Episodes

Ep 212: Schedules - Who Owns Your Time explores the demands of architectural practice, shifting deadlines, and the hidden cost of making every commitment work.

The universe has rules, and apparently so does the office - most of them explaining why schedules expand, promotions go sideways, and adding more people can make a late project even later. In Episode 211, Andrew and I use 11 laws, principles, effects, and razors as a practical lens for making better decisions, managing people, and surviving the occasional meeting that should have been an email.

In Episode 210, “The Cost of Loyalty,” we look at how the relationship between employees and firms has changed, why loyalty can no longer be assumed, and what research says about engagement, compensation, career growth, flexibility, and retention. The conversation explores how architecture firms can rebuild genuine commitment by creating clearer opportunities, investing in people, and making professional growth worth staying for.

Ep 209: Understanding Residential Contracts breaks down five ways architects charge for residential work, along with the tradeoffs of each.

Most people treat asking good questions as something you either have a knack for or you don't. Bob makes the case that it's actually a trainable habit, one built on slowing down long enough to catch a guess before it disguises itself as a real question. Along the way, he and Andrew revisit an old closing segment from the show's early days, the one where negotiating the question mattered more than answering it, and connect that memory back to the discipline architects rely on every time technical...

Most of us have learned to treat more thinking as the responsible move, right up until it isn't. This episode is about the moment careful preparation quietly turns into avoidance, and why waiting for certainty is usually just a slower way of losing. Bob and Andrew talk through what it actually takes to commit before you feel ready, evaluate the results honestly instead of defending them, and keep adjusting without ever expecting to get it perfect.

What started as a simple commitment to sketch more became an unexpected lesson in accountability, criticism, and staying true to the reasons we begin creative work in the first place. Bob shares how a personal sketching exercise evolved into a broader reflection on discipline, public feedback, and the importance of measuring your progress against your own standards rather than someone else's expectations. Whether you're an architect, a creative professional, or simply trying to build a better ha...

Designing a house does not begin with floor plans, exterior styles, or deciding where the kitchen island should go. It begins with understanding the people who will live there and translating their habits, priorities, routines, and expectations into a useful design framework. In this episode, Bob and Andrew examine the residential programming process and the role a well-constructed client workbook can play before design begins. They discuss why traditional questionnaires tend to focus too heavi...

In episode 204, “Character Development - Revisited,” we go back to the beginning and revisit the very first Life of an Architect podcast episode. Episode 001 was mostly an introduction: who we were, why the podcast existed, and what we thought it might become. At the time, the website had grown beyond the casual creative outlet it was intended to be, and the podcast seemed like a way to return to the original idea - talking honestly about architecture, practice, and the profession in a more imme...

Episode 203 explores ten museums worth seeing not for the collections alone, but for the buildings themselves. From quiet rooms shaped by light to dramatic structures carved from old industrial spaces, this episode looks at museums where architecture changes the way we move, look, and remember the visit.

So you are thinking about teaching architecture. You’ve got some years of experience under your belt and you want to share your knowledge with the next generation. Or you’ve always felt a calling to teach the next generation of the profession? Maybe you just want to try something different and it seems like an easy transition? Well today Bob and I are breaking this topic wide open and revealing some of the elements involved in going from working in a firm to teaching in academia.

Middle management is not usually the part of a career anyone dreams about, which is probably fair since most dreams do not involve inheriting more responsibility while time and authority stand nearby pretending they were not invited. Still, there is something important that happens in that space if you are paying attention. You start to see how decisions move through a firm, how unclear expectations become someone else’s burden, and how much leadership depends on remembering what pressure felt l...

Ep 200: Hate to Love You looks back at favorite episodes, hard lessons, great guests, and the conversations that made this podcast worth your time from day one.

Ep 199: Conflict Resolution explores how architects manage tension, stay useful under pressure, and move hard conversations toward better outcomes.

Ep 198: The Creative Process | Why creativity in architecture depends on process, judgment, and knowing which ideas are worth pursuing

Ep197: The Knowledge Gap: As veteran architects retire, the profession risks losing hard-won knowledge, mentorship, and judgment no handbook can replace.

Ep 196: Do Architects Retire explores why architects work longer, what comes next, identity shifts, and how money choices that shape retirement options.

Designing Your Own House explores why architects hesitate to design their own homes: pressure, endless choices, ego vs livability, money, and what it reveals.

Being your own boss isn’t about starting a firm. It’s about control, momentum, money, and owning the tradeoffs shaping your career long before you noticed.

Ep 193: The Client Experience, looks at why client relationships feel adversarial and why architects have more control than they think.

Have a Plan is a reflective conversation about why pausing to think matters and how intention can help you move off square one this year.

Architects ask the questions they actually want answered as Bob and Andrew dig into careers, practice, and the occasional absurdity.

The Truth about Titles explores why architectural titles matter, why they don’t, and how their meaning shifts over the course of a career.

Discover the ultimate Holiday Gift Guide for Architects – curated picks, tools, and books that every designer will actually want to unwrap this season.