Master architect Paul McClean shares his architectural journey from Dublin to Southern California, the complexities of custom home design, and how the events of 2020 have reshaped our relationship with our living spaces.
The Evolution of Modern Living: How the events of 2020 shifted priorities, making homes more central to daily life, remote work, and family dynamics.
Designing for Southern California: Harnessing climate, indoor-outdoor living, natural light, fresh air, and regional site specifics.
The Journey of an Architect: Paul McLean’s early inspiration from Frank Lloyd Wright in Dublin and his eventual move to California to shape contemporary residential architecture.
The Complexity of Residential Design: Why custom homes are often more programmatically complex than large commercial structures due to personal scale and diverse human needs.
Site-Specific Architecture: The philosophy that homes must be created “of the land,” starting with unique site constraints and views rather than imposing pre-conceived concepts.
The relationship between humanity and the built environment experienced a profound reckoning during the year 2020. As global events forced individuals into extended isolation within their four walls, the traditional concept of a home underwent an immediate transformation. Dwellings that were once merely spaces for evening recovery suddenly had to double as offices, classrooms, recreation zones, and sanctuaries. For architects and designers, this seismic shift highlighted a long-standing truth: our surroundings directly influence our mental well-being, our health, and our overall quality of life. The challenges of remote work, changing local climates, and restricted mobility brought the strengths and glaring deficiencies of residential architecture sharply into focus.
Master architects like Paul McLean have long understood that exceptional residential design begins well before the first foundation is poured—it starts with a deep, respectful dialogue with the land. Rooted in the modernist tradition championed by pioneers like Frank Lloyd Wright, site-specific architecture demands that a dwelling be born from its environment rather than dropped arbitrarily onto a plot of earth. By leveraging natural light, fluid indoor-outdoor transitions, and intelligent spatial editing, modern homes can foster peace and resilience even within the tight constraints of urban settings like Southern California.
Yet, crafting a truly successful custom home goes far beyond aesthetic appeal or environmental responsiveness. Programmatically, residential architecture is often more intricate than large commercial structures because it must simultaneously accommodate diverse human emotions, intimate family dynamics, and deeply personal routines. Homeowners often embark on this expensive, once-in-a-lifetime journey filled with equal parts excitement and anxiety. Navigating these waters requires an architect to act not only as a visionary designer but as a trusted guide through a complex process. Ultimately, the lessons learned during times of disruption remind us that our living spaces must be adaptable, health-conscious, and deeply connected to nature if they are to successfully sustain us through an uncertain future.
Nick McWhirter, Hans Hermann, and the multi-disciplinary team at SHM Architects break down their firm-wide rollout of new AI tools, the indispensable value of university-level design fundamentals, and why physical material libraries remain the ultimate defense against digital replication.
In this episode, I visit with SHM Architects in Dallas, Texas, to examine the real-world friction points shaping the modern design landscape. SHM’s Adrianna Taylor and Clodagh Ryan alongside Design Principals Nick McWhirter and Hans Herrmann discuss the firm’s recent rollout of AI driven tools sparking a candid panel debate on where automation ends and human artistry begins.
The discussion spans from academics—evaluating how post-pandemic students mistake software outputs for actual critical thinking—to the tactile reality of the firm’s analog office environment, where hand drawings and material libraries reign supreme. The team also navigates the metaphysical nature of architecture, addressing how design must tackle modern security and unprecedented regional climate swings—such as Texas’s erratic freeze-thaw cycles—without compromising on beauty and craft.
The AI Rollout — Swapping Production for Creativity: SHM Architects is actively rolling out access to Krea, an AI platform designed to eliminate front-end production “time sucks.” The goal is not to cut overall design hours, but to give billable time back to architects for curation, editorial storytelling, and high-level conceptualizing.
The Creative Backlash and App Bloat: While the firm embraces AI for administrative efficiency and quick visual communication for clients who struggle with spatial rendering, interior design specialists express caution. There is a strong resistance against continuous, automated iteration (“spinning the wheel”) in favor of deliberate, human-led limits.
The “TurboTax” Fallacy in Academics: Moving from an academic background to full-time practice, the panel notes that early-career designers often face a competency gap. Having software that generates a beautiful rendering does not make someone an architect, just as owning TurboTax does not make one a CPA. Grounding talent in analog fundamentals ensures they have the capacity to critically vet AI “hallucinations.”
The Metaphysical vs. Commodity Product: The firm actively resists the culture of “ordering a product and gluing it to a wall” to solve design problems. True bespoke design lies in taking readily available, off-the-shelf components and assembling them in mathematically beautiful, unexpected ways to create an atmospheric, one-of-one reality.
Climate Change Re-Writing Landscape Spec Sheets: On the landscape architecture front, the team faces immediate, harsh realities. Erratic Texas weather—shifting from intense 110°F summer stretches to unprecedented hard freezes—means hardscape stones are popping and plant species that thrived a decade ago are no longer viable. Specifying for durability now requires constant, real-time feedback loops with regional nurseries and stone suppliers.
Overlapping Tech in Vendor Relations: Manufacturer reps are aggressively introducing their own proprietary in-house AI rendering and product-placement modeling programs. However, a professional friction point is emerging: multi-disciplinary design firms prefer to keep those workflows centered within their own agnostic design software rather than using segmented vendor applications.
Applicable Links & Resources
Explore the custom residential portfolio and philosophy of the panel at SHM Architects.
Discover the creative, real-time generation and upscaling toolset used by the firm at Krea AI.
Research the latest advancements in resilient cladding and outdoor engineering via James Hardie and TimberTech.
The Curation of Atmosphere: Protecting Professional Discernment in an Automated Era
The modern architectural studio has become a battleground between the efficiency of the pixel and the truth of the atom. As the leadership team at SHM Architects outlines in this conversation, the rapid integration of artificial intelligence platforms like Krea represents a massive operational inflection point. For a business model that fundamentally sells time as its primary commodity, the allure of outsourcing front-end production, administrative tasks, and rapid client-facing ideation to algorithmic models is undeniable. Yet, beneath the enthusiasm for newfound studio bandwidth lies a deeper, pro-to-pro anxiety regarding the preservation of critical thinking, professional discernment, and historical craft.
The core tension of the automated shift does not rest on whether the technology functions, but on who is operating the prompt. In architectural education and early-career training, a dangerous dependency loop has emerged. When software can instantly bridge the gap between a rudimentary concept and a highly polished, photorealistic rendering, the vital phase of internal struggle is completely bypassed.
True architectural competency is rooted in critical curation—the capacity to dissect a visual output, stress-test it for structural feasibility, and identify algorithmic hallucinations. If a young designer relies on digital generation before mastering the hard, analog mechanics of hand drafting, scale, and detailing, they risk becoming passive consumers of an algorithm’s logic rather than master builders.
This preservation of craft is precisely why forward-thinking firms refuse to abandon the physical sensory experience. Despite the presence of high-end digital modeling tools, the modern design process must remain anchored in a tactile reality. A room lined with physical fabric swatches, hand-sketched elevations, real metal samples, and dynamic stone specimens acts as an essential counterweight to digital abstraction.
Architecture is fundamentally a metaphysical pursuit; it is the curation of human atmosphere, safety, and emotion. You cannot specify an atmospheric experience out of a catalog, nor can you download a product to resolve complex societal challenges or severe climate shifts.
This reality is most acutely visible on the landscape architecture front, where design directly interfaces with a volatile natural ecosystem. In regions like Dallas, extreme climate shifts—moving from punishing triple-digit summer heatwaves to sudden, catastrophic hard freezes—have completely broken traditional specification templates. Materials and plant typologies that were considered bombproof a decade ago are structurally failing and dying today. Resolving these real-world systemic issues requires deep, localized, human-to-human networks between designers, regional nurseries, and structural engineers.
Ultimately, artificial intelligence is merely a sharper medium, not a substitute for architectural intellect. The true value of a prestige design firm does not lie in its ability to generate a thousand rapid iterations at the click of a button. It rests entirely on the seasoned, human intuition required to look at a mountain of digital options, draw a definitive line, and choose the singular, beautiful, and permanent truth.
A Common Field Forever: Architect Paul Murdoch on the Architecture of Remembrance at the Flight 93 National Memorial. Convo By Design Icon Registry is presented by Pacific Sales Kitchen and Home.
In this special episode timed for the anniversary of September 11th, I sit down with architect Paul Murdoch to explore the profound responsibility of designing a national place of remembrance. Murdoch’s firm was selected from more than 1,100 international entries to create the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania—a 2,200-acre site honoring the 40 passengers and crew members who fought back against highjackers on 9/11.
We discuss the critical evolution from initial, spontaneous outpourings of grief—like roadside fences lined with personal tributes—to permanent architectural expressions built to sustain historical weight across generations. Murdoch walks me through the spatial narrative of the park, explaining how the landscape itself carries the scale of heroism. From the Wall of Names positioned directly along the plane’s flight path to the central field of honor, the integrated Visitor Center, and the 93-foot-tall Tower of Voices housing 40 wind chimes, Murdoch reveals how intentional editing, spatial restraint, and environmental integration can turn a site of immense tragedy into a timeless sanctuary of collective healing.
The Transition of Memorialization: Murdoch contrasts the initial, intense emotional outpouring of temporary tributes—such as the murals that emerged worldwide following Kobe Bryant’s tragic death or the original chain-link fence aggregated with personal items in Pennsylvania—with the profound challenge of designing a permanent national memorial. A lasting monument must suspend that raw, immediate grief just enough to preserve its historical weight for future generations, while still embedding emotional resonance into its core.
Defining Heroes, Not Victims: In developing the narrative framework, Murdoch notes a defining stance held by the families of the passengers and crew: they do not refer to their lost loved ones as victims, but as heroes. The design was tasked with capturing the collective, democratic action of forty everyday citizens who voted to fight back in real-time.
The Scale of a Memorial Landscape: Encompassing 2,200 acres (roughly two and a half times the size of New York’s Central Park), the site’s vast rural setting allowed the design team to utilize the geography itself rather than relying on heavy architectural objects. Murdoch emphasizes that a standard monument would have been completely dwarfed by the environment, forcing them to reshape the land itself to project a sense of heroism.
The Blueprint of Remembrance:
The Crash Site & Hemlock Grove: The final resting place remains a restricted, sacred zone. The public is brought to the very edge, where a ceremonial gate opens exclusively on September 11th alongside a wall of 40 marble slabs engraved with the heroes’ names, tracking the plane’s precise flight path.
The Field of Honor: Utilizing a quote originally written on a quilt by an LAFD captain before it was officially adopted into the competition brief (“A common field one day, a field of honor forever”), a sweeping circular walkway traces the rim of what was once an open-pit coal mine.
The Tower of Voices: Standing 93 feet tall near the park’s main highway entrance, this soaring vertical structure acts as both a gateway landmark and an acoustic monument, housing 40 unique wind chimes to honor the final memories of those who used their voices to connect with loved ones from the sky.
The Power of the Creative Edit: Murdoch stresses the rigorous testing required to distill the memorial to its absolute essence. By choosing to exclude a heavy narrative presence from the landscape, the Visitor Center became the designated home for storytelling. Murdoch restricted the center’s layout to a single space with five double-sided walls, explicitly fighting against a cluttered, “antique store” aesthetic or an insular “black box” exhibit style, opting instead for natural light that shifts with the moods of the surrounding environment.
Navigating Bureaucracy with Purpose: Building a brand-new national park from scratch required aligning a massive ecosystem of stakeholders, including the Federal Advisory Commission, the Families of Flight 93, the National Park Service, and environmental entities like the Army Corps of Engineers. Murdoch shares how the firm maintained the integrity of its design vision when confronted with institutional frameworks and standardized federal infrastructure plans.
In an un-siloed world where public spaces face evolving threats, Kirk Rose and Sergio Lechuga detail how intentional design, community trust, and “invisible layers” protect people without building prisons. This is only a part of what makes HMC Architects a people-focused firm and one built for the future. he Convo By Design Icon Registry is presented by Pacific Sales Kitchen & Home.
In this follow-up conversation, I attempt to anchor a deep dive into the changing nature of safety and security in architectural design. Kirk Rose (Healthcare Practice Leader at HMC Architects) and Sergio Lechuga (Director of Interior Design at HMC Architects).
The dialogue builds upon a previous conversation to explore how architects, acting as true futurists who design structures to last 75 to 150 years must proactively engineer spaces for unthinkable modern threats. From emergency room protocols to K-12 campus layouts and civic centers, Kirk and Sergio break down how rigid, intrusive security (like airport-style metal detectors) can erode human experience and mental well-being. Instead, they champion an approach of subtle, “porous” architectural layers and operational human protocols. The trio bridges these heavy commercial insights with residential realities, concluding that real safety relies heavily on human awareness, technological adaptation, and the ultimate luxury: a connected community. And this is just partly why the entire HMC Architects firm are inductees for the month of August, 2026 in Convo By Design Icon Registry presented by Pacific Sales Kitchen & Home.
Architects as Futurists vs. Designers: Josh establishes that while interior designers typically plan for 5-to-25-year cycles (allowing for aesthetic refreshes), architects must project safety, utility, and durability 100+ years into the future.
The Psychology of Security: Walking through metal detectors or staring through barred windows drastically alters a child’s or a patient’s state of mind. Sergio explains how HMC organizes K-12 buildings to act as a natural perimeter courtyard, eliminating the need for aggressive fencing while maintaining clear sightlines and controlled points of access.
The Fallibility of the Metal Detector: Kirk highlights a counterintuitive healthcare trend: many public hospitals are actively removing physical metal detectors. Because weapons can be bypassed or thrown over gates, facilities rely instead on roving security, trained staff, and strict internal “back-of-house” zoning accessible only by keycard.
The “Aleatory Space” & Community Trust: Drawing on an architectural concept of un-owned public property (aleatory space), the guests argue that the true front line of residential security isn’t just an automated floodlight or a ring camera—it is genuine rapport and old-fashioned communication between neighbors.
High-Tech Human Interventions: Kirk shares sophisticated backend systems used in modern maternal wards, such as infrared infant abduction systems paired with “delayed egress” alarms. These systems demonstrate that effective security is always a blend of automated tech and rapid human operational protocol.
Security as the New Ultimate Luxury: Pre-pandemic design focused heavily on air, water, and sound quality. Today, Josh and the guests observe a market evolution where invisible, seamless security infrastructure has officially shifted from an afterthought to a core luxury expectation.
Featured Architecture Firm: Learn more about regional planning, K-12 innovations, and evidence-based environment modeling at HMC Architects.
In January, you heard from Rebecca MacDonald and Kyle Basilius, principals at Parkin Architects, …Parkin is a Canadian, employee-owned, award-winning architectural practice with roots dating back to the 1940s. Founded and established in Toronto, expanded to Ottawa, and Vancouver, the firm specializes in designing purposeful, beautiful, and functional buildings. Our commitment to collaboration has earned us a reputation for excellence, bringing clients’ visions to life through thoughtful, impactful design. With a focus on social impact, we take pride in creating spaces that are accessible, inclusive, and welcoming to all. Not my words, theirs.
Creating environments that positively impact lives is their vision
Their Mission… To foster collaboration, partnerships and the sharing of knowledge to build better communities. They design innovative solutions to promote positive and enduring social change. They empower their team to design meaningful and enriching environments. They cultivate a sustainable business model as the foundation to lead initiatives that positively impact lives. That is powerful.
To celebrate, we are having a conversation with Robert Boraks and Richard Huot of Parkin Architects, the likes of which you have probably not heard before. Justice architecture. Yeah, prisons, jails, facilities that are created to keep people in. But you might be surprised by what you hear.
Justice by Design: Redefining the Architecture of Incarceration
Healing Over Hardship
While prison architecture is often associated with “locking people up,” modern justice design is pivoting toward rehabilitation, reintegration, and community connection. This episode explores how shifting the physical environment from fortresses to “healing centers” can reduce stress for both inmates and staff, ultimately lowering recidivism rates and serving the best interests of society.
Key Points
The Purpose of the Typology: Architecture must follow function. If the goal of a facility is rehabilitation rather than pure punishment, the design must reflect that through “soft” materials, natural light, and open programming.
The “Normalization” of Space: Incorporating elements like drywall (as seen in the Rankin Inlet project) instead of concrete, and providing views of nature, helps de-escalate tension and improve the mental health of residents and correctional officers.
Technology as a Barrier-Breaker: Advances in AI and electronic tracking may eventually reduce the need for physical “hard” barriers like barbed wire, allowing facilities to blend more seamlessly into the community.
The “Triage” Model: Modern facilities are increasingly being viewed as stabilization points to address the high rates of mental illness (70% in Canada) and homelessness among the incarcerated population.
Reframing the Narrative: The architects argue for viewing justice facilities through the lens of: “How would I want my loved one treated if they were here?”
Parkin Architects: The firm featured in this episode, specializing in justice, healthcare, and institutional design.
Rankin Inlet Men’s Healing Facility: A landmark project discussed for its use of “soft” architecture and lack of perimeter fencing to foster a healing environment.
The “Normalization” Principle: A concept in correctional philosophy stating that life inside should resemble life outside as much as possible to prepare for reintegration.
Michel Foucault: The philosopher referenced regarding the “Carceral Archipelago” and the similarities between schools, hospitals, and prisons.
Reimagining the “Hard” Box: The Purpose of Typology
In traditional architectural circles, the “prison” typology has long been defined by its permanence and its posture of punishment. Historically, these structures were designed as “hard boxes”—windowless, concrete monoliths intended to separate the “other” from society. However, as discussed in the latest Convo By Design, architects Richard Huot and Robert Boraks are challenging the very foundation of this design philosophy. The fundamental question is no longer just “how do we keep people in?” but rather, “What is the purpose of this place?”
When a facility is designed strictly for punishment, it often fails at its unstated but essential goal: public safety. If 70% of those entering the system suffer from mental illness or substance abuse, a “hard” environment only serves to exacerbate trauma. By shifting the typology toward “Healing Centers,” architects are utilizing evidence-based design to lower the temperature of incarceration. This means replacing oppressive materials with softer finishes and ensuring that the physical layout supports programming like trades training or farming. By defining the purpose as rehabilitation and reintegration, the architecture stops being a cage and starts being a tool for societal health.
The Normalization of Space: Breaking the Fortress Mentality
One of the most striking revelations in modern justice architecture is the “Normalization” principle. This concept suggests that if you treat an individual like an animal in a cage, they will likely behave like one. Conversely, if you provide an environment that mimics the outside world—with natural light, acoustic control, and “normal” windows and doors—stress levels drop significantly for both residents and staff.
Take the Rankin Inlet Men’s Healing Facility as a primary example. Built in the Canadian North, this facility famously lacks a perimeter fence and was constructed using drywall rather than indestructible concrete. The result? A dramatic decrease in destructive behavior and a surge in staff morale. When a space feels like a school or a library rather than a fortress, the stigma of incarceration is reduced. This “soft” approach doesn’t just benefit the incarcerated; it creates a safer work environment for correctional officers, who are the “true lifers” of the facility. By normalizing the space, we prepare individuals for the day they walk back into a grocery store or a community park, ensuring they aren’t entering a world they no longer recognize.
Technology as a Catalyst for Change
As we move further into the 2020s, technology is poised to render the traditional “fortress” prison obsolete. We are entering an era where AI-driven monitoring, facial recognition, and biometric tracking can provide security without the need for literal iron bars. Architects are now looking at a future where a facility can be integrated into the fabric of a city—perhaps even as a mixed-use development—because the “containment” is digital and psychological rather than just physical.
Technology allows for predictive safety measures. AI can analyze movement patterns and biometric data (like heart rate or body temperature) to alert staff to rising tensions before an incident occurs. This shift allows for more “open” environments where individuals can move freely within a secure digital envelope. Furthermore, technology facilitates a “triage” model of justice, where data helps identify mental health needs or housing instability the moment someone enters the system. As Robert Boraks noted, we may reach a point where we ask: Do we even need prisons in their current form? By leveraging technology, we can move away from “warehousing” humans and toward a more precise, data-driven method of social support and community protection.
Architect Ben Kasdan and I explore the ethos of design, the importance of “innovation through experience,” and why architecture should be viewed as a living organism rather than a machine.
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Innovation vs. Practicality: The discussion begins with the idea of innovative design, citing Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall. While the building faced initial criticism for a “glare” issue from its steel facade, its true innovation lies in the acoustic experience and its purpose as a “living room for the city”.
Architecture as an Organism: Challenging Le Corbusier’s famous “machine for living” concept, Ben suggests that buildings are more like living organisms that must be nurtured, maintained, and allowed to evolve.
The “Ideas” Lab: Ben’s firm, KTGY, operates a dedicated R&D studio that explores “outside the lane” concepts—like 3D-printed modular housing and solutions for homelessness—without the immediate constraints of budgets or specific client demands.
Designing for the Inhabitants: A significant portion of the work focuses on student and senior housing. Ben emphasizes that while these spaces are often transient, they must be designed to support the mental, physical, and intellectual well-being of the people living there.
Architectural “Grafting”: Instead of the common practice of demolition, the conversation touches on the value of “grafting” or repurposing older structures, preserving their emotional and historical significance while adapting them for new use.
KTGY Architecture + Planning: The firm where Ben Kasdan is a principal, known for its diverse housing typologies. KTGY Website
Walt Disney Concert Hall: Referenced as a prime example of experience-driven innovation in Los Angeles. LA Phil – Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Broad: Mentioned in the context of downtown LA’s architectural landscape and public perception. The Broad Museum
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Price Tower: Discussed as a structure that, while visually extraordinary, struggled with functional longevity. Price Tower Arts Center
Marin County Civic Center: Cited as an early inspiration for Ben, showcasing how a building’s unique form can evoke a powerful emotional response. Marin County Civic Center
Residential architecture in the Twin Cities requires a unique blend of grit and intentionality. From the “Scandinavian tradition” of high-level craftsmanship to the technical demands of a 115-degree annual temperature swing, designing in this environment is an exercise in functional resilience. This conversation explores how extreme climates and a “Midwest mindset” shape the way we live and the ways homes must evolve to meet the needs of multi-generational families. The following conversation I had with PKA Architecture’s Kristine Anderson, Andrew Edwins and Ryan Fish was wide ranging and dove deep into;
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The Architecture of Endurance
In the heart of the Twin Cities, architecture is less about making a statement and more about surviving a cycle. To design a home in Minnesota is to engage in a high-stakes negotiation with physics. When the mercury drops to -15°F and climbs to 100°F within the same calendar year, materials don’t just sit there—they breathe, swell, and contract at a cellular level. As the team from PKA Architecture notes, this environment serves as a rigorous training ground. If a design can thrive in the Twin Cities, it possesses the technical “confidence” to perform anywhere in the world.
This technical necessity has birthed a culture of craftsmanship that distinguishes the region. Rooted in Scandinavian cabinet-making traditions, local builders and architects push one another toward a level of precision where “half-assing” is not an option—the weather simply won’t allow it. It is a pragmatic form of beauty where the “Midwest mindset” rejects the flashy labels of coastal luxury in favor of quiet, intentional excellence.
Moreover, the modern home is being asked to do more than provide shelter; it is becoming a flexible vessel for the human lifecycle. The conversation highlights a significant shift toward long-term master planning. Homeowners are increasingly looking ten years down the road, asking how a space can adapt to adult children returning home or elderly parents moving in. By moving away from the “phantom buyer” of resale-focused design, architects are helping clients create homes that are deeply personal and functionally resilient. Whether it is through the seamless integration of invisible technology or the preservation of “ritual spaces” for calm, the goal remains the same: making life easier for those who inhabit the space, one season at a time.
Resiliency as a Design Requirement: Extreme temperature swings expose construction flaws quickly, leading to a local culture that prioritizes performance and durability over surface-level trends.
The Intentionality of “Midwest Modern”: A pragmatic approach to design that rejects “excess” but holds craftsmanship—rooted in the region’s Scandinavian heritage—to an incredibly high standard.
Life Beyond the “Phantom Buyer”: A shift toward designing for the current inhabitant’s actual life rather than future resale, including planning for multi-generational living and aging in place.
Integrating Technology Naturally: Embracing technology as a design layer—such as half-inch recessed lighting—that enhances daily life without overwhelming the home’s aesthetic.
Materiality and the Seasons: The “one-year seasonal change” is a standard expectation in local construction, allowing wood and metal to settle through the intense humidity shifts of the Midwest.
I sat down with Ron Radziner and Leo Marmol to dig into why building in Southern California feels like an uphill battle and how we can actually fix it.
After their talk at WestEdge, I caught up with Ron and Leo to process everything discussed. We’re at a major inflection point in Southern California, and I wanted to know how their perspective has shifted since they started back in ’89. We dove into the “fucking NIMBYs,” the skyrocketing costs of construction, and why our current zoning laws are essentially a slow-motion economic disaster. From the lessons of the Palisades fires to the potential of prefab, we explored what it actually takes to build a sustainable community when the deck is stacked against you.
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The Cost of Inequality: Ron shared his deep worry about the growing gap between the middle class and the ultra-wealthy, and how rising construction costs are making it nearly impossible to provide housing for anyone in between.
Zoning is the Real Bottleneck: We agreed that the talent and desire to build are there, but we lack the political will to let architects do their jobs. Our current planning and zoning laws are the primary hurdles to building quickly and affordably.
The Density Myth: Leo pushed back hard on the idea that density is the problem. He pointed out that 72% of our residential land is locked into single-family homes, which simply can’t support the housing volume we need.
Stopping the Sprawl: We talked about the need to stop sprawling into high-risk wildfire zones like Riverside County and instead focus on density and infill within the urban core.
Limits on Community Vetoes: While community input matters, Leo argued there has to be a point where the litigation stops. We can’t let individual voices stall essential progress like bike lanes and sustainable housing forever.
The Prefab Opportunity: With so many similar lots needing to be rebuilt in the Palisades and Altadena, Ron sees a massive opening for high-quality prefab construction to get people back into homes faster.
Lessons from Lortondale: I brought up my move to Tulsa and the Lortondale community—a whole neighborhood of mid-century modern tract homes that are still intact, in demand, and haven’t been commodified out of reach. It’s proof that mass-produced architecture can have a soul and stay accessible.
In the wake of the devastating January 2025 fires, the architectural community in Southern California is facing a reckoning. The conversation at the recent panel I hosted at Ganahl Lumber in Torrance made one thing clear: the old metrics of “durability” are no longer enough. The industry is moving toward a philosophy of resilience.
For Anthony Poon of Poon Design and Ben Ballentine of Ballaetine Architects, the challenge lies in balancing this need for hardened structures with the fundamental human desire for beauty and light. As Poon noted, a building could be made entirely fireproof, but if it ends up looking like a “bomb shelter,” the architecture has failed its purpose. The goal is now “kinetic” and “resourceful” design—structures that don’t just survive a disaster but facilitate the recovery of the families within them.
The panel also addressed the friction between rapid rebuilding and thoughtful design. With developers racing to fill the housing shortage by “plopping down” identical units, Luis Murillo of LMG Architecture Studio raised concerns about the loss of neighborhood character. Meanwhile, Jay Williams of TimberTech highlighted how material science—blending the aesthetics of natural wood with the fire-rated performance of advanced PVC and fiber cement—is bridging the gap between safety and style.
Ultimately, the consensus was that technology, from AI-driven detailing to digital twin visualizations, is shrinking the production timeline but cannot replace the human element. The architect’s role is evolving from a pure designer into a “civic leader” and “marriage counselor,” navigating a world where clients are armed with TikTok-sourced ideas and a desperate need for a sense of home in an increasingly volatile environment.
Key Concepts
Resilience vs. Strength: The shift from making buildings “unbreakable” to making them “recoverable” and resourceful after a cataclysm.
The “Bomb Shelter” Dilemma: The struggle to meet strict fire and safety codes (like hardening the building envelope) without sacrificing natural light and aesthetic appeal.
Material Science Innovation: The rise of high-performance composites (James Hardie/TimberTech) that offer Class A fire ratings while mimicking the warmth of natural materials.
Architectural Accountability: The increasing need for architects to provide highly specific, litigious-level detailing due to shifting contractor liabilities.
The AI Influence: How AI is revolutionizing visualization and R&D, while simultaneously creating “educated but misinformed” clients.
Rebuilding Ethics: The tension between the speed of rebuilding in burn areas and the opportunity to rethink density and multifamily housing.
Innovation Under Pressure: Prefab, Modular, and the Future of Resilient Design Under Pressure. Architecture is evolving faster than ever, driven by natural disasters, technology, and client expectations—but how do designers balance innovation with risk, regulation, and lifestyle priorities? Josh Cooperman hosts an unfiltered conversation with Drew Davis, Brian Pinkett, Aaron Neubert, and Joseph Dangaran about prefabrication, modular construction, client programming, and the challenges of rebuilding communities in fire- and flood-prone regions. From the Palisades to Paris, they explore how architecture must adapt—or risk falling behind.
1. Introduction and Context
Host introduction: Josh Cooperman, Convo By Design.
Acknowledgements: Kim Gordon Designs (venue), Pacific Sales Kitchen & Home (sponsor and industry supporter).
Why the discussion matters: natural disasters as a case study in architecture’s evolving role.
Personal anecdote: Josh’s wildfire experience in 1983 highlighting the urgency of resilient design.
