In the ever-evolving landscape of architecture, mentorship serves as a guiding light, to remind us to nurture creativity and foster a passion for design. In this episode, we dive into the world of architecture through the lens of an accomplished architect, Angela Watson, President and CEO of Shepley Bulfinch. We explore her inspiring career journey…

The Business of Architecture: Designing your own firm.The dream of many ambitious designers and architects is to be their own boss. Have complete creative freedom, control the finances, and have a greater professional flexibility, work when they want where they want. But starting an architecture firm is very different from working in the profession…

Tracing Architecture was again awarded a grant in the fall of 2023 to share the stories of two individuals who’ve benefitted from the support of the Arizona Architecture Foundation – a group whose mission is to enhance the welfare of the Arizona community by promoting excellence in architecture and the built environment by supporting the education …

As desert dwellers, water is always on our minds. As architects, water is an important part of the conversation when talking about responsible design. The final portion of the episode Desert Talks: Water was recorded live on October 25th, 2023. Four of our guests, Grady Gammage Jr., Erika Lynne Hanson, Stefanie Smallhouse, and Enrique Vivoni engage…

Celebrating 40 years of the Arizona Architecture Foundation, this special episode features an interview moderated by James Trahan AIA and Caroline Lobo AIA with some of the founding members of the organization: Dave Scheatzle FAIA, James Abell FAIA, Ron Peters AIA, and Chip Shay AIA. As the Rio Salado Architecture Foundation merges with the Central…

As desert dwellers, water is always on our minds. As architects, water is an important part of the conversation when talking about responsible design. In this second part of the two-part episode, we discuss the current tools and strategies for managing this precious resource and how we can positively affect changes to help manage our water situatio…

As desert dwellers, water is always on our minds. As architects, water is an important part of the conversation when talking about responsible design. More recently, the topic of water (or the lack of) in the Southwest has been covered in the national and international media. In this first part of the two-part episode, we explore how this precious …

This trailer is a sneak peek of an upcoming series about the future of water in Arizona. During the episode series, we will engage in conversations not only on how the future of water looks in our state but its history and present, from policies and regulations to design responses and cultural shifts.The sneak peek covers just part of that conversa…

In the spring of 2022, Tracing Architecture was awarded an Emerging Professionals Component Grant by the AIA College of Fellows. This grant has allowed us to partner with groups in our community that would otherwise not have access to a media platform, such as our podcast, and allow those groups to have critical conversations that can engage our pr…

This episode is the third in our ongoing Great Recession Generation series. It has been over a decade since the Great Recession, the most severe economic and financial meltdown since the Great Depression, but the impact of that period still affects us today. An entire generation of architecture and construction professionals felt the impact, and se…

In the spring of 2022, Tracing Architecture was awarded an Emerging Professionals Component Grant by the AIA College of Fellows. This grant has allowed us to partner with groups in our community that would otherwise not have access to a media platform, such as our podcast, and allow those groups to have critical conversations that can engage our pr…

Tracing Architecture was awarded a grant in the fall of 2022 to share the stories of two individuals who’ve benefitted from the support of the Arizona Architecture Foundation – a group whose mission is to enhance the welfare of the Arizona community by promoting excellence in architecture and the built environment by supporting the education of fut…

Twenty years ago, Architecture magazine released a special issue titled "The Arizona School," featuring some of the most prominent architects that redefined architecture in the desert southwest. This was remarkable not only for bringing national notoriety to this group but also for acknowledging the impact of the extraordinary work coming from this…

This episode is the second in our ongoing Great Recession Generation series. It's been more than a decade since the Great Recession, the most severe economic and financial meltdown since the Great Depression, but the impact of that period in time can still be felt today. An entire generation in the architecture and construction industries was affec…

Tracing Architecture again is teaming up with the AIA Arizona State Conference to create a special set of episodes around the conference theme: Inspire. During the conference, local leaders of the design community will be leading conversations with each of the conference speakers, and Tracing Architecture is sitting down with a few of them to learn…

Tracing Architecture again is teaming up with the AIA Arizona State Conference to create a special set of episodes around the conference theme: Inspire. During the conference, local leaders of the design community will be leading conversations with each of the conference speakers, and Tracing Architecture is sitting down with a few of them to learn…

In the spring of 2022, Tracing Architecture was awarded an Emerging Professionals Component Grant by the AIA College of Fellows. This grant has allowed us to partner with groups in our community that would otherwise not have access to a media platform such as our podcast, and allow those groups to have critical conversations that can engage our pro…

It's been more than a decade since the Great Recession, the most severe economic and financial meltdown since the Great Depression, but the impact of that period in time can still be felt today. An entire generation in the architecture and construction industries was affected, some leaving the profession altogether. In the light of another global, …

Does an architect have a responsibility to advocate for their community? In this episode we hear more from community leaders Gary Nelson, Katherine Dudzik Smith, and Arizona State Representative Christian Solorio on their inspirations and aspirations for advocacy in their communities, whether that responsibility is shared by the profession, and how…

The architect as the master builder, that myth best scene historically in Frank Lloyd Wright, has seemingly gone away from today’s mainstream practice. Today, architecture is as much about communicating and collaborating as it is about designing or building. However, some architects continue this tradition, albeit in a different way: these practice…

This year, Tracing Architecture is teaming up with the AIA Arizona State Conference to create a special set of episodes. During the conference, local members of the design community will be leading conversations with each of the conference speakers, and Tracing Architecture is sitting down with those members of our design community to learn more ab…

This year, Tracing Architecture is teaming up with the AIA Arizona State Conference to create a special set of episodes. During the conference, local leaders of the design community will be leading conversations with each of the conference speakers, and Tracing Architecture is sitting down with those members of our design community to learn more ab…

This year, Tracing Architecture is teaming up with the AIA Arizona State Conference to create a special set of episodes. During the conference, local leaders of the design community will be leading conversations with each of the conference speakers, and Tracing Architecture is sitting down with those members of our design community to learn more ab…

Various facets of the architectural profession in the United States are not flattering, and some of the most difficult to address is the lack of racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in the industry and policies that reinforce equity in the workplace. For this episode, we are building on the discussions from the joint NOMA Arizona and AIA Phoenix Me…

There is a common theme amongst young architects—perhaps even a culture or shared honor—of long hours and grueling work. Even moreso, early stages of one’s career can be accompanied with feelings of being lost or inexperienced, creating greater stress and spending more time to compensate. This episode (part 2 of 2 on this topic) will look at strate…

There is a common theme amongst young architects—perhaps even a culture or shared honor—of long hours and grueling work. Even moreso, early stages of one’s career can be accompanied with feelings of being lost or inexperienced, creating greater stress and spending more time to compensate. This episode (part 1 of 2 on this topic) will look at strate…

Paradigms of architectural practice have shifted dramatically relative to the long history of the profession. History is rooted in the analog - paper and parallel bars - while the current trends and future of the profession lie in the digital, rapidly advancing what is possible in the built world. But this dichotomy often also represents a major cu…

As we all acclimate to the world post-COVID-19, we check in with the Tracing Architecture team to see how everyone is adjusting to their new realities and dig into the origins of the Tracing Architecture podcast. We also sit down with AIA Phoenix Metro AIA10 Director Mandel McDonnell to see what's going on locally.…

Being an architect is a job at the end of the day, and architects are people with lives and passions beyond the profession. Some of these passions are directly tied to what makes people want to be architects, and others are complete releases from the profession entirely. We’ll talk about all of the things people do when they’re not in the studio in…