Podcast
TRXL
Hosted by Evan Troxel · EN
TRXL is the definitive podcast on technology and the architecture and engineering professions — and the longest-running. 200+ episodes. Five years. Conversations with the founders, researchers, designers, and firm leaders who are actually shaping how architecture gets practiced.
Hosted by Evan Troxel, a licensed architect with over 25 years in AEC, TRXL is built for architects, BIM managers, design technologists, computational designers, and firm leaders who want to stay ahead of where the profession is going — not catch up after it's already moved.
Topics include artificial intelligence in architecture, BIM, digital practice, firm culture, design tools and workflows, project delivery, sustainability, and the organizational transformation that follows when the technology your firm depends on keeps changing.
Each episode is a long-form, unscripted conversation with guests who are doing the work — not narrating it from the sidelines. Guests have included firm principals, CTOs and CIOs, software founders, researchers, and practitioners from leading firms and institutions worldwide.
Ranked in the top 3% of all podcasts globally.
33episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
226: 'Think Slower to Move Faster', with Charles Portelli
Apr 701:49:58Tap to summarizeCharles Portelli joins the podcast to talk about what you learn when you leave architecture to build software, and what you bring back when you return. We explore the gap between how buildings are designed and how they're actually fabricated, why the most valuable work inside a large firm is often the least glamorous, and what it would take to build an AI-powered project assistant that actually knows everything about a job.This episode is especially relevant for design technology leaders, firm principals, and anyone working on the internal tooling side of architecture. If you've felt the tension between chasing the next new capability and keeping everyone from drowning in an ever-growing tool stack, Charlie names that problem clearly and talks about what a more patient, intentional path forward looks like.To learn more about Charles Portelli, see the full show notes with links at https://trxl.co/226To get more great conversations with AEC technology leaders on the TRXL podcast please visit https://trxl.co_____Episode Sponsors:AVAILAVAIL's content management system (CMS) simplifies access to your firm's content in one easy-to-use platform. Search and access files from anywhere, create standards-compliant models, streamline documentation, and onboard new hires faster. Try AVAIL for free and request a demo at https://getavail.comConfluence Events & PodcastJoin AEC industry technology leaders at Confluence, a series of in-person events and a podcast fostering conversations between firms and tech companies to support innovation. Learn more, explore upcoming events, and listen to podcast episodes at https://confluence.getavail.comTRXL+ MembershipThis episode of TRXL is brought to you by TRXL+ members! Join our community of supporters to get exclusive benefits like ad-free episodes and full access to our AEC Leadership Edge newsletter. Your support keeps these valuable conversations going. Learn more at https://www.trxl.co/#/portal/signup/-----Sign up to become a TRXL member.Free members get email notifications when new episodes are released and when new posts are published on TRXL.coPaid supporters of TRXL+ get ad-free podcast episodes, full show notes, and exclusive Leadership Edge email newsletters from TRXL
Transcribe →225: 'A Nuclear Bomb Moment', with Antonio González Viegas
Mar 3101:17:16Tap to summarizeAntonio González Viegas joins the podcast to talk about the open source infrastructure layer he's building for BIM software and why the barriers that have protected legacy vendors for decades are collapsing faster than most people realize. We explore why every BIM company has been forced to reinvent the same foundational technology from scratch, how That Open Company is giving those pieces away under an MIT license, and what happens when AI compresses years of development into weeks. Antonio coined the phrase "nuclear bomb moment" to describe where BIM software development stands right now, and the conversation pushes hard on whether that framing holds up.This episode is especially relevant for firm leaders, BIM managers, and design technologists watching the AEC software market shift beneath them. If you're weighing vendor lock-in against emerging alternatives, or wondering whether small teams with AI can actually compete with established platforms, this conversation will sharpen your thinking.To learn more about Antonio González Viegas, see the full show notes with links at https://trxl.co/225To get more great conversations with AEC technology leaders on the TRXL podcast please visit https://trxl.co_____Episode Sponsors:AVAILAVAIL's content management system (CMS) simplifies access to your firm's content in one easy-to-use platform. Search and access files from anywhere, create standards-compliant models, streamline documentation, and onboard new hires faster. Try AVAIL for free and request a demo at https://getavail.comConfluence Events & PodcastJoin AEC industry technology leaders at Confluence, a series of in-person events and a podcast fostering conversations between firms and tech companies to support innovation. Learn more, explore upcoming events, and listen to podcast episodes at https://confluence.getavail.comTRXL+ MembershipThis episode of TRXL is brought to you by TRXL+ members! Join our community of supporters to get exclusive benefits like ad-free episodes and full access to our AEC Leadership Edge newsletter. Your support keeps these valuable conversations going. Learn more at https://www.trxl.co/#/portal/signup/-----Sign up to become a TRXL member.Free members get email notifications when new episodes are released and when new posts are published on TRXL.coPaid supporters of TRXL+ get ad-free podcast episodes, full show notes, and exclusive Leadership Edge email newsletters from TRXL
Transcribe →224: 'Everything Is Going to Change', with Martyn Day
Mar 2403:18:35Tap to summarizeMartyn Day joins the podcast to talk about the forces quietly dismantling how architecture and engineering work gets done, and how it gets charged for. We explore how AI-driven solvers are compressing months of project coordination into hours, why BIM 1.0 is becoming a drawing conduit as open SDKs erode software moats, and what layered cloud and AI token costs mean for firms reconsidering where their project data lives.This episode is especially relevant for firm leaders and technology directors who are watching these tools arrive without a clear view of what they mean for staffing, billing, and competitive position. Martyn moves past tool-by-tool analysis to the structural question underneath: if the business model depends on billable hours, what happens when the hours disappear?To learn more about Martyn Day, see the full show notes with links at https://trxl.co/224To get more great conversations with AEC technology leaders on the TRXL podcast please visit https://trxl.co_____Episode Sponsors:AVAILAVAIL's content management system (CMS) simplifies access to your firm's content in one easy-to-use platform. Search and access files from anywhere, create standards-compliant models, streamline documentation, and onboard new hires faster. Try AVAIL for free and request a demo at https://getavail.comConfluence Events & PodcastJoin AEC industry technology leaders at Confluence, a series of in-person events and a podcast fostering conversations between firms and tech companies to support innovation. Learn more, explore upcoming events, and listen to podcast episodes at https://confluence.getavail.comTRXL+ MembershipThis episode of TRXL is brought to you by TRXL+ members! Join our community of supporters to get exclusive benefits like ad-free episodes and full access to our AEC Leadership Edge newsletter. Your support keeps these valuable conversations going. Learn more at https://www.trxl.co/#/portal/signup/-----Sign up to become a TRXL member.Free members get email notifications when new episodes are released and when new posts are published on TRXL.coPaid supporters of TRXL+ get ad-free podcast episodes, full show notes, and exclusive Leadership Edge email newsletters from TRXL
Transcribe →223: 'They Better Find Something Else to Do', with Pablo Zamorano Mosniam
Mar 1801:19:24Tap to summarizePablo Zamorano Mosniam joins the podcast to talk about what it looks like to build a technology practice around design values rather than the other way around. We explore the “door scale,” the intimate layer of texture and touchable detail that most firms skip and Heatherwick obsesses over, why tools leave recognizable fingerprints on the buildings they produce, and how the studio's most-used internal AI tool turned out to be the one that required the least training to adopt.This episode is especially relevant for computational designers, design technologists, and firm leaders watching the industry accelerate toward faster, cheaper, and blander — and wondering whether the right response is better tools, clearer values, or both. Pablo doesn't soften his view: the people waiting on the sidelines won't find a comfortable place to land.To learn more about Pablo Zamorano Mosniam, see the full show notes with links at https://trxl.co/223To get more great conversations with AEC technology leaders on the TRXL podcast please visit https://trxl.co_____Episode Sponsors:AVAILAVAIL's content management system (CMS) simplifies access to your firm's content in one easy-to-use platform. Search and access files from anywhere, create standards-compliant models, streamline documentation, and onboard new hires faster. Try AVAIL for free and request a demo at https://getavail.comConfluence Events & PodcastJoin AEC industry technology leaders at Confluence, a series of in-person events and a podcast fostering conversations between firms and tech companies to support innovation. Learn more, explore upcoming events, and listen to podcast episodes at https://confluence.getavail.comTRXL+ MembershipThis episode of TRXL is brought to you by TRXL+ members! Join our community of supporters to get exclusive benefits like ad-free episodes and full access to our AEC Leadership Edge newsletter. Your support keeps these valuable conversations going. Click here to learn more and become a supporter of independent AEC media today.-----Sign up to become a TRXL member.Free members get email notifications when new episodes are released and when new posts are published on TRXL.coPaid supporters of TRXL+ get ad-free podcast episodes, full show notes, and exclusive Leadership Edge email newsletters from TRXL
Transcribe →222: 'You're Automating the Wrong Thing', with Mirco Bianchini
Mar 1001:12:47Tap to summarizeMirco Bianchini joins the podcast to talk about where AI automation is actually headed in AEC and why the industry is likely focused on the wrong problems. We explore the gap between Grasshopper prototyping and real product deployment, why LLMs are about to democratize computation far beyond the specialist niche, and how MCPs could finally connect a construction industry that has always been fragmented by tool silos.This episode is especially relevant for BIM managers, computational designers, and design technologists who are experimenting with AI tools but unsure how to move from individual automation to something the whole firm can use. Mirco argues the real opportunity isn't in generating models but actually in the unglamorous operational work: capturing knowledge across projects, reducing email overhead, and building the organizational second brain that firms have always needed.To learn more about Mirco Bianchini, see the full show notes with links at https://trxl.co/222To get more great conversations with AEC technology leaders on the TRXL podcast please visit https://trxl.co_____Episode Sponsors:TRXL+ MembershipThis episode of TRXL is brought to you by TRXL+ members! Join our community of supporters to get exclusive benefits like ad-free episodes and full access to our AEC Leadership Edge newsletter. Your support keeps these valuable conversations going. Click here to learn more and become a supporter of independent AEC media today.AVAILAVAIL's content management system (CMS) simplifies access to your firm's content in one easy-to-use platform. Search and access files from anywhere, create standards-compliant models, streamline documentation, and onboard new hires faster. Try AVAIL for free and request a demo at https://getavail.comConfluence Events & PodcastJoin AEC industry technology leaders at Confluence, a series of in-person events and a podcast fostering conversations between firms and tech companies to support innovation. Learn more, explore upcoming events, and listen to podcast episodes at https://confluence.getavail.com-----Sign up to become a TRXL member.Free members get email notifications when new episodes are released and when new posts are published on TRXL.coPaid supporters of TRXL+ get ad-free podcast episodes, full show notes, and exclusive Leadership Edge email newsletters from TRXL
Transcribe →221: ‘Architecture’s Busyness Trap’, with Joachim Viktil
Feb 2401:43:36Tap to summarizeJoachim Viktil joins the podcast to talk about the growing gap between how architects are trained to think and how architectural firms are structured to operate. We explore the hidden cost of staying busy, the limits of billable-hour business models, and why architects, despite being trained as systems thinkers, are often confined to producing deliverables instead of improving the systems behind the work.This episode is especially relevant for firm leaders and tech-curious architects who feel the tension between utilization and leverage, and are questioning whether the current structure of practice is setting their best people up to thrive.To learn more about Joachim Viktil, see the full show notes with links at https://trxl.co/221To get more great conversations with AEC technology leaders on the TRXL podcast please visit https://trxl.co_____Episode Sponsors:AVAILAVAIL's content management system (CMS) simplifies access to your firm's content in one easy-to-use platform. Search and access files from anywhere, create standards-compliant models, streamline documentation, and onboard new hires faster. Try AVAIL for free and request a demo at https://getavail.comConfluence Events & PodcastJoin AEC industry technology leaders at Confluence, a series of in-person events and a podcast fostering conversations between firms and tech companies to support innovation. Learn more, explore upcoming events, and listen to podcast episodes at https://confluence.getavail.comTRXL+ MembershipThis episode of TRXL is brought to you by TRXL+ members! Join our community of supporters to get exclusive benefits like ad-free episodes and our AEC Leadership Edge newsletter. Your support keeps these valuable conversations going. Click here to learn more and become a member today.-----Sign up to become a TRXL member.Free members get email notifications when new episodes are released and when new posts are published on TRXL.coPaid supporters of TRXL+ get ad-free podcast episodes, full show notes, and exclusive Leadership Edge email newsletters from TRXLProvide feedback for this episode at https://trxl.co/feedback
Transcribe →220: ‘Lightweight Architectural Structures’, with Joshua Schultz
Feb 1001:19:37Tap to summarizeJoshua Schultz joins the podcast to talk about lightweight structures, including cable nets and glass design, as well as insights from his upcoming book, “Structural Design of Lightweight Structures,” co-authored with Christian Stutzki, highlighting the future of architectural design.To learn more about Joshua Schultz, see the full show notes with links at https://trxl.co/220To get more great conversations with AEC technology leaders on the TRXL podcast please visit https://trxl.co_____Episode Sponsors:AVAILAVAIL's content management system (CMS) simplifies access to your firm's content in one easy-to-use platform. Search and access files from anywhere, create standards-compliant models, streamline documentation, and onboard new hires faster. Try AVAIL for free and request a demo at https://getavail.comConfluence Events & PodcastJoin AEC industry technology leaders at Confluence, a series of in-person events and a podcast fostering conversations between firms and tech companies to support innovation. Learn more, explore upcoming events, and listen to podcast episodes at https://confluence.getavail.comTRXL Leadership EdgeTRXL's AEC Leadership Edge newsletter delivers insights on architectural practice and technology for busy professionals. Each edition features analysis of podcast conversations, key takeaways for AEC leaders, and concise episode summaries.Ready to gain your leadership edge? Join TRXL+ today and never miss an insight that could transform your practice.-----Sign up to become a TRXL member.Free members get email notifications when new episodes are released and when new posts are published on TRXL.coPaid supporters of TRXL+ get ad-free podcast episodes, full show notes, and exclusive Leadership Edge email newsletters from TRXLProvide feedback for this episode at https://trxl.co/feedback
Transcribe →219: ‘Keeping Architects in the Driver's Seat’, with George Guida
Jan 2901:29:59Tap to summarizeGeorge Guida joins the podcast to talk about how AI is reshaping architectural practice. As founder of xFigura, George shares insights on building tools that keep architects in control while leveraging AI for ideation and collaboration. We explore the challenges of AI adoption, the future of design interfaces, and how the profession can thoughtfully integrate these technologies without losing the essential judgment and creativity that defines architecture.To learn more about George Guida, see the full show notes with links at https://trxl.co/219To get more great conversations with AEC technology leaders on the TRXL podcast please visit https://trxl.co_____Episode Sponsors:AVAILAVAIL's content management system (CMS) simplifies access to your firm's content in one easy-to-use platform. Search and access files from anywhere, create standards-compliant models, streamline documentation, and onboard new hires faster. Try AVAIL for free and request a demo at https://getavail.comConfluence Events & PodcastJoin AEC industry technology leaders at Confluence, a series of in-person events and a podcast fostering conversations between firms and tech companies to support innovation. Learn more, explore upcoming events, and listen to podcast episodes at https://confluence.getavail.comTRXL+ MembershipThis episode of TRXL is brought to you by TRXL+ members! Join our community of supporters to get exclusive benefits like ad-free episodes and our AEC Leadership Edge newsletter. Your support keeps these valuable conversations going. Click here to learn more and become a member today.-----Sign up to become a TRXL member.Free members get email notifications when new episodes are released and when new posts are published on TRXL.coPaid supporters of TRXL+ get ad-free podcast episodes, full show notes, and exclusive Leadership Edge email newsletters from TRXLProvide feedback for this episode at https://trxl.co/feedback
Transcribe →218: ‘Where’s My Friggin Hockey Stick’, with Zach Kron
Jan 1301:53:42Tap to summarizeZach Kron joins the podcast to talk about what it really means to apply architectural thinking to products for AEC from inside a technology company. We explore designing systems, learning by shipping imperfect work, the real tradeoffs that come with pursuing leverage beyond traditional practice, and more.This is an honest conversation for architects considering a move into tech, or looking to evolve their careers without leaving the discipline behind. It’s about agency, constraints, and redefining what impact and success can look like in architecture today.To learn more about Zach Kron, see the full show notes with links at https://trxl.co/218To get more great conversations with AEC technology leaders on the TRXL podcast please visit https://trxl.co-----Sign up to become a TRXL member.Free members get email notifications when new episodes are released and when new posts are published on TRXL.coPaid supporters of TRXL+ get ad-free podcast episodes, full show notes, and exclusive Leadership Edge email newsletters from TRXLProvide feedback for this episode at https://trxl.co/feedback
Transcribe →217: Campfire Series - ‘The Computational Design Story’, with Neil Katz
Dec 3001:50:15Tap to summarizeIn this special Campfire Series episode, Neil Katz joins the podcast to tell us about the evolution of architectural technology from first principles. Long before CAD, BIM, parametrics, or AI became industry buzzwords, Neil was there. From technics and morphology, to early programming in BASIC and geometry-driven thinking, to custom software at SOM, to landmark projects that pushed behavior-based design into real buildings, his career offers a rare, continuous view of how design computation entered architectural practice.If you’re interested in where computational design really came from and what still matters as the industry looks ahead, this episode provides essential context. To learn more about Neil Katz, see the full show notes with links at https://trxl.co/217To get more great conversations with AEC technology leaders on the TRXL podcast please visit https://trxl.co-----Sign up to become a TRXL member.Free members get email notifications when new episodes are released and when new posts are published on TRXL.coPaid supporters of TRXL+ get ad-free podcast episodes, full show notes, and exclusive Leadership Edge email newsletters from TRXLProvide feedback for this episode at https://trxl.co/feedback
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