Fusing the liberal arts with architecture, construction and real estate to build a more beautiful, resilient, and thriving world for PEOPLE.
Firmitas - Utilitas - Venustas
Most Popular Episodes
#24 Thomas Dougherty: Lessons on Designing & Entitling Infill Urban Neighborhoods & Human Scaled Suburban Development
I invited Thomas Dougherty, or lead urban designer, back on the Podcast to discuss real life lessons behind several of our current projects at Building Culture. We discuss Townsend, a 1+ acre infill site with 19 townhomes, a couple live/works and 10,000 SF of boutique commercial, that we are nearing approvals on.
#23 Sara Bega: Las Catalinas - Building a Stunning Car-Free, Kid-Friendly, Multi-Generational Town
Las Catalinas might be the most beautiful town built in the 21st century. And my guest today, Sara Bega, has stewarded its evolution as Town Architect for a decade. Las Catalinas is a car-free, kid-friendly, multi-generational community in Costa Rica.
#22 Alan Pullman: Creating Meaningful, Mixed-Use Infill Projects that Make Our Cities Better.
Today I get to speak with Alan Pullman, founder of Studio One Eleven, an architecture, urban design and landscape architecture practice focused on human scaled, mixed-use infill projects.
#21 Bobby Fijan: Building Multi-Family Apartments for Families with Simple Adjustments
I had the opportunity to speak with Bobby Fijan today, who sometimes refers to himself as the Bill James of floorplans. His focus? Building apartments for families – and helping others do it too. He’s a developer, entrepreneur and consultant.
#20 Rob Parker: Trilith President - Town Builders of the 21st Century and the New Walkable City
Trilith is a newly built (and growing) walkable community located next to Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It is one of the most successful TNDs and New Urbanists communities in the country.
#19 Justin Mares - Pt 2: Fixing the Broken Food & Health Systems
In part 2 Justin Mares and I discuss the broken food and health systems in the US and the need to prioritize human flourishing. We get into the weaponization of our instincts by companies that produce addictive food, the importance of fixing our environment and food system, and the role of human health in the built environment.
#18 Justin Mares - Pt 1: The Great American Poisoning
Justin Mares is the founder of Kettle and Fire, Perfect Keto, and Surely Non-Alcoholic Wines, and is working on his fourth company: Truemed. I am super impressed with what Justin has accomplished, and am a big fan of Kettle and Fire.
#17 Andy Boenau: Rethinking Traffic Engineering: Questioning Established Norms & Prioritizing Human Well-being in Urban Plannin
I got the chance to chat with Andy Boenau today, who sometimes refers to himself as a Plangineer, with a background in urban planning and engineering. We chat about the flaws in traffic engineering and the need for a different approach to the built environment.
#16 Micah Springut: Revolutionizing Architecture with AI & Robotic Stone Carving
Micah is the founder of Monumental Labs, one of the most exciting companies in the architecture and construction industry right now. It blends humanistic values with tech – much like Apple did to revolutionize the computer industry in the 80’s.
#15 Matt Dean: Creating an Authentic Brand in Commercial Real Estate & Caring About People
In this episode I get to chat with Matt Dean of Dean & Co, an award-winning agency that we at Building Culture hired to collaborate on our Townsend project, an urban infill, mixed-use neighborhood breaking ground later this year (2024).
#14 Devon Zuegel: Building a People-First Town From Scratch with Esmeralda & Rethinking How We Live
Devon Zuegel is planning a bold, people-centered town from scratch. She has a background in software engineering and has worked at some of the big firms in Silicon Valley.
#13 Philippe Block: The Incredible Future of Sustainable Construction
I met Philippe Block while studying historic masonry structures in Spain last summer. He presented his work and I was blown away. He is a pioneering structural engineer who, as part of his research group Block Research Group, is inventing the future of sustainable construction by blending old knowledge and precedent with new technology, materials and innovation.
#12 Ruben Hanssen: Dutch City Building; Beauty & Culture; Everyday Experience; Tradition v Modernity
Today I interview Ruben Hassan, a Dutch podcaster and founder of the Aesthetic City podcast. Ruben shares his journey from being an engineer to becoming a full-time podcaster and filmmaker. We discuss the state of construction and development in the Netherlands and the importance of creating beautiful and sustainable built environments.
#11 Thomas Dougherty: Infill Development; Smaller Scale & Vibrancy; Humanism
Today, I have friend and colleague Thomas Dougherty on the podcast. Last year Tom joined the Building Culture team as our lead Urban Designer. He studied architecture and urban design at Notre Dame and focused on inner block development and has become known as the "alley-guy" for his expertise in creating spaces in these areas.
#10 Coby Lefkowitz: Beliefs Inform Building; Personal Agency; Creating a Better World for All
I'm thrilled to have Coby Lefkowitz on the show today. Coby is an urbanist, real estate developer, writer, and consultant based in New York, and I would add, all around optimist.
#9 Sam Day Pt. 2: Retrofitting Suburbia, Importance of Centers, Architecture School & Development
Today I'm dropping the second half of my conversation with Sam Day. In case you missed Part 1, head back to Episode 8 in our Podcast series to check it out. Sam is an architect, urbanist, and infill developer based in Oklahoma City--a rare combination of someone designing buildings (architect), creating spaces with those buildings (urbanist), and actually facilitating them coming out of the ground, including buying land, figuring out financing, leasing up, etc (development).
#7 R. John Anderson - An Insightful Journey From Tradesman to Developer
Today I sit down with the infamous and inspiring R. John Anderson, also known as 'R John the Bad'. We dive into John's unique story, from his early days quitting high school to pursue his passion in the trades, to his transformative experiences as a developer and influential figure in urban planning.
#6 Matthew Myers - A Deep Dive on Community, Culture & Real Estate Development
Today I get to chat with my business partner and mentor Matthew Myers, a successful entrepreneur, syndicator and real estate developer of unique, infill projects. As a local developer renowned for his work on infill pocket neighborhoods, Matthew shares a wealth of knowledge and personal insights.
#5 Austin Tunnell - Accepting Suffering, Finding Meaning, the Future of Building Culture
In this conversation, Trevor Acorn, a structural engineer, discusses his background and experience in the field. He explains his interest in structural masonry and how he became familiar with it through restoration work. The conversation also covers the strength and durability of masonry compared to other construction materials.