
TRXL
Join architect Evan Troxel as he explores important topics surrounding the co-evolution of technology and architecture. Guests from the architectural community and beyond join in long-form conversations about the influence digital transformation is having on the profession with long digressions on leadership, change management, knowledge transfer, where all this may lead to in the future of the building industry, and more.
Latest episodes

Dec 21, 2022 • 1h 5min
Replay – ‘Creating Opportunities for Collisions’, with Eric Reinholdt
In this special replay episode, Eric Reinholdt of 30X40 Design Workshop joins the podcast to talk about why he started his YouTube channel, the keys to being productive, why getting away from architecture helps his process, the importance of making things, turning sources into resources, and much more. Links30x40 Design Workshop - Eric's web siteEric's YouTube channelA Choice to MakeEvan's YouTube channelArchispeak at CONSTRUCT - YouTube as a productivity toolRoosevelt's "The Man in the Arena"Eric's booksIra Glass on one's taste exceeding one's abilitySteve Jobs on connecting the dotsDieter RamsWerner Herzog and his Masterclass on FilmmakingPeter ZumthorMaking versus managingFive Finger Death PunchIn Flames (Swedish melodic death metal)Nils FrahmCoheed and CambriaDerek Sivers podcastTom Hegen - photographer of impossible landscapesFIRE movement - Financial Independence, Retire EarlyThe Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free lifeEvery Tool's a Hammer by Adam SavageCheck out my other podcasts too: Archispeak and PeopleverseMy YouTube channelConnect with EvanTwitterLinkedInInstagramYouTubeEmailSponsorContent is more than Revit families. If it’s digital, AVAIL can handle it. Learn more today at https://getavail.com and future-proof your firm’s technology investment.

Dec 14, 2022 • 1h 36min
108: ‘Systematization Before Automation’, with Oliver David (OD) Krieg
Oliver David (OD) Krieg of Intelligent City joins the podcast to talk about topics at the intersection of computational design, robotic fabrication, and turn-key urban housing as a product. We begin with OD’s journey from school at ICD in Germany to where he is currently at Intelligent City, the value and benefits of bottom-up as opposed to top-down initiatives, moving away from project thinking to a product company, navigating risk versus reward in manufacturing, design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA) and industrialized construction, prefab in relation to mass timber highrise, density, housing, sustainability, and carbon neutrality, where parametric design fits into the process, the definition of parametric manufacturing and mass customization, what it’s like building an industry from scratch, building architecture on top of tech in relation to a tech-first company (versus a project-first or architecture-first company), and why systematization must occur before automation.LinksOD on LinkedInOD on TwitterOD on InstagramOD’s website (highly recommended!)Finger-jointed plate panel pavilionIntelligent City websiteIntelligent City on LinkedInIntelligent City on TwitterIntelligent City on InstagramCAD’s Boring Future and Why it’s Exciting by Daniel Davis (re: the fat middle)Additional TRXL episodes referenced in the conversation:TRXL 063 - ‘The Thicc Middle’, with Daniel DavisTRXL 100 - ‘Negative Compound Interest’, with Paul WintourCheck out my other podcasts too: Archispeak and PeopleverseMy YouTube channelConnect with EvanTwitterLinkedInInstagramYouTubeEmailSponsorContent is more than Revit families. If it’s digital, AVAIL can handle it. Learn more today at https://getavail.com and future-proof your firm’s technology investment.

Dec 7, 2022 • 1h 31min
107: ‘Quasi-Irreversible Investment’, with Anthony Frausto-Robledo
Anthony Frausto-Robledo of Architosh joins the podcast to talk about two of his recent articles highlighting Autodesk. The first article is an interview with Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost and the topic is their Autodesk University announcement of the next generation industry cloud platform for AEC called Forma. The second article is about the recent Nordic Open Letter penned by several significant architectural associations that was recently delivered to Autodesk’s CEO regarding Revit development and value as subscription costs have continued to rise. We also discuss a bit of Disruption Theory, network effects and positive externalities, switching costs and the sunk cost fallacy, how academia fits into the puzzle of technology training and the profession’s expectations, how technology developers fit into the puzzle of professional practice operations in regards to dependency on the tech to fulfill business deliverables, dominance and power, Superman syndrome, and a short lesson in railroad track gauges.LinksAnthony on LinkedInAnthony on TwitterArchitosh websiteAnthony's free Xpresso email newsletterArchitosh on LinkedInArchitosh on InstagramAutodesk Begins New Era for Future of Architecture (Architosh)The Revit Open Letter Through the Lens of QWERTY-Nomics (Architosh)Nordic Open Letter (AEC Mag)European Open Letter (AEC Mag)Clayton Christensen's theory on innovative disruption (Wikipedia)Sunk cost fallacy explainedEconomist Paul A. David's landmark Clio and the Economics of QWERTYEuropean Construction Industry Federation (FIEC) position paper on lack of competition in the AEC software industryHow to lose a monopoly (Benedict Evans)Nobody Gets Fired For Buying IBM (Forbes)A History of Track GaugeWhy BART system uses wider gaugePrevious TRXL episodes featuring Anthony:TRXL 012 – ‘Force Multipliers’, with Anthony Frausto-RobledoTRXL 022 – ‘Turbo Boost Mood’, with Anthony Frausto-RobledoTRXL 023 – ‘One More Thing’, with Anthony Frausto-RobledoCheck out my other podcasts too: Archispeak and PeopleverseMy YouTube channelConnect with EvanTwitterLinkedInInstagramYouTubeEmailSponsorContent is more than Revit families. If it’s digital, AVAIL can handle it. Learn more today at https://getavail.com and future-proof your firm’s technology investment.

Nov 30, 2022 • 1h 16min
106: ‘Aligning Ambitious Ideas’, with Gabe Paez
Gabe Paez of Autodesk joins the podcast to talk about the intersection of humans and immersive technologies, the magic of experiencing ideas together, shared reality, the difficulty of change in relation to new tools and workflows, the value of working in different ways, the (controversial) notion of having fun at work, Extended Reality (XR) as it relates to remote work, shortening the distance between an idea and an experience, experiential tools, the value of collaboration, synchronous and asynchronous work on projects, interactive and manipulatable environments, persistence of virtual environments, and more.LinksGabe on LinkedInGabe on TwitterAutodesk on LinkedInAutodesk on TwitterAutodesk on InstagramAutodesk Extended Reality (XR)The Wild websiteIrisVR websiteTRXL 065: ‘Designing the Designer’, with Andreea CojocaruCheck out my other podcasts too: Archispeak and PeopleverseMy YouTube channelConnect with EvanTwitterLinkedInInstagramYouTubeEmail

Nov 23, 2022 • 1h 9min
105: ‘Pick Your Niche’, with Ian Janicki
Ian Janicki of Homestead joins the podcast to talk about what architecture schools have been and still are focused on versus what opportunities exist because of recent changes in legislation (California’s SB 9), the importance of infill—especially for solving the housing crisis, why architects should consider learning real estate, how to make more developers, entrepreneurship in the architectural profession, making the case for why we should be wrapping our collective heads around the potential of architecture as product and how to scale an idea to affect change, how to protect a business to avoid what Ian calls “the lumpiness of the profession”, NIMBY-ism and YIMBY-ism, and more.LinksIan’s CalendlyArchitect & Developer: A Guide to Self-Initiating Projects by James Petty AIA (Amazon)Otto ADU websiteCalifornia Senate Bill 9 (The California Home Act)Ian on LinkedInIan on TwitterHomestead websiteHomestead on TwitterHomestead on LinkedInPrevious TRXL episodes referenced in the conversation:046: ‘The Moment’, with Ian Janicki067: ‘Ignoring the Warning Signs’, with Samuel Schneider of HomesteadCheck out my other podcasts too: Archispeak and PeopleverseMy YouTube channelConnect with EvanTwitterLinkedInInstagramYouTubeEmail

Nov 16, 2022 • 1h 24min
104: ‘Going Deeper Than the Surface We’re Scratching’, with Michael Ermann
Michael Ermann of Virginia Tech and Amber Book joins the podcast to talk about intuition and meaning, the necessity for architects to go deeper than ever before, how the profession is ignoring market forces, and we have a critical conversation about architectural education and practice.LinksMichael on LinkedInMichael’s websiteMichael & Amber Book on TwitterAmber Book websiteAmber Book on InstagramCheck out my other podcasts too: Archispeak and PeopleverseMy YouTube channelConnect with EvanTwitterLinkedInInstagramYouTubeEmailSponsorContent is more than Revit families. If it’s digital, AVAIL can handle it. Learn more today at https://getavail.com and future-proof your firm’s technology investment.

Nov 9, 2022 • 1h 18min
103: ‘Through the Abstraction Ladder’, with Kyle Bernhardt
Kyle Bernhardt of TestFit joins the podcast to talk about his career spanning from school to Autodesk to TestFit, leadership, communication, bridging between different groups within an organization, discussion about the unchangeable soul of an app, reducing friction in our processes, addressing unmet expectations, new chapters and new opportunities during one’s career, and so much more.LinksKyle on LinkedInKyle on TwitterTestFit websiteTestFit on LinkedInTestFit on TwitterTestFit REX (Real Estate Execution Model) blog postClifton Harness (CEO of TestFit) on TRXLTRXL 005: ’BIM is a T-Rex‘, with Clifton HarnessTRXL 048: ‘How it Started; How it’s Going’, with Ian Keough and Clifton HarnessTRXL 067: ‘Ignoring the Warning Signs’, with Samuel Schneider (Financial approach in architecture reference)Archispeak 279: An Indictment of the Built Environment (Heatherwick article reference)Check out my other podcasts too: Archispeak and PeopleverseMy YouTube channelConnect with EvanTwitterLinkedInInstagramYouTubeEmailSponsorContent is more than Revit families. If it’s digital, AVAIL can handle it. Learn more today at https://getavail.com and future-proof your firm’s technology investment.

Nov 1, 2022 • 49min
102: ‘There’s So Much to Do’, with Doris Sung
Doris Sung of DOSU Studio Architecture joins the podcast to talk about her research and entrepreneurial forays into smart materials and more specifically her work with thermal bi-metal, her journey creating building products that don’t require electrical or mechanical infrastructure, teaching in architecture and the upcoming USC undergraduate degree for entrepreneurialism, and more.LinksDoris on LinkedInDOSU Studio on TwitterDOSU Studio on InstagramDOSU Studio websiteTBM self-shading window systemsCheck out my other podcasts too: Archispeak and PeopleverseMy YouTube channelConnect with EvanTwitterLinkedInInstagramYouTubeEmailSponsorContent is more than Revit families. If it’s digital, AVAIL can handle it. Learn more today at https://getavail.com and future-proof your firm’s technology investment.

Oct 25, 2022 • 1h 16min
101: ‘Finding Better Ways’, with Jordan Rogove and Wayne Norbeck
Special guests Jordan Rogove and Wayne Norbeck lead two NYC-based firms: DXA Studio and Liv Connected. They join the podcast to talk about using prefab modular as a strategy for the delivery of productized architecture, how architecture can save people’s lives, the ‘volumetric modular’ system they’ve developed, the benefits of prefab, the value of their tight collaboration with a dedicated and experienced fabrication outfit, the importance of creating a sense of purpose in their work, and more.LinksJordan on LinkedInWayne on LinkedInDXA studio websiteDXA studio on LinkedInDXA studio on InstagramLiv Connected websiteLiv Connected on LinkedInLiv Connected on InstagramCheck out my other podcasts too: Archispeak and PeopleverseMy YouTube channelConnect with EvanTwitterLinkedInInstagramYouTubeEmailSponsorContent is more than Revit families. If it’s digital, AVAIL can handle it. Learn more today at https://getavail.com and future-proof your firm’s technology investment.

Oct 18, 2022 • 1h 8min
100: ‘Negative Compound Interest’, with Paul Wintour
Special guest Paul Wintour of Parametric Monkey joins the podcast to talk about his description of the gap that exists in the profession between innovation and adoption, just how far behind we really are and how much work there is to do to catch up, technical debt in architectural practice, the reality that most digital tools that are developed in firms are incomplete and unused, transactions versus relationships, recalibrating practice, and more.LinksTRXL Episode Database (TED)Paul on LinkedInParametric Monkey websiteParametric Monkey on LinkedInParametric Monkey on TwitterTechnical Debt: Architecture’s Ticking Time Bomb by Paul WintourIncomplete and unused: Design Technology’s dirty secret by Paul WintourWhy Companies Do “Innovation Theater” Instead of Actual Innovation by Steve Blank (Harvard Business Review)Donald Rumsfeld’s quote on known unknowns (goodreads)TRXL 093: ‘Continuous Improvement Culture’, with Matt WashMetric MonkeyCheck out my other podcasts too: Archispeak and PeopleverseMy YouTube channelConnect with EvanTwitterLinkedInInstagramYouTubeEmailSponsorContent is more than Revit families. If it’s digital, AVAIL can handle it. Learn more today at https://getavail.com and future-proof your firm’s technology investment.