Archinect Sessions

For our final Mini-Session from the Next Up series, Nicholas Korody interviews TOMA, a Santiago-based collective. TOMA build politically-charged social spaces, using design as a strategy for bringing people together rather than as an end in itself. With their installation for the Chicago Architecture Biennial, Escuelopolis, the Chilean architects catalogued and mapped the connections between their home-base and the Midwestern metropolis, honing in on the exportation of neoliberalism to South America by the University of Chicago-trained “Chicago Boys.” Regularly printing newspapers to document their research as it occurred, TOMA invited visitors and participants to the Biennial to actively participate in their architectural research, gathering people together to consider the processes that keep us apart.

'Tis the time of year for reflections and speculations – and 2015 was a big one for Archinect Sessions. We launched our first ever live podcasting series, Next Up, at Jai & Jai Gallery in Los Angeles and at the first Chicago Architecture Biennial; we started a brand new interviews-only show, One-to-One; and we spoke with some of the biggest names and most compelling up-and-comers in the profession. On this episode, we revisit our predictions from last year's final episode, reflect on the past year in podcasting news, and share theories for what may come in 2016.

Over Skype from their homebase in Beijing, WAI Architecture Think Tank partners Cruz Garcia and Nathalie Frankowski spoke with Paul Petrunia, on our latest Mini-Session for the Next Up series. Their contribution to the Chicago Architecture Biennial, a rumination on manifestos, looks to the potential forms of architectural persuasion in any medium.

On the happy and historic occasion of Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi being jointly awarded the 2016 AIA Gold Medal, we speak with Brown about whether this truly is a watershed moment for architecture, and the long road that she and Robert took to arriving here. We last spoke with Brown on episode #39, when the Vanna Venturi house hit the market. If we accept that accolades like the Gold Medal have the influence to (potentially) nudge the profession in certain directions, then this time – the first the award has been given jointly, and to a living woman – could signal a movement towards increased inclusivity, and reevaluations of collaborative agency.

Nicholas Korody interviews architect Andreas Angelidakis for our next Mini-Session, originally part of our Next Up event at the Chicago Architecture Biennial. Trained at SCI-Arc, Angelidakis is perhaps better known in contemporary art circles than architecture's (as pointed out by Nicholas in a previous feature here on Archinect), but as proved in his contribution to the Biennial, the context and concerns of his ideas rely on, and contribute to, architectural discourse.

At least once in their professional life, every architect is likely to ask themselves, "Should I start my own practice?" From there, there are countless aspects to weigh against one another, but it begins as a very personal question – what do I want to create, and where? Longtime Archinector (and tiki-drink enthusiast) David Cole began a discussion in the forum to mull over such questions for himself, as he considers whether to start a firm in his hometown of Cincinnati, or brave new territory in Seattle. We invited him onto the podcast to talk about the process behind such a momentous decision, and swap personal stories from Donna and Ken's experiences working in new cities and running their own practices.

Architect and experimental preservationist Bryony Roberts joins us for our next Mini-Session, a continuation of our Next Up event staged at the Chicago Architecture Biennial. While Roberts' interview at the Chicago Cultural Center unfortunately didn't make it to tape, I called her up for a do-over interview in Rome, where she is currently residing as a winner of 2015-2016's Rome Prize. Roberts' contribution to the Biennial – a drill team performance entitled "We Know How to Order," staged in downtown Chicago's Mies van der Rohe-designed federal center plaza – was performed for a limited run during the Biennial's opening weekend. Check out a video of the performance here.

For our final live Mini-Session, recorded during our Next Up event at the Chicago Architecture Biennial, we present a festival of Pauls. Archinect founder/publisher Paul Petrunia interviews Paul Andersen (Independent Architecture) and Paul Preissner (Paul Preissner Architects), who designed the University of Illinois at Chicago's kiosk in the Biennial's Lakefront Kiosk competition. You can listen to past Mini-Sessions here.  

Our latest installment of Mini-Sessions, recorded live at the Chicago Architecture Biennial's opening weekend as part of our Next Up event series, features John Lin of Rural Urban Framework. This year's winner of the Curry Stone Design Prize, Rural Urban Framework has distinguished itself for work involving China's rapidly urbanizing rural landscapes. You can listen to past Mini-Sessions here.

The Chicago Architecture Biennial is nearing the middle of its run, and we've got more live Mini-Sessions up our sleeve, recorded as part of our Next Up event held during the Biennial's opening weekend. You can listen to past Mini-Sessions here. Our fourth Mini-Session from Chicago features Biennial participants Ana Paula Ruiz Galindo and Mecky Reuss of Pedro y Juana, based in Mexico City. You can learn more about their contribution to the Biennial (which happened to be the venue for Next Up) here.

The Architecture + Design Museum hosted two panels to close out its "Shelter" exhibition, focusing on local architects visions for future residential architectures in a changing Los Angeles. The first panel, moderated by Mimi Zeiger (west coast editor of the Architect's Newspaper), focused on the LA River's impact, and featured exhibiting architects Jimenez Lai (Bureau Spectacular), Elizabeth Timme (LA Más), and Lorcan O'Herlihy (of Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects). The second panel, moderated by Amelia Taylor-Hochberg (editorial manager for Archinect), focused on the influence of the Metro expansion in front of LACMA, and featured exhibiting architects Jennifer Marmon (PAR), Bob Dornberger (WHY), and senior architect at LACMA, Priscilla Fraser. Both panels were recorded live for this special Bonus content on November 6, 2015. In between the panels, you'll hear a special performance by local poet-urbanist, Mike the Poet. Special thanks to Danielle Rago and Sam Lubell for curating the exhibition and putting the pa

Long-time Archinector and BLDGBLOG-runner Geoff Manaugh joins us on the podcast this week to discuss his piece on "The Dream Life of Driverless Cars" for the New York Times Magazine. Referencing work like that of London-based design studio, ScanLAB Projects, who use lidar (light + radar) technology to map how autonomous vehicles see and understand the built environment, Manaugh spoke with us about how these vehicles could potentially change the structures and sensations of our cities – and all the unknowns that accompany such speculation. We also briefly touch on the recent news of Philadelphia becoming an UNESCO World Heritage site; the first city in the U.S. to receive such status. This episode is sponsored by BQE's ArchiOffice.

In celebration of Archinect Sessions' second season, we're posting the "Next Up" live-interviews we did at the Chicago Architecture Biennial as Mini-Sessions, continuing from the interviews done at Jai & Jai Gallery in Los Angeles. You can listen to past Mini-Sessions here. Our third Mini-Session recorded during the Biennial's opening weekend features François Roche and Camille Lacadée who work together as New-Territories / M4, sometimes known as R&Sie. Check out their contribution to the Biennial here.

Special guest Susan Surface, former Archinect editor now at Design in Public, joins us on Archinect Sessions to talk about recent developments in the dialogue around gender inclusive design – particularly, in public restrooms. As the binary model of gender begins to slowly dissolve in popular consciousness, in favor of a spectrum of different identifications, international building codes still often mandate restrooms (even single-occupancy ones) as strictly for either male or female. Those who do not identify as either face a difficult choice at best, and often harassment or exclusion. Various institutions are experimenting with more gender-inclusive designs and designations, but not without controversy. Advocates liken the advent of all-gender inclusive bathrooms to a civil right, akin to policies that guarantee equal access regardless of ethnicity or physical ability. In other news, this past Monday we launched Archinect Sessions One-to-One, a brand new podcast focusing exclusively interviews. The premiere

Continuing our "Next Up" series, recorded at Jai & Jai Gallery in Los Angeles and during the opening weekend of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, we've been posting the live-interviews as podcast Mini-Sessions. Due to a technical error at the Biennial, the second half of live Chicago interviews were lost – so some were recorded on another date. You can listen to past Mini-Sessions here. Our second Mini-Session recorded during the Biennial's opening weekend features Thomas Kelley and Carrie Norman of Norman Kelley.

Season two of Archinect Sessions premiered last week – featuring a discussion on the Chicago Architecture Biennial with Log director (and co-curator of the US Pavilion for the 2016 Venice Biennale) Cynthia Davidson – and to finish out our coverage of CAB, we're posting the "Next Up" live-interviews we did in Chicago as Mini-Sessions, continuing from the interviews done at Jai & Jai Gallery in Los Angeles. Due to a most unfortunate technical glitch in Chicago, the second half of live interviews were lost – so some Chicago interviews were recorded on another date. You can listen to past Mini-Sessions here. For our first Mini-Session recorded during the Biennial's opening weekend, we spoke with Urtzi Grau and Cristina Goberna Pesudo of Fake Industries Architectural Agonism.

Our new podcast, Archinect Sessions: One-to-One is an interview show, straight-up. Each episode features a single interview with a notable figure in contemporary architecture – it's that simple. Usually, One-to-One will be led by me or Paul Petrunia, while occasionally others will serve as guide. The conversation will be casual and spontaneous, touching on the interviewee's role in the expanding range of architectural practice, and will serve (we hope) a valuable archival role in future discourse. For our very first episode, I spoke with Neil Denari of Neil M. Denari Architects (NMDA). Aside from his firm's work, Denari is a tenured professor at UCLA, and was the director of SCI-Arc from 1997 - 2001. We spoke about the shifting focus of architecture education, multitasking, Los Angeles and the recession's impact on architecture.

It's great to be back. Our second season of Archinect Sessions premieres today in a new, shorter format, with an episode devoted to the Chicago Architecture Biennial, and featuring special guest Cynthia Davidson, director of Log and co-curator of the US Pavilion for the 2016 Venice Biennale. Keep a look out as well for more Mini-Sessions, featuring interviews from the Biennial. In other podcasting news, we're going to be launching a brand new podcast early next week, focusing exclusively on interviews. You can keep up-to-date on all our podcasting news by following us on Twitter, @archsessions, and let us know what you think by rating us on iTunes.

Tomorrow (!!!) we'll premiere season two of Archinect Sessions, and in anticipation of the launch, we've been posting Mini-Sessions interviews, recorded during our first-ever live-podcasting series, "Next Up", held at Jai & Jai Gallery in Los Angeles' Chinatown and at the opening weekend of the Chicago Architecture Biennial. You can listen to past Mini-Sessions here. We'll also be launching a brand new podcast soon.  For our last Mini-Session recorded at Jai & Jai, we spoke with a panel of jurors from Archinect'sDry Futures competition, featuring: Charles Anderson of werk, Hadley Arnold of the Arid Lands Institute, Ian Quate and Colleen Tuite of GRNASFCK (who joined us via Skype), andPeter Zellner of Zellner Naecker Architects LLP. The winners had been announced just a few days prior.

Leading up to (and continuing after) the premiere of Archinect Sessions' second season on November 5, we're posting individual interviews as Mini-Sessions from our first-ever live-podcasting series, "Next Up", held at Jai & Jai Gallery in Los Angeles' Chinatown and at the opening weekend of the Chicago Architecture Biennial. You can listen to past Mini-Sessions here. We'll also be launching another brand new podcast soon.  Here you can listen to our fifth Next Up Mini-Session with Marcelo Spina of P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S. More Mini-Sessions will be released in the coming days, and remember to subscribe to Archinect Sessions to not miss an episode!