Archispeak #374 – 2025 Summer of Architecture, Part 1

Hosts: Evan Troxel & Cormac Phalen
Date: July 8, 2025

Episode Overview

In this lively and candid episode, Evan and Cormac kick off their multi-part debrief of their recent East Coast architecture tour surrounding the AIA National Conference in Boston. After two weeks of travel and architectural exploration—with plenty of personal anecdotes and inside baseball about architectural practice—the hosts share reflections on the profession, new architecture tools, the importance of immersive travel for architects, and their honest impressions of the AIA conference experience, Boston, and beyond.

This is not a highlight reel of the AIA convention; instead, it’s the unvarnished conversation you’d have with architecture colleagues the week after—compare notes, share travel hacks, nerd out about precedent buildings, and debate the ongoing state of the profession.

Table of Contents

1. Post-Travel Chaos & Photographer Habits
2. ARCOL Launch & the Magic of New Tools
3. Airport Architecture: Value Statements & Magic Lost
4. Hotel Marcel & the Importance of Architectural Pilgrimages
5. Experiencing Boston: Developer Urbanism vs. Genius Loci
6. Fenway, Trinity Church & Field Trips
7. The 2025 AIA Conference Review
8. AI, Infrastructure, and the Architect’s Future
9. Notable Quotes
10. Timestamps for Key Segments

1. Post-Travel Chaos & Photographer Habits

• Evan and Cormac open by poking fun at their own disorganization returning from their architectural road trip and conference circuit.
• The conversation quickly shifts to the modern rituals of digital photography—scrolling endless, unedited phone photos of buildings.
• Anecdotes around film vs. digital spark reflection on intentionality in documentation.

Notable Moment:
Evan describes his son’s analog photography:

"He gets more conversations at car shows about his camera than ... the cars... every shot was a banger. And he likes that about shooting film because he takes the time for setup." (05:09)

Pro Tip:
Evan shares his custom photo settings for iPhone cameras for richer, warmer images (amber profile):

• "Tone at minus 28, my color at 19, and my palette at 100..." (07:11)

2. ARCOL Launch & the Magic of New Tools

• Evan attended the launch event for ARCOL, a browser-based, multi-user, conceptual modeling platform for architects.
• Highlights: real-time collaboration, live-linked presentation boards, no more “final-final_v4.pdf” chaos, and a bridging of functions typically spread across disparate apps.

Notable Moments:

• ARCOL swag irony: They gave away colored pencils at their “digital” product launch.
• "It's kind of like collapsing a bunch of apps into one, which is a great interface. It's really cool." (11:27)

3. Airport Architecture: Value Statements & Magic Lost

• The new ZGF-designed Portland terminal is “the gateway to the city”—both hosts rave about it as a true introduction/representation of place.
• Discussion on why investment in airport design matters (civic pride, mass timber, city branding).
• Lament that air travel “magic” is mostly gone, but inspired spaces could help bring it back.

Notable Quotes:

• "It’s a value statement for a city." (A, 14:56)
• "Air travel has lost a lot of magic." (A, 16:04)

4. Hotel Marcel & the Importance of Architectural Pilgrimages

• The hosts detail their route from Portland to New York, Connecticut and finally Boston, built around both the AIA conference and a self-guided "soul-enriching" architecture tour.
• Highlight: Stay at Hotel Marcel in New Haven—an adaptive reuse of the Marcel Breuer-designed Pirelli Building.
  • Discuss Breuer’s legacy, the visual impact of IKEA’s modifications (half the podium lopped for parking), and the building’s gravity-defying brutalist design.
  • Praise for the sensitive renovation into a hotel that respects the building’s DNA.

Notable Quotes:

• "Talk about just like anti-gravity structural systems. Exactly. So cool." (A, 26:12)
• "How. How. You know, and it doesn’t look like it should work." (A, 27:16)

5. Experiencing Boston: Developer Urbanism vs. Genius Loci

• The new “South Boston” development around the conference center is criticized as generic, developer-driven, and lacking a sense of place (“you could be anywhere USA”).
• In contrast, Boston’s historical grid and neighborhoods (“Genius loci”) are celebrated for their palpable, layered sense of history, architecture, and spirit.
• Discussion of the ICA (Herzog & deMeuron), now dwarfed by surrounding towers.
• Value in putting in extra travel effort for real architectural experiences: “extra effort, extra payoff.”
• A running theme for the trip: “shadow play” (light and form on facades).

Notable Quotes:

• "The old parts still keep that character... you can understand the breadth of history they maintained." (B, 42:16)
• "If you were to be dropped in around the conference center, you’d never know you were in Boston." (B, 39:06)
• “Shadow play, shadow play, shadow play.” (A, 35:16)

6. Fenway, Trinity Church & Field Trips

• Cormac and his wife went to Fenway Park and Trinity Church (H.H. Richardson)—two iconic Boston destinations.
  • “Fenway is a temple to baseball. But man, is it a dog... really crammed in.”
  • Trinity Church: a deep dive into American architectural lineage and preservation, waxes poetic about its “shadow play” and influence.
• Discussion of the juxtaposition of historic (Richardson’s church) and modern (Hancock Tower by I.M. Pei), and the literal structural risks from piles driven for new glass highrises: “Imminent death by falling glass.”
• A nod to the value of unhurried, non-conference experiences—"the enrichment architects need."

Notable Moment:
Touring with the docents:

"I will not say I'm an architect. I will just sit back and listen... but then, apparently, started dropping some arca-speak and she was just like, are you an architect?" (58:00)

7. The 2025 AIA Conference Review

• General consensus: The best post-pandemic conference so far.
• Energy was “electric”; both vendors and architects more engaged than in recent years.
• Keynotes praised for relevance and inspiration, especially on the subjects of AI and infrastructure.
• Only real critique: session planning/CEUs less organized, food options limited.
• Callout for thoughtful recognition of the Firm of the Year (Deborah Burke), and the president’s speech by Evelyn Lee.

Notable Quotes:

• "The energy was definitely a lot different... a lot more vendors, a lot to engage with." (B, 65:16)
• “Mentally and physically draining... but I didn’t feel like ‘Get me out of here!’ which I have felt before.” (A, 68:46)

8. AI, Infrastructure, and the Architect’s Future

• Keynote by Ali Miller: Accessible, non-technical primer for architects on practical, positive AI applications.
  • Demonstrated how AI is transforming not just workflow but the very tools architects will use.
  • Sparked practical ideas for personal and professional use.
• Secretary Pete Buttigieg's keynote, in conversation with Evelyn Lee, was a standout for its relevance and inspiration—transportation, infrastructure, and the architect's agency in policy.
• Recurring message: Architects must bring their perspective to policy-making, not just project delivery.

Notable Moments:

• “AI is coming whether we like it or not—here is exactly how you can actually use it.” (B, 78:24)
• “Architects can influence and drive infrastructural improvements at the policy level.” (B, 75:17)

9. Notable Quotes

• “You only get 12 shots, and every one is a banger because you take your time for setup.” – Evan (05:09)
• “The camera roll is my new timeline of events and receipts...” – Evan (02:54)
• "Bringing the magic back—air travel has lost a lot of magic." – Evan (16:03)
• “If you’re not good with file naming, these are the apps for you... Final Final Five B, no, really, this time final.” – Evan (12:35)
• "Talk about just, like, anti-gravity structural systems." – Evan (26:12)
• "How many architects at the AIA conference just went to Boston, went to the convention, and left? This extra effort—it’s way extra payoff." – Evan (32:25)
• "Shadow play, shadow play, shadow play." – Evan (35:16)
• "If you were dropped into that area around the conference center, you’d never know you were in Boston." – Cormac (39:06)
• "The [AIA] energy was definitely a lot different... a lot more vendors, a lot to engage with." – Cormac (65:16)
• "Architects can influence and drive infrastructural improvements at the policy level." – Cormac (75:17)
• "AI is coming whether we like it or not—here is exactly how you can actually use it." – Cormac (78:24)
• “It was so worth it. It was so worth doing that extra effort to make the trip what it ended up being.” – Evan (34:38)
• “The soul-enriching things.” – Cormac (09:52)

10. Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |-------------|---------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:08–02:49 | Return-from-travel chaos, daily life, and wildfires | | 03:06–07:16 | Photographer habits, analog vs. digital, pro camera settings | | 09:16–12:08 | ARCOL software launch & digital workflows | | 13:07–14:06 | Portland airport and value of airport architecture | | 14:06–16:04 | Airports as city gateways, loss of air travel magic | | 21:36–27:34 | Hotel Marcel, Breuer's brutalism, composition, renovation | | 32:25–34:38 | Value of extra effort for architectural travel | | 35:16–36:12 | "Shadow play" – ongoing theme of the trip | | 38:16–43:13 | Boston’s identity, developer-driven vs. historic urbanism | | 43:14–47:11 | The ICA’s changing context | | 47:26–54:11 | Fenway Park, Boston traffic, city navigation woes | | 54:12–61:49 | Trinity Church, Richardson, Pei, and architectural lineage | | 62:46–67:41 | AIA Conference review – energy, speakers, logistics | | 71:26–75:07 | Evelyn Lee’s keynote, Buttigieg conversation | | 76:54–80:44 | Ali Miller’s AI keynote & tech on the expo floor |

Episode Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is warm, witty, and driven by the honest realities of architectural work and life. Both hosts are enthusiastic about learning-by-seeing, critical of developer urbanism, energized by new tools (especially collaborative digital design and AI), and bullish on the need for “soul-enriching” pilgrimages to built work.

For listeners:

• Expect “the conversation architects actually have,” including mentorship moments, practical hacks, and plenty of commiseration.
• This episode encourages all practitioners (especially AIA attendees) to make the extra effort in travels and to stay engaged with evolving tools and policy landscapes in practice—because “the enrichment architects need” goes far beyond the boundaries of any conference hall.

For further information and show notes, visit archispeakpodcast.com.