In this episode, Christian sits down with Louis Koehl, AIA, CPHD, Director of Sustainable Design at Handel Architects, for a deep dive into what sustainability really means in today’s built environment. Forget buzzwords and marketing veneers - Louis unpacks sustainability as a design foundation, not a feature. And for the first time on the podcast, Christian and Louis pull up actual project photos in real time - like the world’s largest affordable Passive House building - to explore the strategy...
Jun 24, 2025•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 75
In this episode, Christian sits down with Sean DeDeyn, co-founder of The Axel Group, a full-service staffing and recruiting firm for the AEC industry. Christian and Sean discuss his “Anything but Typical” approach to finding the right talent for the job. He shares how he built a business rooted in asking the right questions, culture-first placements, and speed. Sean also unpacks his theory that company culture starts in the lobby and some interviews can fail before they even begin. Regardless of...
May 13, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 74
In this episode, Christian sits down with Jonathan Schultz, Co-founder and Managing Principal of Onyx Equities and Host of The Jon Schultz Podcast: The Myth of Overnight Success. Christian and Jon discuss his approach to real estate development, his company's pivot from office to life sciences and industrial, and the transformative potential of AI in real estate. Jon dives deep into the significance of responsiveness, creativity, and trust in all business relationships. Whether you're an archite...
Apr 01, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 73
In this episode, Christian sits down with Denise Young, a 22-year veteran in strategic partnerships and business development. As Business Development Manager at Turner Construction–an international construction services company that completes $17 billion in construction across 1,500 projects annually–Denise plays a key role in mentoring staff on best practices for business and professional development. Denise is also the President and Owner of Young BD Group (YBDG), which she founded in 2014. YB...
Mar 18, 2025•44 min•Season 3Ep. 72
In this episode, Christian sits down with Michael Fox, President of Fox Building Group. Michael began his career at The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company and launched his firm in 2021. Fox Building Group specializes in high-end, detail-driven commercial projects ranging from ground-up interiors to residential multifamily, condos, luxury townhouses, and 3M+ single-family homes. Michael’s team is in Tampa, Nashville, and South Florida. Known for its construction concierge approach, Fox Building G...
Mar 04, 2025•57 min•Season 3Ep. 71
In this episode, Christian sits down with Brian Tolman, Co-founder of Origin. Brian is an award-winning architect and designer of industry-defining places for work and play. Before co-founding Origin in 2021, Brian founded the award-winning Convene Design Group, where he led a team of over 40 designers, strategists, and architects. He spent the first 18 years of his career as a firm leader and managing principal at STUDIOS Architecture’s New York office, where he worked with high-profile brands ...
Feb 11, 2025•58 min•Season 3Ep. 70
In this episode, Christian sits down with Kristina Reynolds, Co-founder and Principal Consultant & Facilitator of Collective Social Intelligence (CSI), also known as Fly-CSI. With over 30 years of experience mentoring top global CEOs and partnering with leading brands like PepsiCo, McDonald's, and L’Oréal, Kristina combines her expertise as a behavioral psychologist and her background in advertising, marketing, and decision-making psychology to help organizations and leaders reach their full...
Jan 28, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Season 3Ep. 69
In this episode, Christian sits down with Ryan Anderson, Vice President of Global Research and Planning at MillerKnoll. His team leads MillerKnoll’s research, shares insights publicly across the world, and provides workplace strategy and application design services to the company’s customers. With 30 years of industry experience, Ryan’s work has centered on how the places we inhabit can be better designed to support healthy, inclusive, and productive communities. Ryan hosts MillerKnoll’s About P...
Jan 14, 2025•58 min•Season 3Ep. 68
In this episode, Christian sits down with Michael Leondi, Vice President of Design & Construction at Rockefeller Group. With more than 25 years of experience in commercial real estate and construction, Mike is based in the company’s Morristown, New Jersey, office overseeing the development of projects in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Since 1928, Rockefeller Group has evolved from developing the iconic Rockefeller Center to creating innovative office, residential, industrial, and mixed-used pr...
Dec 10, 2024•53 min•Season 3Ep. 67
In this episode, Christian sits down with Tom Shen, President and CEO of Shen Milsom & Wilke (SM&W), a leading global consulting firm specializing in IT, Audiovisual Systems, Security, Acoustics, and Medical Equipment Planning. With a career spanning over 30 years, Tom has shaped SM&W into one of the world's most respected and highly acclaimed consultancies. Tom’s leadership has guided the firm’s growth across diverse sectors, ensuring the firm remains adaptable to the evolving techn...
Nov 12, 2024•55 min•Season 3Ep. 66
In this episode, Christian sits down with Mark Benhar, Founder and President of Benhar Office Interiors, one of New York's largest dealerships for furniture and architectural products and a MillerKnoll Platinum Certified Office Furniture Dealer. Mark plays a key role in overseeing leadership and management across the company, engaging in sales, marketing, recruitment, and driving growth. Under his leadership, the management team has cultivated a strong organizational culture emphasizing employee...
Oct 15, 2024•57 min•Season 3Ep. 65
In this episode, Christian sits down with David Brown, Head of Brand Experience at DIRTT, a global leader in industrialized construction. After decades of crisscrossing North America, David understands operations, manufacturing, and construction trends and has seen firsthand the importance the built environment plays in our lives. Using technology to streamline the process, David understands the benefits of multi-trade and prefab construction, including the ability to partner in preconstruction ...
Sep 17, 2024•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 64
In this episode, Christian sits down with Robert Otani, CTO of Thornton Tomasetti, a multidisciplinary engineering and consulting firm. Robert has extensive structural design and project management experience involving commercial, infrastructure, institutional, cultural, and residential structures on projects totaling over $2 billion in construction. Robert established and oversees the CORE studio. His professional and academic interests focus on informed architecture relating to optimized struc...
Aug 13, 2024•49 min•Season 3Ep. 63
In this episode, Christian sits down with Cyrus Izzo, President and CEO of Syska Hennessy Group, a leading global engineering firm specializing in full-service MEP, information and communication technology, architectural lighting, vertical transportation, and commissioning. Cyrus joined Syska in 1993 as an electrical engineer and, in 2023, became the firm's President and CEO. He has overseen a geographic expansion into Dubai and Shanghai, codified best practices, and established a collaborative ...
Jul 16, 2024•57 min•Season 3Ep. 62
In this episode, Christian sits down with Julie Engh, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, Project Manager at Watershed Partners, an employee-owned and managed project management firm specializing in retail, hospitality, institutional, healthcare, and residential projects. After almost 20 years leading design and construction through all project phases, Julie's expertise bridges architectural history, construction management, and architectural design. She is passionate about adaptively reusing historic building...
Jun 18, 2024•46 min•Season 3Ep. 61
In this episode, Christian sits down with Joseph Dennis, Principal/General Counsel and Ethics Officer of Arup Americas. Arup Americas is part of Arup Group, one of the world’s largest engineering firms with over 18,000 employees worldwide and a multi-disciplinary practice. He oversees an eleven-person legal team with a portfolio of responsibilities that includes the firm’s contracts, disputes, intellectual property, corporate affairs, and risk management. Joseph negotiates contracts for signific...
May 21, 2024•58 min•Season 3Ep. 60
In this episode, Christian sits down with Michael Abboud, CEO of TetherView. With over 20 years of experience in the field of IT, Michael has built a reputation for his deep technical expertise and his unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction. TetherView is a leading IT solutions company based in Oceanport, New Jersey, and has become one of the most trusted names in the industry to companies across a wide range of sectors. Michael is passionate about leveraging the latest technologies to h...
Apr 16, 2024•51 min•Season 3Ep. 59
In this episode, Christian sits down with Lise Bornstein, AIA, Partner at KFA Architecture. Lise has devoted her architectural design career to creating spaces and opportunities where people and communities thrive. She is responsible for business development, project conceptualization and design, as well as office operations and culture. She has managed projects and campus master plans with complex entitlement packages, multiple funding sources and significant community outreach while working co...
Mar 19, 2024•52 min•Season 3Ep. 58
In this episode, Christian sits down with Rob Adler, President of Robert W. Adler & Associates. Rob is an architect and design professional, running his architecture firm that focuses on both residential and commercial projects. Over the past three decades, Rob’s practice has expanded from designing single family homes to designing commercial projects and major developments. Today, he boasts a portfolio featuring some of the most prestigious addresses and clientele along the Jersey Shore. Ro...
Feb 13, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 57
In this episode, Christian sits down with Rion Willard, Director of Consulting at Business of Architecture. Rion is an architect turned architecture business consultant for architectural practice owners around the world; he helps them grow and design their practices. In the early days of running his own practice called TTHS Architects, he was met with many business obstacles that frustrated and confused him. The constant financial anxiety and stress drove him to a point where he decided he had t...
Jan 16, 2024•58 min•Season 3Ep. 56
In this episode, Christian sits down with Sarah Dirsa, Principal and Partner of KG+D Architects. Sarah is passionate about finding design solutions that address and improve social issues. In 2021, Sarah became the first female Principal in the firm’s nearly 90-year history. She has taken on a leading role in advancing the firm’s Next Generation educational facility design expertise by examining overlaps between curriculum and design. Sarah is on the National Design Team for Reimagine America’s S...
Dec 19, 2023•46 min•Season 3Ep. 55
In this episode, Christian sits down with K.P. Reddy, Founder and CEO of Shadow Ventures. As a prominent figure in the world of technology and innovation, K.P. has become a global authority in AEC environments, AI, robotics, automation, mobile applications, and cloud computing. He is the author of the definitive guide to Building Information Modeling, “BIM for Building Owners and Developers.” K.P.’s extensive experience includes founding and exiting three technology companies to NASDAQ, NYSE, an...
Nov 21, 2023•49 min•Season 3Ep. 54
In this special episode highlighting the 31st Annual CANstruction New York Design and Build Competition, Christian sits down with four leaders behind the incredible cause, including Jennifer Greene, Director of Marketing at Ronnette Riley Architect, Elysa Marden, Senior Vice President of Arts and Events for Brookfield Properties, Jenna Harris, City Harvest’s Associate Director as well as Jessica Sheridan, Principal at Mancini Duffy. The 2023 CANstruction New York exhibit, located at Brookfield P...
Oct 26, 2023•42 min•Season 3Ep. 53
In this episode, Christian sits down with Jeff Echols, Senior Advisor and the Head of Marketing at Shadow Partners. Jeff is on a mission to change the way AEC firms do business. He leverages 30 years of experience working in, starting, and managing firms to help drive innovation in the business of architecture and AEC adjacent industries. Jeff hosts the Build Your Brand podcast, the live-stream show Context & Clarity LIVE, and the daily short-form podcast Shadow Shorts. A prolific speaker, J...
Sep 26, 2023•55 min•Season 3Ep. 52
In this episode, Christian sits down with Stephen Perkins, Partner at HotelStudio. Stephen is an American Architect and Designer, leading the way in creating story-driven, experiential hospitality and entertainment spaces. His design prowess is exemplified in the hundreds of luxury hotels, resorts, cultural, leisure, and retail destinations that he has designed over the course of his 45-year career. His innovation and leadership in the field has been recognized by Hospitality Design Magazine’s P...
Aug 30, 2023•54 min•Season 3Ep. 51
In this episode, Christian sits down with Marc Spector, FAIA, CEO and Owner of SPECTOR Companies. Marc applies his core cultural principles to the business of architecture, creating value for design excellence and the profession. Marc’s influential business model is built on creating impactful life spaces regardless of project constraints and typology, cultivation of client and team relationships into friendships, growth in new markets and services, and continual advancement of design innovation...
Aug 01, 2023•51 min•Season 3Ep. 50
In this episode, Christian sits down with Bradford Perkins, FAIA, co-founder of Perkins Eastman with Mary-Jean Eastman, FAIA. He has built a career that spans 50 years and includes projects in more than 30 countries. Brad’s grandfather Dwight Heald Perkins, FAIA, who founded Perkins, Fellows and Hamilton in 1894, and Brad’s father, Lawrence Bradford Perkins, FAIA, who co-founded Perkins + Will in 1935, inspired Brad to focus on design that enhances the quality of life. Throughout his career, Bra...
Jul 11, 2023•55 min•Season 3Ep. 49
In this episode, Christian sits down with Paul J. Massey, CEO of B6 Real Estate Advisors, which provides commercial real estate owners and stakeholders with a next-generation experience to optimize their investments through territory-specific investment sales. You might recognize Paul’s name from the well-known Massey Knakal Realty Services, a company he founded with his colleague Robert Knakal whom he met at CBRE (and previous guest here on The Anti-Architect Podcast – Episode 40). The company ...
Jun 21, 2023•46 min•Season 3Ep. 48
In this episode, Christian sits down with Mark Zweig, Chairman and Founder of Zweig Group. Mark is best known as the leading expert in management for the architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental industries for four decades. Zweig Group has been on the Inc 500/5000 list of fastest-growing privately-held companies three times. Mark’s other company, Mark Zweig, Inc., is an award-winning design/build/development firm that was named to the Inc 5000 list in 2014. Since 2005, Mark has bee...
May 30, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 47
In this episode, Christian sits down with John "Ozzie" Nelson Jr., Chairman and CEO of NELSON Worldwide. In 1987, Ozzie entered his father’s 15-person interior design firm. Over the following years, he expanded the firm’s core design business with emerging technologies and consulting capabilities to create a compelling service delivery platform for large corporate clients. Since Ozzie became CEO in 2003, the firm has executed more than 40 mergers/acquisitions, taking NELSON from #37 in the indus...
May 09, 2023•56 min•Season 3Ep. 46
