The platitudes are easy: Architecture brings people together; architecture builds communities; architecture uplifts the human spirit; etc. But the 2026 film Backrooms offers a counterpoint: Architecture terrorizes people; architecture holds you hostage; architecture is horror.
A decade ago, colleagues David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet of FAME Architecture and Design, launched an ambitious project, The Second Studio. They describe this ever-expanding work—500 episodes and counting—as, “an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. . . it features interviews with renowned professionals, guides to architecture, and thoughtful takes on all things design. The show is honest, humorous, and irreverent.” I was excited to be part of episode #517, presented here in four parts.
It’s true: Life just gets more and more complicated. And so it is for the field of architecture. Do we yearn for simpler times—the cherished good ol’ days? Progress is good, supposedly. For better or worse, the evolution of business is inevitable. Bob Dylan said it well: “The order is rapidly fadin’. And the first one now will later be last. For the times, they are a-changin’.”
Are you an architect that works on a signature vision, honing it year after year—resulting in a personal language like Frank Gehry, Santiago Calatrava, or Tadao Ando? Or do you claim, like many architects try, to have “no preconceived notions” of design?
Following up on Part 1 of the 661st episode of the podcast, Convo by Design, here are additional highlights. Josh Cooperman and I discuss, “Redefining the ‘Strength’ of Southern California Architecture,” and a “tipping point” in architecture.
There are many ways an architect is compensated for design services. The three most common are:
1. Fixed fee,
2. Hourly rate, or
3. Percentage of the construction cost.
