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Is Your Data a Cluttered Garage?

📰 Everyone says firms are sitting on valuable project data. Few say where it lives, who can see it, or what an AI finds when it reads it. This edition covers the gap between having the data and being able to use it, plus three tests for this month.

My Favorite Moments from Episode 242 "Designing for 100 Years… in 100 Seconds?"

💬 18 lines worth keeping from TRXL 242, from fifteen voices on what an agent really is, where the risk piles up, and whether you'd want to prompt a building.

247: It's on the Server Somewhere

Your project history is worth something. So why can't you use it? Listen to AEC tech industry experts on where the data lives, who governs it, and what AI-ready means. This is episode 2 of Arc 3 of the Next AEC Tech Stack series.

The Why Walks Out the Door

📰 Joe is one year from retirement, and what he knows about every hospital your firm has built isn't written down anywhere. Thirteen voices in Arc 3 on what a project archive is worth, and the experiment I'd run on your last five projects.

246: Someone Already Figured This Out

A conversation with Marty Rozmanith, Randall Stevens, Aaron Vorwerk, Mike Soldan, Ross Wagner, Dimitrie Stefanescu, Sasha Crotty, Chris Razzell, Roderick Bates, Scott Reynolds and Theodoros Galanos about turning years of project data into a strategic asset by capturing the “why” behind decisions.

Architects at Slantis Build Their Own Revit Tools. Here's What That Looks Like.

A team from Slantis, a 250-person studio, showed me the Revit tools they built themselves this year. None of them set out to become developers.

245: 'System of Record, Systems of Action', with German Aparicio Jr.

A conversation with German Aparicio Jr, Virginia Senf, Salil Pandit and Yael Meretyk Hanan about equity‑free accelerators, risk‑reduction vs. hours‑saved metrics, and building trusted data‑driven systems of action on the Trimble platform.

Do You Know Your Firm's Error Rate?

📰 You ask AI for 99% accuracy. Do you know your firm's own number? Fifteen voices on the stamp, the review process, and a one-week baseline you can run on your last project.

244: Who Signs When the AI Is Wrong?

A conversation with AEC industry leaders about AI liability, trust, verification and future hiring in architecture.

My Favorite Moments from Episode 241 "From Autocomplete to Agent: Where AEC Actually Is"

16 quotes worth keeping from TRXL 241, one line each from eleven vendors and three practitioners, on what AI can actually do in a firm today.

BIM Didn’t Solve the Knowledge Gap

📰 "It's in the model" is not an answer. A panel on healthcare data, trash-can meetings, and why BIM sometimes made the knowledge gap worse.

243: Your Firm Is an Institution

A conversation with Espy Harper, David Spehar, and Anthony Hauck about data-driven healthcare design, reusing 80-90% of hospital room data, and linking dRofus standards with Hypar's live 3D planning tools.

Prompt to Building Stops at the Garden Shed (For Now)

📰 Nobody has taken prompt-to-building past a garden shed, said one guest. Autodesk, Bentley, Skema, Finch and more on where agents work today and where a design decision still needs time to incubate and iterate.

242: Designing for 100 Years… in 100 Seconds?

A conversation with Oliver Goldman, Greg Demchak, Matt Wash, Marty Rozmanith, and other experts about AI agents versus copilots, trust frameworks, and the challenges of prompting a building in AEC.

My Favorite Moments from Episode 240 "I've Got to Get My Project Out on Friday"

💬 Twenty-eight lines worth keeping from episode three of The Next AEC Tech Stack, the one that closes the BIM 2.0 arc. Twelve voices on where AI's judgment should stop and what actually survives when data moves between platforms.

I went to AU for the people

When past guests, listeners, sponsors, and prospective partners stop me in a hallway, the thank-yous are a nice byproduct. What those conversations carried underneath was deeper: meaningful work is happening, and it is delivering real value to individuals. Those moments mattered because of that, not because my name got

What AI Can Actually Do in a Real Firm Today

📰 Eleven AEC vendors, one question: what can your AI actually do in a real firm today? The honest answers were more useful than any demo.

241: From Autocomplete to Agent: Where AEC Actually Is

A conversation with industry vendors and practitioners about why AI tools in AEC often deliver value only on deterministic, repetitive tasks, the hype versus reality of autocomplete, copilot and agents, and the critical role of the AI harness.

My Favorite Moments from Episode 239 "You're Not Going Home Early"

💬 Thirty-one lines worth keeping from episode two of The Next AEC Tech Stack. Twelve voices on switching costs, muscle memory, and where the time you saved went.

Inside /slantis' Six-Month Sprint to Claude Code, 200+ Tools, and an AI Maturity Framework

Mercedes Carriquiry and Nicolás Martínez on how /slantis actually rolled out AI across a 250-person studio, not the highlight reel version.

My Favorite Moments from Episode 238 "Half Your Day Isn't Design"

Forty-one moments worth paying attention to from episode one of The Next AEC Tech Stack. Eleven voices on the technology tax, the fear of the algorithm, and what a new tool costs a firm.

They'll Consume the Ten Hours

📰 Designers still take the ten hours. Randall Stevens says the new tools don't give Friday back, they fill it with more options. This edition closes the BIM 2.0 arc on where judgment stops and what lock-in you already accepted.

240: I've Got to Get My Project Out on Friday

A conversation with Roderick Bates, Campbell Yule, Jesper Wallgren, Gavin Nicholls, Dimitrie Stefanescu, and Carl Christensen about where AI‑generated design should stop, how to liberate data, and what truly survives the BIM 2.0 handoff.

Polishing the Prison Bars From the Other Side

📰 Gavin Nicholls calls it "polishing the prison bars from the other side." Eleven BIM 2.0 builders and users on what switching platforms actually costs a firm, in time, culture, and money.

239: You're Not Going Home Early

A conversation with Gavin Nicholls, Carl Christensen, and nine other people building and using BIM 2.0 tools about the real cost of switching platforms, sunk-cost bias, and why adoption stalls even when the tool is better.

The Technology Tax Nobody Can Agree On

📰 I asked nine AEC tech companies if their software actually frees architects to design, or just moves the tax to a different line item. The answers surprised me.

The Sawtooth Chart Was Never the Enemy

📰 The sawtooth was never the enemy. Phil Read makes the case that the jagged stopping points everyone spent twenty years trying to smooth away were where judgment got applied, and asks what replaces them now.

238: Half Your Day Isn't Design

A conversation with industry leaders about how BIM 2.0 tools consume half of architects’ day, the hidden “technology tax,” and strategies to reclaim design time and control software costs.

The Next AEC Tech Stack — Starting Thursday

A three-arc series on what's actually changing in the tools you use every day. Nine episodes, sixteen companies, no script and no approval on the final cut. Starts Thursday, August 20.

What Free Building Codes Actually Cost

📰 Two brothers put the building codes online in 2016. A year later the lawsuits started and never stopped. Garrett Reynolds on what it actually costs to keep the law free, and why the hardest part was never the software.

237: 'The Interns Will Have Interns', with Phil Read

A conversation with Phil Read about treating AI as an intern, preserving human judgment through sawtooth decision points, and the need to teach delegation early in architectural practice.

236: 'No One Can Own the Law', with Garrett Reynolds

A conversation with Garrett Reynolds about UpCodes' decade-long legal fight to keep building codes free, the impact of the Pro Codes Act, and how sustained litigation shapes the AEC industry.

Introducing Field Reports

A new home for TRXL interactive episode infographics — one page per episode, every visual breakdown, live for TRXL+ members.

The Crit That Wasn't About AI

📰 Olson Kundig put 300 people in a room and asked what wastes their time. One rule: don't call it an AI meeting. The lists came back honest, and a big share of the complaints already had a fix sitting inside the firm.

235: 'How Olson Kundig Scaled AI Adoption Across a 300-Person Firm', with Marlene Chen and Blair Payson

A conversation with Marlene Chen and Blair Payson about scaling AI adoption across a 300-person architecture firm by prioritizing culture, office-wide critiques, democratizing visualization, and managing change and software licensing.

Where to Start When Your AI Readiness Score Comes Back Uneven

Almost nobody scores evenly across the nine dimensions, and the shape of the gap is the useful part. Kenton Grant and I walk three readiness scenarios and what to do first in each. Watch the replay, score your firm, and get ready for our AU 2026 workshop.

Score Your Firm's AI Readiness Before You Build the Plan

Most firms think they know where they stand with AI. The reality inside is usually messier and that's where adoption plans stall. Kenton Grant and I built a 9-dimension framework to score your firm honestly. Watch, self-assess, and get ready for our AU 2026 workshop.

Getting Paid to Carry the Risk You Keep Avoiding

📰 The industry spent decades shedding risk. Håvard Vasshaug thinks that instinct is killing the profession's upside, and the firms taking risk back on are ending up light years ahead. The case for more crazy ones in AEC.

Inside Versur: Studio Memory, Agent-Built Workflows, and Deployable Units of Intelligence

The Feature Spotlight format is simple. No slides. No pitch deck. Someone who knows a tool inside and out joins me on a live stream and shows me what it actually does, and I react to it as a practitioner who spent years in the middle of these workflows. There&

234: 'Here's to the Crazy Ones, AEC Edition', with Håvard Vasshaug

A conversation with Håvard Vasshaug about liberating building data from Revit, real‑time data flows, reducing outdated six‑week information, and turning risk into revenue for AEC firms.

Building Your Firm's AI Adoption Plan

After many years of attending Autodesk University, I finally decided to put in a few submissions to speak at this year's conference in Las Vegas. I'm happy to report that two of them were selected. As if the submissions weren't already a lot of

Live Next Thursday 7/16: Versur demo with Daniel Bolojan

Next week I'm doing a Feature Spotlight with Daniel Bolojan, founder of Versur. He's built a composable agentic AI specifically for architects and designers. We're going hands-on with three features. Versur Brain Versur Brain is your studio's design intelligence layer. It&

Building for Four Million Architects

📰 Why does a software founder frame his entire company around helping architects build spaces where people fall in love? Mariusz Hermansdorfer's answer starts with 13 years inside a 20,000-person firm.

233: 'Spaces For People To Kiss', with Mariusz Hermansdorfer

A conversation with Mariusz Hermansdorfer about turning an internal sustainability tool into the jifto plugin, the challenges of spinning out from a large firm, and making early‑stage environmental analysis accessible to all architects.

Define Your Value Before Someone Else Does

📰  In this edition, explore how AI might reclaim architecture’s purpose by capturing process over paperwork, redefining value before owners dictate it, and building tools that empower every skill level.

Giraffe Feature Spotlight: Map, Pencil, Calculator, and a Live Presentation Layer

This was the second TRXL Feature Spotlight. No slides, no pitch deck — just Rob Asher sharing his screen and walking me through Giraffe, the platform he built for architects, designers, and real estate developers. We covered two things: Core, which is the foundation of everything Giraffe does, and Paper, a

232: 'Bringing Joy Back to Architecture', with Tatjana Dzambazova

A conversation with Tatjana Dzambazova about how AI can restore joy to architecture by shifting focus from speed to process, capturing design reasoning, and redefining architects’ value beyond mere cost and efficiency.

Architects Didn't Lose Control of CA. They Defaulted It.

📰 Architects often lose control of construction administration (CA) by default, forcing senior staff into low‑value data entry. AI can automate the admin tasks helping firms reclaim ownership, boost efficiency, and protect liability.

Live Wednesday: Giraffe's Core platform + new Paper space

I'm hosting another Feature Spotlight live demo next week. This time I'm sitting down with Rob Asher from Giraffe at 2pm PST / 5pm EST on Wednesday the 17th. We're walking through two features that define how the platform works: Core Giraffe puts a map,

New on TRXL: Feature Spotlight Livestream

There's something new happening here at TRXL HQ. I want to continue building on the authentic conversations the TRXL podcast is known for, but also give tech companies and the people behind them the ability to do some show and tell that the long-form episodes just aren&

Inside D5 Render's New Cesium Integration and AI Material Generator

I started a new format on TRXL called the Feature Spotlight. The idea is simple: live, hands-on, no slides, no pitch. Just a real look at what a tool actually does, driven by someone who knows it inside and out. Watch the Replay My Takeaways For the first one,

231: 'Architects: Reclaim Control in CA', with Jack Sadler

A conversation with Jack Sadler about reclaiming control in construction administration, turning CA from a cost center into a profit center, and using AI to automate admin tasks while preserving architects' professional judgment.

Every Room Has an Audience

📰 Most buildings fail twice: once in the contract, and again in the seats. If your drawings don’t protect the audience’s experience through eight years of value engineering, you didn’t design a “room for storytelling.” You designed paperwork.

Live Tuesday: D5's Cesium Integration + AI Material Generator

Quick heads-up before Tuesday. I'm hosting a live demo with Jeff Espinoza from D5 Render at 2pm PST / 5pm EST. We're walking through two features that just shipped: Cesium Integration D5 now brings real-world terrain and imagery directly into the rendering workspace. See your

The Expert Button Pushers Are Gone

📰 Jeff Mottle built CGarchitect into archviz’s global hub, then watched AI finish the democratization tools started years ago. This edition explores why “expert button pushers” are disappearing, why relationships win, and how AI breaks hourly billing in AEC.

230: 'Rooms for Storytelling', with Keith Gerchak

A conversation with Keith Gerchak about designing performing‑arts spaces for storytelling, balancing hand‑drafted craft with technology, and the parallels between theater architecture and independent filmmaking.

Stop Before You Start

📰 Steve Burrows exposes how time‑based billing and noisy meetings cripple AEC firms, urging a simple “sheet of paper” daily log to cut waste, shift to value‑based pricing, and harness AI for repeatable work.

229: Campfire Series - 'The CGarchitect Story', with Jeff Mottle

A conversation with Jeff Mottle about building CGarchitect from a side project into a 21‑year global hub, its sale to Chaos Group, his NVIDIA tenure, and the impact of AI on architectural visualization.

228: 'What Did You Actually Do Today', with Steve Burrows CBE

A conversation with Steve Burrows about why the construction industry rewards dysfunction, the pitfalls of time‑billing, the promise of value‑based billing, modular construction challenges, and how AI is reshaping engineering work.

The Three Things Firms Get Wrong About Transformation

📰 Organizational transformations often fail by chasing speed over capability. Instead, focus on cash, clarity, and capability, address cultural and knowledge‑transfer gaps, and treat AI as a design challenge, not just a productivity metric.

The Non-Sexy Work Is Where the Real Leverage Lives

📰 The unglamorous work (spec sync, project setup automation, data plumbing) is where actual leverage lives. Charles Portelli FAIA on his career path and building tools for the AEC industry from the inside.

227: 'Are We Horses or Are We Coal', with Rachel Riopel

A conversation with Rachel Riopel about why digital transformation initiatives in AEC firms often fail, the importance of organizational clarity and capability, and how to bridge the gap between technology pilots and meaningful change across the entire organization.

The Nuclear Bomb Moment for BIM

📰 Is a "nuclear bomb moment" coming in BIM software as AI empowers small teams to rival legacy companies? Antonio González Viegas from That Open Company discusses how open-source infrastructure and expertise redefine productivity and business management in the AEC industry.

226: 'Think Slower to Move Faster', with Charles Portelli

A conversation with Charles Portelli about bridging the gap between architecture and software, the importance of foundational data infrastructure, and how patience in building internal tools can lead to more effective project management within large architecture firms.

The Asteroid Is Visible Now

📰 Martyn Day has covered AEC for 37 years. He says this moment is unlike anything he's seen — not one disruption, but a dozen arriving at once. Engineering automation. AI-written software. Open SDKs. Palantir. The full edition is for firm leaders.

225: 'A Nuclear Bomb Moment', with Antonio González Viegas

A conversation with Antonio González Viegas about the open source infrastructure for BIM software, the collapse of legacy vendor barriers, and how AI is enabling small teams to match the development speed of large companies, resulting in a "nuclear bomb moment" for the AEC industry.

Are You Optimizing For the Wrong Thing?

A conversation with Pablo Zamorano about building a technology practice centered on design values, the significance of human scale, and the implications of AI tools on creativity and the quality of architectural outcomes.

224: 'Everything Is Going to Change', with Martyn Day

A conversation with Martyn Day about the transformative impact of AI and automation on the architecture and engineering sectors, the weakening of traditional software moats, and the strategic importance of data ownership in navigating the future of AEC business models.

The Boring Stuff Is Where the Leverage Actually Lives

📰 Explore the hidden value in AEC automation beyond visible outputs. Discover how capturing operational knowledge and leveraging tools like Model Context Protocols (MCP) can enhance efficiency, preserve expertise, and turn data into a competitive advantage for your firm.

223: 'They Better Find Something Else to Do', with Pablo Zamorano Mosniam

A conversation with Pablo Zamorano about building a technology practice centered on design values, the significance of human scale, and the implications of AI tools on creativity and the quality of architectural outcomes.

Your Best People Can't Scale. Their Knowledge Can.

📰 Discover how to avoid the busyness trap in architecture and engineering. Learn from Joachim Viktil's insights on scaling expertise, the generation-to-precision gap, and why impactful growth is about more than just hiring.

222: 'You're Automating the Wrong Thing', with Mirco Bianchini

A conversation with Mirco Bianchini about AI automation in the AEC industry, focusing on operational efficiencies, the importance of knowledge management, and how to move beyond individual automation to firm-wide tools for better data utilization and collaboration.

Design First. Analyze Second.

📰 Explore the synergy between architecture and engineering, highlighting the importance of collaboration in design. Discover how lightweight structures can redefine spaces, and learn the value of intuition in the creative process as experts share insights on transforming the industry.

221: ‘Architecture’s Busyness Trap’, with Joachim Viktil

A conversation with Joachim Viktil about architecture's busyness trap, exploring the disconnect between constant activity and meaningful progress, the impact of outdated business models on productivity, and strategies for creating healthier, more effective architectural practices.

How to stay in the driver’s seat as tech accelerates

📰 Discover how architects can maintain control amidst advancing technology. This edition discusses agency over automation, the importance of technology as a design material, and the need for architects to own tech decisions to avoid outsourcing judgment.

220: ‘Lightweight Architectural Structures’, with Joshua Schultz

A conversation with Joshua Schultz about lightweight architectural structures, exploring structural efficiency, innovative design practices, and the barriers preventing their mainstream adoption in architecture.

219: ‘Keeping Architects in the Driver's Seat’, with George Guida

A conversation with George Guida about integrating AI into architectural practice, exploring architect-led workflows, the evolving role of design interfaces, and how to maintain creative agency while leveraging technology for enhanced collaboration and efficiency.

From Projects to Products: The Uncomfortable Leap

📰 How can architects can shift from designing individual buildings to creating systems that produce better outcomes repeatedly? This post discusses the trade-offs of system design, the impact of growth pressure, and the value of architectural thinking in tech.

218: ‘Where’s My Friggin Hockey Stick’, with Zach Kron

A conversation with Zach Kron about designing systems instead of buildings, the transition from architecture to technology, the trade-offs of shipping imperfect tools, and the evolving role of architects in a tech-driven landscape.

The Real Origins of Computational Design in Architecture

📰 Neil Katz FAIA traces computational design in architecture from geometry and early programming to BIM and AI, revealing how mindset shifts matter more than tools. This newsletter edition is a rare breakdown of his first-hand account of how design automation actually evolved inside practice.

Why the future of AEC belongs to architects who evolve, not those who wait

📰 Exploring real adaptation in architectural practice with Randy Deutsch: why resilience, continuous learning, and human agency matter more than tools in an AI-accelerated profession, and what it takes for architects and firms to evolve before they're forced to change.

217: Campfire Series - ‘The Computational Design Story’, with Neil Katz

A conversation with Neil Katz about the origins of computational design in architecture, the evolution of BIM, and the significance of behavior-driven design in reshaping architectural practice through early CAD and automation.

Culture is a System. Here’s How One Firm Designed It.

📰 What if innovation wasn’t a side project, but core infrastructure? This Leadership Edge edition unpacks how OPN Architects built culture, alignment, and digital practice by design and why adoption matters more than the next shiny tool.

216: ‘The Future of AEC Belongs to Those Who Evolve’, with Randy Deutsch

A conversation with Randy Deutsch about the future of the AEC industry, the importance of adaptability in architecture, and how AI can enhance human agency while reshaping professional practices for the next generation of architects.

If AEC knowledge lives in people’s heads, you don’t have a system

📰 What if AI isn’t the problem, but the mirror? This edition explores how fragile knowledge systems really are, why hero experts create risk, and how AI can accelerate learning without replacing human judgment.

215: ‘Proactive By Design’, with Wes Reynolds and Hugh Soward

A conversation with Wes Reynolds and Hugh Soward about how OPN Architects is intentionally shaping its future through digital practice, innovation culture, and the importance of an annual firm retreat for aligning design and technology across their mid-sized firm.

The Most Honest Conversation About AEC Leadership I’ve Ever Hosted

📰 Tech leaders are no longer just fixing workflows. They are shaping firm strategy. This edition digs into a recent panel discussion from AECtech 2025 and reveals why the next generation of AEC leadership is emerging from digital practice and what it means for the future of design.

214: ‘Partnering with AI to Solve Knowledge Problems’, with Todd Henderson and Christopher Parsons

A conversation with Todd Henderson and Christopher Parsons about partnering with AI to solve knowledge problems, building a learning culture in architecture firms, and the practical applications of KM 3.0 in enhancing project delivery and collaboration.

One Mindset That Will Future-Proof Your Practice

📰 How Woods Bagot’s Ashley Hastings is navigating the current AEC tech landscape, how rhetoric and language have quietly become core technical skills, and how AI is forcing firms to re-examine culture, governance, and the psychological safety needed for transformation.

213: ‘The Rise of Tech-Driven Leadership in AEC’, with Jonathan Nelson, Nirva Fereshetian, Heath May, and Shane Burger

A conversation with Jonathan Nelson, Heath May, Nirva Fereshetian, and Shane Burger about the evolving role of design technologists in leadership, the challenges of technology adoption, and creating pathways for the next generation of leaders in the AEC industry.

How to Unlock the Knowledge Hiding Inside Your Firm

📰 Discover how architecture firm Shepley Bulfinch leverages disciplined experimentation and video-first documentation to enhance knowledge sharing. Their innovative approach to AI and culture empowers teams, making knowledge management effective without a dedicated department.

212: ‘Curiosity as a KPI’, with Ashley Hastings

A conversation with Ashley Hastings about operationalizing curiosity as a KPI in architecture, the role of AI in enhancing design technology, and fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous learning within organizations to drive innovation and improve project outcomes.

From Scripts to Strategy: Turning Computational Design into Business Value

📰 How to leverage computational design for business value by creating repeatable standards, integrating data into meaningful dashboards, and adopting AI with clear metrics. Discover practical steps to transform your design processes and improve productivity in the AEC industry.

211: ‘Discovering the Value of AI Through Experimentation’, with James Martin, Jess Purcell, and Christopher Parsons

A conversation with James Martin, Jess Purcell, and Chris Parsons about discovering the value of AI through disciplined experimentation in architecture, exploring how to document workflows effectively, and enhancing knowledge management practices within firms to improve collaboration and learning.

Redefining integration: What the AIA’s TAP is doing differently

📰 Architect and technologist Cesar Escalante shares how AIA’s TAP group is uniting technology and sustainability to move beyond AI hype toward practical, low-cost tools and real-world integration that helps firms innovate responsibly.

210: ‘Computational Design to Business Value in AEC’, with Matt Goldsberry

A conversation with Matt Goldsberry about computational design in AEC, how it drives business value, the importance of data-driven project delivery, and the shift towards lightweight geometry combined with rich data for effective architectural communication and decision-making.

Is Your Tech Stack Amplifying Values or Just Adding Noise?

📰 Discover how AEC firms can align AI with core values to enhance knowledge management, create effective learning pathways, and improve project delivery. This newsletter offers insights on avoiding tool overload while measuring meaningful ROI for a better organizational culture.

209: ‘Leading by Connection: How TAP is Redefining Integration Across the AIA’, with Cesar Escalante

A conversation with Cesar Escalante leading by connection, Cesar Escalante discusses how AIA's Technology in Architectural Practice (TAP) is redefining integration across the architecture industry, focusing on sustainability and practical AI tools for small firms.

When Risk Becomes Strategy: Building Tech Leadership That Actually Delivers

📰 Two decades of AEC technology leadership distilled: how to align training, CFOs, and technology to turn risk into ROI. Learn why the best tech leaders build systems, not just deploy tools.

Evan on the Bold Brand Show with Josh Miles

I was recently featured on the Bold Brand Show with Josh Miles (episode link), discussing creativity, architecture, and the future of AEC media. We had a great conversation about the intersection of design, technology, and communication. I encourage you to check out the episode!