suddenly says, “Oh, you're supposed to turn left now.” And you're three lanes over from where you're supposed to turn. You get anxious and you're like, “Oh my gosh, why don't you tell me that two miles ago? I could have merged over!” (28:04)
(31:30) Invoicing.
(37:52) When should businesses engage consultants?
(43:53) Cash flow vs profit.
(52:17) Scaling an office
“If you’re not tracking your win rate, it is hard to know what service lines you should invest in. If you’re winning 20% of projects from educational buildings and you’re winning 80% of projects on new high-rise buildings, you should maybe stop pursuing the educational projects and focus on the high-rise. Or you could take a step back and say, “What are we doing wrong on the educational design that is not having us win at a higher rate?” I can look at a balance sheet once a month and give you some metrics based on it. But what is ultimately driving the balance sheet and the firm’s success is what's happening on the projects. That's where I think you're doing the firm a disservice if you're not looking at that.” (56:18)
(58:16) Line of credit & reserves.
(01:02:11) Overhead costs.
(01:06:35) Architects undervalue service.
“[Architects] are afraid [of charging a high invoice amount]. They think, “I can't send that invoice to the client. They're not going to pay that.” They automatically start writing things off instead of sending the invoice. Maybe the client does pay, and if not, then you say, “Hey, I hear you. We want to be a good business partner to you. What if we knock that from $15,000 to $13,000?” The client is going to feel you just did them a favor because they see the favor. Because if the client doesn't know they're receiving the discount, it’s not there. You just hacked your bill rates and didn't really get the benefit of [the clients knowing you gave them a discount out of goodwill].” (01:11:25)
(01:14:17) Final advice.
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#457 - The Shift House: A Pre-Designed Pacific Palisades Fire-Rebuild Home
SUMMARY
This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design discuss The Shift House, their pre-designed model home for the Pacific Palisades. They cover the purpose of The Shift House, conceptual thinking, site planning, form and massing, indoor/outdoor connections, procession & privacy, optionality, material palettes, fire resiliency, and more. Enjoy!
Visit: https://www.famearchitects.com/shift-house-case-study-2
Contact: info@famearchitects.com
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Introduction.
(10:54) Design Approach.
(15:50) Site Planning & Indoor/Outdoor Connections.
(26:38) Entry & Privacy.
(34:07) Facade Design.
(37:48) Living Room & Mezzanine Space.
(44:04) Kitchen & Dining.
(47:39) Office.
(52:11) Second Floor Plan.
(56:29) Optionality & Material Palette.
(01:10:02) Design Process.
(01:17:18) Fire Resiliency.
(01:23:23) Closing Remarks
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#456 - ANA DURAN, Co-Principal of Estudio A0 & Assistant Professor at Yale School of Architecture
SUMMARY
This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design are joined by Ana Maria Duran Calisto, Co-Principal of Estudio A0 and Daniel Rose Visiting Assistant Professor at the Yale School of Architecture. The three discussed the shift in relationship between technology, culture and nature in architecture; the cultural background of South America; architecture and the Amazonia; the colonial and monocultural mindset; Ana’s educational background; shifting career paths; the University of Amazonia design competition; and more. Enjoy!
ABOUT ANA
Durán Calisto is co-principal at Estudio A0 and Visiting Assistant Professor at the Yale School of Architecture. She has taught at PUCE, Harvard, Pratt, Columbia, the University of Michigan, IAAC, Universidad Católica de Temuco, and UCLA. She is a PhD candidate at UCLA. In 2011 she was awarded a Loeb Fellowship and in 2024 a Public Voices Fellowship. In 2022 she received the Mark Cousins Theory award. She curated and designed the exhibition “Surfacing — The Civilised Agroecological Forests of Amazonia” for the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. She was co-awarded a Graham Foundation grant in 2024. Durán Calisto is a member of the Science Panel for the Amazon, a consultant for CAF and IDB, and was the advisor to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development of Ecuador on the national agenda for UN Habitat III. She has co-edited the books Ecological Urbanism in Latin America (2019) and Beyond Petropolis: Designing a Practical Utopia in Nueva Loja (2015). She publishes and lectures extensively, both nationally and internationally.
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Technology, Culture, and Nature in Architecture.
(05:19) Shift from Traditional to Modern Architecture Movement.
(13:13) Student Research Projects.
(17:43) Transitioning from research to project.
(21:42) Cultural background of South America.
(27:40) Feeling the split in the Amazonia.
(31:43) False belief that technology will be the savior.
“I feel that sometimes we have too much of a technocratic approach to everything, but that is changing as well. We're starting to realize that innovation is not needed only from the perspective of the materials and the construction systems, which, of course, demand immense quantities of innovation. And ironically, that innovation is stemming from revisiting vernacular architectures, which worked so well from the perspective of dealing with the environmental footprint of architecture. So that is important, and it should be stimulated, promoted, and supported in every single way. But we are also realizing that the soft aspect of architecture, such as policies and legalities, are important too.” (32:08)
(33:45) Awareness of Ecuador’s buffer zone.
“From an environmental planning perspective, I feel that we need to go back to the native origin and rethink it. These networks of original Americans, The First Nations, understood the benefits of each isotope at different levels with different ecologies, and they took full advantage. Native Americans have transformed nature profoundly, but from a perspective of synergy and not from a perspective of antagonism. They understood these ecological relationships well and made them even more abundant. They would exchange with each other, so they had this incredible diversity of products because they would occupy the whole transect, and that has been broken. Now you have thousands of hectares just of soybeans and thousands of hectares of just coffee. This monocultural mindset is very problematic.” (39:40)
(41:47) Colonial mindset.
(51:09) Ana's educational background.
(01:01:47) Exploring different career paths.
(01:13:44) University of Amazonia design competition.
“Unless we change the mentality, architecture is not going to change. That's how I felt as an architect. So why should I keep on doing architecture when the mentality is forcing a pathway that I don't believe in? So, I thought, I’ll do a PhD, find an advisor, and try to write books about what I think architecture means in Amazonia so that we don't keep destroying this place, because that's what we've been doing. We've been destroying Amazonia, imposing our paradigms upon these incredible landscapes, incredible ecosystems, and reducing them to nothing.” (01:18:02)
“The main architecture in Amazonia is the forest, because Amazonians think in terms of planting architecture, which is something that we definitely don’t do in the West. They think in terms of what is going to be needed because part of the equation of agriculture is construction. When you plant the architecture, there's a notion of generation and time. You're using the materials that were planted by another generation when they were planting the architecture for you. And I love that because it never loses the spirit of the forest. So, for the Amazonians, it's a living architecture that is part of the territory and is simply the same forest under a new form. There's no separation between Earth and architecture, between Earth and city. It's the territory under a new living form.” (01:21:22)
(01:23:41) Favorite buildings & part of the Amazon.
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#455 - VISITING NYC!
SUMMARY
This week David and Marina have a casual chat about their recent trip to New York. The two cover reuniting with the city, food, urbanism, traveling with a baby, the MoMA, food poisoning, and much more. Enjoy!
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#454 - THOMAS WOLTZ, Senior Principal of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects (NBW)
SUMMARY
This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design are joined by Thomas L. Woltz, Senior Principal of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects (NBW). The three discussed Thomas’s childhood influences; architecture & arts education; why he studied Master of Architecture; how landscape architects think differently; creating impact beyond your lifetime; landscape maintenance; pros & cons of private owned public spaces; research in landscape design; client alignment on project goals; challenging projects; and more. Enjoy!
ABOUT THOMAS
Thomas L. Woltz, Senior Principal of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects (NBW), leads the firm in the artful creation and revitalization of public landscapes. Working at the intersection of culture and ecology for the sustainability of the public realm, Thomas has led the expansion of NBW to include scientists and historians as integral contributors to the design of projects ranging from restoration ecology in large urban parks to post-industrial sites and educational campuses. Through this collaborative and cross-disciplinary approach, NBW’s designs reveal lost or erased histories in the landscape. The work of NBW now stretches across thirty states and twelve countries.
Thomas was educated at the University of Virginia and holds master’s degrees in landscape architecture and architecture as well as an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. In 2011, Thomas was invested into the American Society of Landscape Architects Council of Fellows, among the highest honors achieved in the profession and was named the Design Innovator of the Year by the Wall Street Journal Magazine. He has also received the American Horticultural Society Landscape Design Award and was recognized as one of the most creative people in business by Fast Company and with the Land for People Award by the Trust for Public Land. Woltz currently serves on the Boards of Directors of the Cultural Landscape Foundation.
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Thomas's Childhood.
(03:19) Architecture & Arts Education.
(05:12) Why get a Master’s of Architecture.
“I had a tremendous epiphany in Venice. I had always thought that landscape was meadows, forests, fields, and gardens. Then I was suddenly living in a city without streets, but rather canals, and without cars, but rather boats. A completely hard-edged city. There I was having fantastic landscape experiences every day. The spaces made by buildings were landscapes, and the more ephemeral qualities of echo, light, water, and the sounds of the city… those were all landscapes. I finally realized that designing the landscape is actually a highly artistic and abstract activity, where you are designing the human experience and the outdoors. And I thought, “Oh my gosh, that is so subtle and elegant and poetic and changes with the seasons.” Whereas a building is remarkably static.” (06:09)
(10:41) Landscape architects think differently.
“It is appalling how [landscape architects] are treated by some architects. The dismissiveness, and they still think we come in at the very end as if we were a beautification squad. They're missing what the profession could offer them as incredibly empowering tools of design to make buildings better. It's not that landscape architects are smarter; they just think entirely differently. Part of that is a nimbleness of mind, because landscape architecture is akin to three-dimensional chess, where you have to keep in mind so many different simultaneous layers. It's not just the design of an object; it's the design of a living system. There are just so many things to think about at once, and those things are only to a certain degree under your control. I think it's just a different way and scale of thinking.” (11:37)
(15:51) Impact beyond your lifetime.
“Helping connect people to what this landscape is doing, what it holds, the stories it tells, and that this isn't new. Connecting them to the functions of ecology, to the cultural history of land, starts to help build a coalition that bonds people and place. If that bond is strong enough, they will care for it. One of the things that haunts me is the lack of understanding of what a public landscape requires in maintenance. We defer maintenance all the time. There's a deep chasm in the understanding of what it takes to maintain and sustain a public landscape. So, we have to have stewards who stand up and say to their city council. You cannot cut the funding for maintaining our public park system. No, we have to stand up for the care of the natural world.” (18:05)
(20:43) Landscape maintenance.
(23:05) Pros & cons with privately owned public spaces.
“Privately owned public space is truly a problem. It’s a transactional result of a developer who wants to bend the rules or break the rules entirely, and they say, “Let me break the rule. Give me five more stories and I will give you 30 feet off the sidewalk.” Well, that 30ft off the sidewalk is essentially a lobby to their building. So, is it really public? No. No is the answer. It doesn't look public, it doesn't feel public. Why aren't our cities and city leadership saying we need to build the best possible public realm, and developers can come up around that or contribute to it? This deal of breaking rules to benefit the developer, to get a toenail hold of space for the public, it's not good space. It's just not a wise idea because the results are painfully mediocre.” (23:50)
(26:57) Researching the history of landscape and new landscape design.
(36:33) Client alignment on project goals.
(38:56) Challenging project.
(46:00) Favorite place.
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#453 - BALANCING HOBBIES AND ARCHITECTURE
SUMMARY
This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design discuss importance of having hobbies outside of architecture; making time for activities beyond architecture school; making passion into career; influence of external hobbies on architecture career; transitioning from school to work; nightmare stories; and more. Enjoy!
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Hobbies outside of Architecture.
“I found that having another craft to hone and to focus on was really important. It was like breathing… architecture was constantly inhaling, and music for me was like an exhale. It was the down to the up and I needed to be in that space. Did it inform my designs as a student? Does it inform how we think about architectural design today? Yes, it does. But I think more from an emotional and creative regulation standpoint, it was critical more for those purposes. I would not have sacrificed my time in the orchestras for more architecture at all.” (01:18)
(11:16) Importance of activities outside architecture school.
“Hobbies of any level, either high-commitment or small, enjoyable things, are very important. If you love plants and you like taking care of plants for three hours on the weekend, make sure you do that. Anything that brings you enjoyment, peace, and makes you feel good is some sort of hobby, and it’s crucial to exist. It doesn't matter how busy you are with your job; you should always find a little room for those things. Because I do believe that if you skip them, at some point, it accumulates. Your emotion, exhaustion, ability to think creatively, be social, or be in a good mood just degrade.” (13:56)
(17:53) Making passion into a career.
“The thing (hobby) that was just for you is no longer just for you. Because as soon as you have to make money for it, that means someone’s paying you for it, and now it’s about them. That’s the problem with [turning passion into a career]... You start worrying about the buyers, the market, the listeners, the clients, and you have to think about them to survive. But if you're an artist, do you really care about the people buying your work? It's naive to say that if you love architecture, then have your own practice so you could do architecture all the time, and that will equal a much greater chance of happiness. It's not true. Architecture is tough. You can't do architecture without clients who have a lot of money and without a good team. There's a lot of other stuff that has to fall into place for you to do work that makes you happy.” (18:57)
(22:56) Influence of passion on architecture career.
“A consistent trait in some of the most interesting and successful people in and outside of the architecture industry is that they produce things that are somehow a mixture of elements that you wouldn't expect to be together. There's something about their background, experience, and education that is a little bit different. Those spices mix together to make something special. Sometimes it's obvious, and other times it's very, very subtle. It’s very easy to make the mistake of dedicating too much time to architecture… because rich architecture is informed by a deep understanding of life, people, landscape, and everything else, so, if you're not out in the world experiencing those things to a degree, then it's really difficult for you to make astute observations about a site, a place, and people to then create great architecture.” (23:56)
(26:44) School vs Work.
(39:39) Transitioning from school to work.
(46:06) Nightmare stories.
(52:39) Making time for hobbies.
“Having a hobby is also another way for architects to connect with another body of people who are not architects. One of the risks of our profession is that, in the end, you only end up being surrounded by architects. So having another arm out there that's reaching out to a different pocket of people and communities is very healthy.” (59:09)
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#452 - JESS FIELD, Principal And Co-Founder of Field Architecture
SUMMARY
This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design are joined by Jess Field, Principal and Co-Founder of Field Architecture. The three discussed Jess’s architecture influence and education; the founding of Field architecture; evolution of technology in architecture; limitations of computer software in design; Jess’s early career; managing & scaling architecture office; communicating experimentation to clients; and more. Enjoy!
ABOUT JESS
Jess Field is the co-founder of Field Architecture, an architectural practice built on his father Stan Field’s sole proprietorship. Led by Jess, FIELD is dedicated to creating buildings that foster a deep connection between people and the natural world. Jess received his Master of Architecture degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and is a registered architect in California, Colorado, Idaho, and Hawaii.
Drawing on his South African roots and the landscapes that shaped his childhood, Jess’s work blends art and practicality to craft spaces that create a powerful sense of place and belonging with their host environments. His approach, which integrates the landscape with thoughtful design details, aims to engage users with the unique qualities of their surroundings. His portfolio spans single-family residences, cultural projects, and community spaces across Northern California, the American West, and South Africa, with a design philosophy rooted in careful observation, sustainable practices, and a deep respect for the natural world.
Honors include American Institute of Architects awards at the local, state, and national levels. Interior design, Progressive Architecture Awards, and the Architecture MasterPrize for mid-sized firm of the year, which was awarded at the Guggenheim in Bilbao in November 2024. His work has been featured in top publications, including Architectural Record, Dwell, Metropolis, The New York Times, and Wallpaper. Jess has lectured at the AIA, the Monterey Design Conference, and leading academic institutions; he regularly serves as a visiting critic.
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Jess's architecture influence.
(04:11) Architecture education.
(10:17) Field Architecture's founding.
“Instead of just designing the house, Stan Field approach design using the ‘rules of engagement with the land’. It aims to answer this broader question of how do we participate in a dialog with the natural environment in a meaningful way? He established two rules. First rule is that no boulder should be moved. The second rule was no boulder can be touched by any manmade structure. The building inevitably makes these amazing leaps and spans to avoid these rocks, and these giant rocks end up being partially outside the house, or sometimes inside the house with a skylight over it. The whole thing feels like a human nest in nature in a way that's just so intertwined.” (14:43)
(17:11) Evolution of tools in architecture.
(25:58) Incorporating technology into architecture design.
“All of these technology and tools that we use in architecture are not so much a way to create an end result on their own, as much as they're helpful for creating a feedback cycle. They allow us to have this iterative cycle to test things and see how it will perform to get a better idea of what kind of a spatial condition that's going to create. We then follow the aspects of it that are working best and find new solutions for the ones that aren't.” (30:01)
(31:30) Limitations of using computer software to design.“
Sometimes I draw, and I don't even know what I'm drawing. There's something powerful to this sense of discovery in the process of dragging graphite across the tooth of a paper in a direction that's not pre envisioned. In the computer, we have to think a little bit more definitively. It takes mathematical precision to know what we're trying to create. There's an element of allowing something to emerge from a deeper set of experiences within our mental landscape to come forward through this process of exploration, that particularly in the early stages of a design, is really hard to replace. It's very intimate, quick and fluid. The hand has this knowing that we can later reinforce in the most powerful of ways through the computer.” (33:12)
(36:34) Jess's early career.
(43:00) Field Architecture office.
(48:52) Managing office size & staff development.
(55:02) Scaling office & maintaining quality.
(58:57) Communicating experimentation to clients.
“We build on the connection that we have with the homeowners and landowners who come to us wanting to work on a special piece of land. We use that shared love for the place to try and figure out together what the right solution is for that place. What I really enjoy is to help clients find out what their superpower is, that can be relevant to the project and engage them so they feel like they can really bring what they're good at to that goal of discovering the right solution.” (01:01:42)
(01:07:46) Field Architecture projects.
“We try to develop in earnest, the most comprehensive and deep understanding of what a place is all about, not only regionally, but specific to that site. Its cultural history, its natural history, its building techniques and even getting to know the subcontractors and the trades over there. What are they really good at? How does things come together with a sense of place that we can extend and give a new identity to, without replacing the built-in knowledge of what already has been shown over hundreds of years to work as a response to that environment.” (01:16:06)
(01:17:57) Jess's favorite building.
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#451 - THE VALUE OF DIVERSE PROJECT EXPERIENCE
SUMMARY
This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design discuss the value of having different project experiences. They touched on working in different offices; project types in architecture school; how long to stay at an office; office fit & alignment; diverse project experiences; large vs small offices; the ideal first 10 years of an architecture career; changing office & pay raise; and more. Enjoy!
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Working in different offices.
(01:44) Project types in architecture school.
(07:56) How long to stay at an office.
(13:37) When to leave an office.
“How would I know when I should leave an office? Knowing when to trust your gut, I think that's hard to do when you're young. When you're working at your first office, you probably have a lot of feelings and thoughts about what is right and wrong in the office, but do you trust yourself and your opinions when it's your first job? Not as much as if you were an experienced person. Young architects think, “What do I know? Maybe all offices function this way. Maybe this is normal. Maybe it's okay that we're working late hours all the time. Maybe it's standard that the design quality is not there.” Architecture students are smart, and I think they should trust themselves more often because their intuition is right. When you're that young, though, the difficulty is knowing at what point is it enough wrongness to leave an office.” (13:39)
(20:13) Office fit & alignment.
“Everyone, even if you've just graduated or you're still in school, needs to think about what your larger career goals are. I'm not saying you must have those goals written in stone, and they're never going to change. But having those in the back of your mind and always thinking about them and tinkering on them as you move forward is important. Because it's very easy to let years go by and you realize, “I've never actually done the thing that I was first interested in, or I'd never have completed this learning objective I had.” So always having that career goal in the back of your mind is important.” (20:50)
(29:03) Diverse project experience.
“Seeing all the different colors of project types is super helpful for your own creative skills to be able to problem solve and create. It stimulates things a bit more than if you're always playing in the same field with the same tools, because that's when repetition happens. Getting curveballs thrown at you all the time just makes you more resilient and potentially more desirable for clients and offices because you have a broader understanding and approach to things. It doesn't mean that you can't be an expert at things if you know multiple of them. I feel like there is more creativity in someone who has more diverse experience than someone who doesn't.” (29:40)
“It's good to have a taste of all the different people and processes out there. It tells you what is right and what is wrong in a way that is more truthful, because you've seen a big sampling of how it's done. The danger for people who have only worked at one place is that they think that's how it's done, and that is the way. Oftentimes, that is not the only way, and that might not be the way at all it should be done.” (38:48)
(41:48) Large vs small scale design.
(50:44) Large vs small office.
“I love and hate big offices. I love it because I love the energy and the complexity. I just love the idea of things being productive. An office with 100 people and everybody's working on creating, building, and solving things, it’s just super exciting. At the same time, I hate all the politics that come with big offices. The initiatives, promotions…let's call it ‘bullshit’ that needs to be there. If the office is composed of different studios and everybody has their team, you're all working for the same company but you're all competing against each other. I don't like that at all.” (52:12)
(57:17) Ideal 10 years of architecture career.
(59:07) Changing office impact on pay.
“Switching around offices when you're younger is a good way to jump up in the pay rate a little bit quicker than if you are staying at the same place for a few years. Once you stay at the same office for a few years, your promotion rate is only a few percent of your pay, so that never really makes up for the difference if you were to switch offices. Changing offices is the fastest way to get a decent pay rise.” (59:46)
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#450 - DAN RUBINSTEIN, Host and Creator of The Grand Tourist Podcast
SUMMARY
This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design are joined by Dan Rubinstein, Host and creator of The Grand Tourist podcast. The three discussed Dan’s career in journalism; change in media production; design field crossovers in media; shift to personality economy; future of journalism & media; hosting The Grand Tourist; common traits of successful people; career exploration freedom constraints; future vision for The Grand Tourist; and more. Enjoy!
ABOUT DAN
For more than 25 years, Dan Rubinstein has been a writer, editor, and consultant based in New York specializing in design, art, and culture. His podcast, The Grand Tourist with Dan Rubinstein, recently began its 11th season of in-depth episodes that explore the worlds of art, design, style, and travel. Prior to The Grand Tourist, he was the Home & Design Director at Departures and the Editor-in-Chief of Surface. A New York native, Rubinstein began his career at the interiors department of Condé Nast’s House & Garden.
The Grand Tourist with Dan Rubinstein explores the greatest tastemakers in the world of luxury today, from world-class chefs to experimental architects. In the show, Rubinstein uses his unique design lens to explore the worlds of fashion, art, interior design, travel, food, and culture. The program is available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Dan's childhood.
(09:26) Early career in journalism.
(17:00) Change in media production.
(24:10) Design fields crossover in media.
(33:38) Shift from design to personality economy.
“It's a personality economy. This runs through everything. Whether it’s design, journalism, art, or politics, it’s personality driven. It's not policy driven. It's not ideas driven. The discourse is not as focused on the work, it's focused on the people. That can be a detriment.” (34:45)
(43:10) Future of journalism & media.
“In art and design, fashion and lifestyle, and architecture, we need something permanent. There's a reason why the Rizzoli monograph is more popular than ever. There's a reason why the book is so sexy, cool and desirable because it's real and because people work on them for years and there's a quality to everything about it. Without the ability to commission new work, [digital journalists] aren't needed. At the end of the day, people will be able to just plug in press releases into an AI algorithm and have these 300-word stories written. We have to compete against all of that. So, I'm trying to run in the opposite direction as fast as I can. It's easier, more successful, fruitful and fulfilling for me to do that than trying to compete with the deluge of digital information, which is increasingly unprofitable.” (45:10)
(49:17) Hosting the Grand Tourist.
(56:53) First issue of the Grand Tourist.
(01:05:40) Common traits of successful people.
“A lot of successful people weren't so focused on success. They were just focused on the experience and doing something new, taking chances and taking risks. They are often trans disciplinary designer, meaning their photography hobby is used directly as a part of their creative process in architecture, for example. I think the people who are the most transdisciplinary and the most unique in the way that they think, the way they approach their life, their clients and their opportunities are the ones that are successful and really make it to be of an interesting person. That's a big part of what makes someone an amazing designer, artist or creative.” (01:08:33)
“If you're a young architect and you are not sure what you want to do, maybe you still want to be an architect, or you are working for a firm. If there’s an opportunity for you to join the Peace Corps and volunteer in Africa for a year, for example, that's not necessarily going to kill your architecture career. It could be the exact thing that your architecture career needs. Outside stimulus, some things that happen in your life that makes you see the world in a different way. Appreciate things differently. Think about things differently. I think that's key, no matter who you are or what you do. So many people I talked to have projects where someone was like, “Oh, that's crazy, but I'm going to do it anyway.” It’s very important for your growth as a person.” (01:10:55)
(01:14:43) Career exploration freedom constraints.
(01:20:53) Future vision for Grand Tourist.
“The era of worrying about, “Is it about social media? Is about TikTok? Is it about this? Is about that? What's new? What's hot? What's gone?” That doesn't matter anymore. It's about the message, not the medium. I think that’s the future. It’s important to be open minded because you will go insane trying to predict the future. Who knows what will happen in the next four years or even one week? So, let's just stick to conveying the message rather than chasing trends.” (01:23:17)
(01:24:05) Dan's favorite Grand Tourist episode.
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#449 - YOU NEED CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION
SUMMARY
This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design discuss the importance of Construction Administration to achieve a successful project. They touched on what is construction administration, the role of an architect during CA; why CA matters for clients; how CA saves time and money; real world scenarios during CA; what construction administration is not; questions to ask architect about CA; collaboration between architect and contractor; and more. Enjoy!
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) What is Construction Administration?
(07:11) Role of Architect during CA.
(12:48) Construction Documents vs Shop Drawings.
(18:07) Pay application & change order.
(22:19) Manage design adjustments.
(25:19) Punch list final review.
(32:01) Why architects are important in construction Administration.
(41:46) Real-life issues during CA.
(47:07) What CA is not.
(53:29) CA is not optional.
(57:05) CA Architect & contractor mutual relationship.
(01:03:00) CA is an important phase.
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#448 - DAVID WEEKS, Founder of David Weeks Studio
SUMMARY
This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design are joined by David Weeks, founder of David Weeks Studio. The three discussed David’s artistic childhood and education; studying sculpture and painting; influence of art education on design career; working with Ted Muehling; starting a studio as a lighting designer; artists and creators priced out; progression of lighting career and studio growth; discovery in design and art; David Weeks Studio design style; minimalism done well; and more. Enjoy!
ABOUT DAVID
Widely regarded as the founding father of North American lighting design, David Weeks has been a pioneering figure in Brooklyn’s burgeoning independent design movement since his studio's early roots in Dumbo. His genre-defining work is the result of a distinctly hands-on, sculptural process that explores scale and proportion, balance, and movement. A native of Athens, Georgia, David studied sculpture and painting at the Rhode Island School of Design before founding his eponymous Brooklyn, NY studio in 1996.
In addition to lighting, Weeks creates furniture, textiles, home goods, and wooden toys with partners, including Roll&Hill, Moroso, Tala, Habitat, and Areaware, among others. His award-winning pieces have been exhibited in Milan, Paris, London, and New York and are installed in high-profile commercial locations and private collections worldwide. Most recently, Weeks was awarded the esteemed Rolland Rome Prize in design, leading to a six-month fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. Weeks has recently opened the doors to a new studio in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn – near the creative current of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) David's childhood & education.
(09:10) Studying sculpture and painting.
“I think painting is the only thing you can do where you can destroy and create at the same moment. You can fuck it up and get this great edge. I think designing back in the earlier days, you start from scratch, and you try not to be distracted by what it should be or what you think it's going to be, or even the dimensions. There’s a point where I stopped using the ruler all the time. I’d draw the drawing just by eye to make it look the way I want it to look and then apply scale to it at the end.” (11:25)
(12:34) Art education influence on career & living in New York.
(18:20) Early career & working with Ted Muehling.
(25:37) Starting a studio & becoming a lighting designer.
(36:17) Artists and creators priced out.
“What separated the successful people from the not-so-successful ones is that they were able to come up with an idea, create it, and make money on it, so they survived. Otherwise, you can make something nice, but the powder coating would cost too much, and it wasn't really a compelling piece to start with, or it looked too much like an Ikea product. The product has to be elevated to a degree, but you also have to be economical in how it’s produced.” (48:27)
(40:37) Progression of lighting career.
(49:05) Challenges of studio growth.
(58:37) Discovery in design and art.
“You want to make a form, so you take a piece of paper and a pair of scissors, cut it a certain way, and it holds a certain way. There's this sort of discovery, even if I drew what I thought it was going to be in the beginning, there's no way you can predict the curves perfectly or how the form will turn out with each cut. It's a tactile experience when designing that way. I think it's hard for people to grasp. Some employees or designers I worked with in the past would say, “We can't do that because it looks like this, or that's going to fall over.” But I think we can solve that problem when that time comes. I don't want to not try to make something because an issue might happen. There's an aspect of suspending disbelief or just faith that I trust that my abilities will solve that problem.” (59:58)
(01:05:25) In house production & hidden elements.
“It's nice to take to look at yourself and be proud of the things you’ve created. But it's also remarkable to make something and never see it again. At one point, David Byrne bought some Chandlers from us, and everybody in the studio wrote messages on the inside of the hubs, like, “Hey, we love your music.” And then we closed them up and he'll never know.” (01:08:19)
(01:11:01) David Weeks Studio design style.
(01:16:42) Favorite industrial design piece.
(01:18:25) What's next for David Weeks?
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#447 - ADAM YARINSKY, Principal of Architecture Research Office (ARO)EmbedEdit
SUMMARY
This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design are joined by Adam Yarinsky, FAIA and Principal of Architecture Research Office (ARO). They discussed Adam’s architecture childhood dream; education and master’s research; urban design vs Architecture; starting the ARO office; evolution of ARO’s design approach; office structure & value of consultants; mentorship; ARO office monograph; challenges facing the profession; importance of research in Architecture projects; and more. Enjoy!
ABOUT ADAM
Adam Yarinsky, FAIA, is Principal of Architecture Research Office (ARO). He holds an undergraduate degree in Architecture from the University of Virginia and a Master of Architecture from Princeton University. He has served as the Eliel Saarinen Professor at the University of Michigan, the Thomas Jefferson Professor at the University of Virginia, and the Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor at Yale University. He has also taught at Harvard University, Princeton University, Syracuse University, Parsons the New School for Design, and Washington University in St. Louis. Adam has lectured widely throughout the United States and abroad. His writing has appeared in A+U, The Architect’s Newspaper, 306090, Dimensions, Places Journal, and elsewhere. Adam served on the board of Places Journal and the University of Virginia School of Architecture Dean’s Advisory Board.
ARO is the New York City firm united by their collaborative process, commitment to accountable action, and social and environmental responsibility. Research gives their work purpose and intention. Their architecture unites beauty and form with strategy and intelligence. Their office designs spaces that inspire people, further institutional missions, and advance equity and resilience. This philosophy has earned the firm over one hundred design awards including the 2020 AIA Architecture Firm Award, the AIA New York State Firm of the Year Award, and the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for Architecture.
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Adam's childhood and education.
(16:03) Urban design vs Architecture.
(24:26) Starting ARO office.
(28:48) Evolution of ARO design approach.
“We think about architecture expansively in terms of a diverse range of work, but holistically within each project, in terms of scale, and then relationally in terms of everything we make has some relationship to something else. It's not thought of as an object in and of itself, even though it may be perceived that way. So, how we think about the expansive aspect of architecture is reflected in some of ARO’s research projects, whether it's the scale of a detail or an element, all the way to a larger-scale urban project.” (31:40)
(37:28) ARO office structure & consultants.
“Collaborators who are specialists generally really like to work with us because we don't come in and say, 'We have a formal idea, and we need you to make it look like this.’ Rather, they have an expertise, and we think about how to engage that in the service of the ideas that we're exploring in the project. So there's a process of co-creation. It's a close collaboration, and we’re deeply involved.” (39:06)
(40:12) Consultants and teamwork
(49:07) ARO office monograph.
“Use and experience are important to us. I have always taken for granted that if you have an idea in architecture, it should be something that someone can understand directly through the building. Rafael Minio has this amazing text called “The Solitude of Buildings”. It's from the mid-80s, but it's basically about when you create a building, and when it’s done, it's out there, external to the architect. They are not there to explain it to anyone. It takes on a life of its own. So, design for use and experience is about how the qualities of light or the orientation of a site, etc., allow you just to, without interpretation,to understand the intent of the project and have it be meaningful.” (56:01)
(57:25) Challenges facing the architecture profession.
“I think it's a real challenge to communicate what makes architecture relevant and impactful. It's not simply an aesthetic exercise. It's not a form of criticism in and of itself. It's about offering alternative, potential realities and transforming the status quo in a positive way. A lot of times, architects, by virtue of their training, sometimes conflate composition with design or form with idea. We have our own fetishization of things that we're interested in. So, I think we should be mindful of that. One can certainly appreciate and lavish attention on making form, because that's what we do, but how is it in the service of something more? That's where the relational side matters; the reciprocity that a building has with its place, time and people.” (58:51)
(01:00:52) Research is important in architecture.
(01:05:22) Project type that Adam would like to do.
(01:07:31) Favorite buildings.
“Although the field of architecture today is much broader than when I was a student, the sense that you're a generalist is important on some level. Because with specialization, there's this siloing that tends to happen, and we shouldn't just be delegating things to others. We need to be figuring out how to synthesize all the information into something that's impactful and meaningful in its totality. That's ultimately the role of the architect, and that requires knowing what you don't know, knowing what kinds of questions to ask, having experience, and being highly collaborative.” (01:12:18)
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#446 - ZACH FORREST, Executive Vice President of Goodman Gable Gould
SUMMARY
This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design are joined by Zach Forrest, Executive Vice President of Goodman Gable Gould Adjusters International. The three discussed the roles of a public adjuster; why hire a public adjuster; process of engaging a public adjuster; documenting lost estimates; insurance claim timeline; insurance claims discrepancy; insurance coverage; relocating & insurance claim; common insurance payout practice; client advice for working with public adjuster; and more. Enjoy!
ABOUT ZACH
Zach Forrest, Executive Vice President, has spent his entire business career assisting policyholders as a licensed public adjuster. Zach has been extensively involved with all aspects of real and personal property & time element losses on commercial and residential claims. Mr. Forrest, who is licensed to adjust claims in nineteen states and the District of Columbia, is an integral member of the GGG Team and has been the lead adjuster for many significant property claims. Zach has a tremendous roster of repeat and satisfied clients and is well-versed in all matters of claim preparation, policy and coverage, and loss evaluation and negotiation.
Zach is a native of New York, and a graduate of The George Washington University in Washington, DC.
TIMESTAMPS
(00:32) What does a public adjuster do?
“In a nutshell, we are advocates for policyholders that have sustained an insured loss, so we help represent their interests and guide them through the insurance adjustment process. We assist both commercial clients and residential homeowners who have sustained a damage.” (00:54)
(04:06) Why hire a public adjuster?
“Where we are different is that we solely represent policyholders. We only work on behalf of the insured. Homeowners and business owners need to make sure that their interests are being protected; that they know what coverages are available to them, and what is the standard operating procedure for a claim. So, we fill in that void to help them navigate through the claim and assist in leveling the playing field. Because insurance companies hire many different consultants on their side of the ledger to assist them in measuring the loss to the structure, the business interruption, and the loss of income. We do the same on behalf of our clients to make sure that everybody is on a level playing field and adhering to the terms and conditions of the policy.” (05:14)
(07:10) When to engage a public adjuster.
“Having open conversations with an insurance company might have consequences on your claim. You might accidentally stumble into something that could have coverage repercussions. Whereas having a sounding board, such as a public adjuster, we can have conversations and weigh options without the consequences of an insurance company reacting to any and everything that is said. Because ultimately, insurance claims are business transactions. If you're having a multi-million-dollar business transaction, you'd be silly not to bring in a professional in that field to help guide and walk you through that process to make sure that you're not being taken advantage of, and that the transaction is fair for all sides.” (09:30)
(12:11) Process of engaging a public adjuster.
(18:25) Documenting loss estimate.
(25:37) Timeline of insurance claim.
“The adjustment phase is where the insurance company and public adjuster visit the site to measure the extent of the loss and damage. A period of restoration phase is established for the claim, starting from the date of the loss and ends when the property should be restored using due diligence and dispatch. Taking into consideration permitting timelines, time frame to draft plans or drawings for permitting purposes, all that gets baked into the cake. For the Los Angeles and Palisades Fire victims, those timelines are significantly expanded because of the limited availability of contractors and materials.” (26:46)
(27:39) Discrepancy between insurance estimates and outcome.
(33:55) Code upgrades insurance claim.
(38:04) Design fees insurance coverage.
“The insurance company often does not include design fees upfront. They just tell the owner to send the invoice for what's incurred and that's their way of auditing what was spent. But if architectural fees are 10 to 12% of construction costs and it’s a multimillion-dollar house, who would lay out six figures to pay an architect, if the insurance companies aren’t paying upfront? So, our strategy is to get either a quote from an architect or use a percentage of the construction estimate, and factor it into the loss settlement on the front end to give our clients the flexibility to hire an architect and not have to worry about fronting those costs. Even worse, what if an insurance company audited and says, “We're only going to pay a 50% of what you're actually paying.” The client might be on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars if not more, through no fault of their own.” (40:50)
(47:41) Construction cost estimate metric.
(50:44) Relocating & insurance claim.
(52:20) Common insurance payout practice.
(55:00) Client advice for working with public adjuster.
“There should be one voice on the claim, and that should be the public adjuster. You don't want the insurance companies shopping opinions from different parties or having the client convey information that could unintentionally impact their claim. Oftentimes we find that when clients are having a conversation with an insurance company, they think they're talking to the police. They just start word vomiting. Our company's been around for 80 years, and we have a tried-and-true method to get great results for our clients. That doesn't mean we can't be flexible and amend our process to meet our client's needs. But for the most part, letting your public adjuster handle the communication with the insurance company and be the primary conduit for communication back and forth between two sides leads to the most effective outcome.” (55:38)
(58:25) Negotiating cost estimates.
(01:02:08) Insurance payout tax.
(01:05:26) Rebuilding cost inflation cover.
(01:07:26) Multiple professionals in insurance claim.
(01:11:11) Like-for-like rebuild grey area.
(01:16:24) Memorable insurance claim.
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#445 - BEHIND THE SCENES OF SECOND STUDIO PODCAST
SUMMARY
This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design discuss the behind the scenes of running the Second Studio Podcast. The two discussed the Second Studio Podcast dynamic; behind the scenes of the guest episodes; work life balance of architecture and podcast; authenticity in podcast; enjoyment as podcast host; dealing with social media audience; the architecture discourse; creating systems; advice on starting an architecture podcast; and more. Enjoy!
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) The Second Studio Podcast dynamic.
(10:29) Guest episodes behind the scenes.
(14:43) Work-life balance of architecture and podcast.
“Setting a schedule and having a regular pattern is key. If you have your own business and you're trying to start a podcast, it’s important to allocate a specific time to do it, make sure that you're going to do it, and that it doesn't impact everything else in the office. You have to create boundaries and partition between things. You have to ‘Severance’ yourself according to the schedule you've created.” (16:08)
(20:24) Authenticity in podcast.
(23:38) Enjoyment as a podcast host.
(26:10) Dealing with social media audience.
(38:15) Architecture discourse through the podcast.
“What is the biggest problem facing architecture today? It’s the fact that no one outside of architects understands, cares, or values what we do. That's the biggest problem. It's not just a problem for the profession, it's a problem for the world because architects, I fundamentally believe, do have a lot of value to provide in terms of beauty, design, and sustainability. And if people don't understand that, that's a massive problem. It's something that's not thought about and not interrogated in a rigorous manner.” (45:52)
(48:28) Creating systems.
“The other thing that was key for us very early on was to create systems. In the studio, we have certain things that are always there and set up. You just have to be organized. It's the key to anything. It makes your life easier because then you don't have to think about all of those things when time comes. So, creating systems from the beginning, like folder structure, graphics, website, etc. Once you set it up, it's always the same. You make it once, and you repeat it, and that's it. Then it gives you time to focus on just the content, and you don't have to worry about any of that logistical stuff.” (48:46)
“It seems counterintuitive that you would create a hardcore structure to have freedom. But you need to have that structure to have freedom. Especially now we have so much stuff to deal with technology-wise, and everything's more complex. You could be the 1 in 1,000,000, but if you don't want to make that bet, then to be successful, you have to have those hyper-structured systems and organizations in place for the creativity to be there.” (50:07)
(52:07) Architecture office and podcast symbiotic relationship.
(56:17) Advice on starting an architecture podcast.
“If you allow the goal of achieving wild success to be the goal and motivation [for running a podcast], then you're not going to succeed. The motivation has to be the joy of doing it. The pursuit of happiness is not necessarily the end product. The happiness is in the process of doing it.” (57:13)
(01:02:25) Second Studio podcast structure.(48:28) Creating systems.
“The other thing that was key for us very early on was to create systems. In the studio we have certain things that are always there and set up. You just have to be organized. It's the key to anything. It makes your life easier because then you don't have to think about all of those things when time comes. So, creating systems from the beginning, like folder structure, graphics, website, etc. Once you set it up, it's always the same. You make it once, and you repeat it, and that's it. Then it gives you time to focus on just the content, and you don't have to worry about any of that logistical stuff.” (48:46)
“It seems counterintuitive that you would create a hardcore structure to have freedom. But you need to have that structure to have freedom. Especially now we have so much stuff to deal with technology-wise, and everything's more complex. You could be the 1 in 1,000,000, but if you don't want to make that bet, then to be successful, you have to have those hyper-structured systems and organizations in place for the creativity to be there.” (50:07)
(52:07) Architecture office and podcast symbiotic relationship.
(56:17) Advice on starting an architecture podcast.
“If you allow the goal of achieving wild success to be the goal and motivation [for running a podcast], then you're not going to succeed. The motivation has to be the joy of doing it. The pursuit of happiness is not necessarily the end product. The happiness is in the process of doing it.” (57:13)
(01:02:25) Second Studio podcast structure.