Episodes

What’s it really like to work in architecture? The hosts of Archispeak know, and they’re here to share real-life experiences. Since 2012 architects Evan Troxel and Cormac Phalen have been podcasting their brand of real talk on everything from design, tools, and work/life balance to generational differences, mentoring, job hunting, and more. Probing questions, revelatory interviews, and unique insights have grown their audience and become a weekly ritual for students and seasoned professionals alike.

#85 - Go Punch Some Architecture

In episode 85 of Archispeak, we asks our listeners, "What keeps you going?" Architecture is a difficult profession, so what is it? Do you love the process? Is it the challenge? Join us as we explore capital 'A' architecture and discover that our architectural relationship status is: "It's complicated."

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#84 - Dawn of Pann

Have you ever wanted to start your own architectural firm? If so, then you will want to listen to this episode of Archispeak. Join us as we lay back on the psychiatric couch and analyze the realities of being your own boss and discuss the difficult decision of going back to working at a firm.

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#83 - Goals

Archispeak episode 83 is all about goals. We begin the show with a discussion about completing a company performance review then explore the importance of writing down your goals and the difference between personal and professional goals. - "You have to know where you are going in order to get there." 

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#82 - Your Ad Here

Is the architectural website a 21st century business card? Do you even need one to market your architectural practice? Listen to episode 82 of Archispeak as we explore these questions and discuss who owns the documentation and imagery of the projects you have worked on.

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#81 - Refer to Structural

Season 4 begins! What's the most common architectural note on a set of plans? "Refer to Structural." In episode 81, Archispeak explores the value of a good engineer and discusses how to get their best work out of them.

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#80 - F%$k Working Hard

How hard do you work? So much so that you have made yourself physically sick? What is it about the profession of architecture that makes us practically kill ourselves and be proud that we have done it? Lay back on the psychiatric couch and join Archispeak as we explore this concept and discuss jobs that will make you miserable.

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#79 - Glamour Shots

Two for one! In Episode 79, Archispeak tackles two topics. The first is inspired from a listener question asking about doing their own house projects. After we discuss the rewards and pitfalls of that, we dive into the ethics of manipulated architectural photography.

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#78 - 2015 Year in Review

Join Archispeak as we relive our adventures from 2015 including our most commented upon episodes, shoutouts from notable publications and our attendance at a couple of conferences which contributed to a reawakening of our design soul. Also, a huge "thank you" to our listeners who help make Archispeak possible.

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#77 - Gifts for Architects 3.0

Archispeak is back with our third year of Gifts for Architects! This time we take the opportunity to gift ourselves some items that your favorite architect just might like as well. Check out the show notes for links to all of the gifts mentioned on the show and don't forget to order your Archispeak t-shirt. Happy Holidays from Archispeak!

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#76 - Holidays Are Like Hurricanes

Do you eat, sleep, and breathe architecture? Join Archispeak as we slip into those stretchy pants (post Thanksgiving) to explore the chaos that is architecture and the holiday schedule.

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#75 - The Chili Man

Archispeak Episode 75 dives deep covering several topics centered around the studio and office environment. We discuss the evolving world of sketching with new tools such as Apple's new iPad Pro and Apple Pencil (Check out Cormac's examples in the Show Notes), music, fashion and new hire hazing rituals. We even mix in some office competitions, with Cormac winning his office's big Chili Cook Off! 

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#74 - The Future of Architecture

It's the future, stupid! Do architects have the mindset to deal with the future? In Archispeak episode 74 we discuss the challenges architects face and what changes we expect to face in the next several years. What is the role of the architect in the future? Listen in to find out.

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#73 - Presentation Skills

Our words matter. Presentations. Interviews. Meetings. We are either selling ourselves (and/or our expertise, process and services) to get the job in the first place, or we are selling the work we are in the midst of doing in the form of charrettes and presentations in-house. Listen to Episode #73 of Archispeak as we discuss presentation skills that will help you craft and deliver messages that resonate with audiences.

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#72 - [EQxD]

Archispeak welcomes back Rosa T. Sheng, Architect and Senior Associate with Bohlin Cywinski Jackson to discuss Equity. Rosa updates us on the progress and impact she and her team have had on the architectural profession. Join us for an enlightening episode how one person can change the world one bite at a time.

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#71 - The Role of the Designer

In episode 71, join Archispeak for a spirited conversation discussing the role of the Designer. While generally thought of as the "fun" part of the architectural profession, the Designer is the one that puts their work up on the wall for everyone to see, criticize, tear apart and comment on. The Designer gets to hear how they did it wrong and listen to how all the armchair quarterbacks would have done it. Putting it out there might actually be the toughest part of the job.

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#70 - All About Design

Archispeak welcomes Alice Kimm of John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects to talk about the upcoming Monterey Design Conference (MDC). Listen in to learn more about the MDC, the setting and the speakers appearing at this unique conference that is, all about design.

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!
In Tags

#69 - The Cormac Show

Is anything real? Architecture is real, which is what makes it so good to watch. In Episode 69, Archispeak turns the camera upon itself to discuss the very real life experiences of changing jobs and remembers what it is like on the first day in a new office.

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#68 - Office Space

In episode 68 of Archispeak we discuss the signs that maybe your current job is not the right one (hint: if you're not fulfilled, that's a clue) and if not, how to leave it. Join us for a lively discussion and don't forget to put a coversheet on your TPS reports before they go out. That'd be great. All right!

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#67 - 40 to Life

Are you just starting your career and don't know if you're ready to 'marry' yourself to a niche in the architectural profession? Inspired by a listener, Episode 67 of Archispeak explores the questions that face many new practitioners when it comes to selecting a firm at which to work and/or considering moving to another firm. Join us as we chase the dream of finding your place in architecture.

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!

#66 - House Plans

Archispeak returns to discuss the subject of Episode 29 - Plans "Я" Us, which is the most commented episode of the podcast. This time we talk with special guest host Gregory La Vardera Architect. He helps us navigate this supplemental income opportunity and argues that this is something that architects should be doing to introduce better quality design for everyone.

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Comment Rules: Be cool like the Fonz. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation!