I Would Prefer Not To

In this episode Paul Lewis, Marc Tsurumaki, and David J. Lewis of LTL Architects speak about the “productive oscillation” between academic research, speculative drawing, and the material realities of building that defines their practice; LTL’s trajectory from the “opportunistic” spatial inventions of early New York interiors to an existential focus on biogenic materialities and the climate crisis; and their publications that reorient both the classroom and the construction site.

In this episode, the founder of Morphosis recaps a career defined by “troublemaking” and discusses framing architecture as a collaborative, cinematic process, the shift from designing private residences to international competitions and federal work, and the particularities of working in Los Angeles. 

In this episode, the co-founders of NYC-based nARCHITECTS discuss their mission-driven practice that engages with the community, resistance to architectural closure, their fascination with “almost buildings,” and the value of leaving room for misusers.

In this episode, the co-founder of NYC-based Leong Leong discusses world building, feedback loops between aesthetics and politics, and professional growth as a reflection of ego death.

In the season five premiere, host Ana Miljački talks with Hashim Sarkis about the latent nature of optimism in practice, the difficulties of running an office across different continents, and how direct action leads to hope.

In this episode, host Ana Miljački speaks with Christian Benimana, Patricia Gruits, and Alan Ricks, co-executive directors of MASS Design Group, about philanthropy in the design process, the political economy of building, and what is possible across different global contexts. MASS was founded in 2008 as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. More than 15 years later, this global, multidisciplinary collective has over 200 members with offices in Boston; in Kigali, Rwanda; Poughkeepsie, New York; and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In this episode, host Ana Miljački speaks with Nader Tehrani, founding partner of the Boston-based firm NADAAA, about the development of construction details; the political push and pull between architects, clients, and contractors ; and the importance of didacticism in designing architecture schools.

In this episode, architect Aziza Chaouni discusses working with NGOs on heritage projects, balancing small-scale volunteer work, and crowdsourcing materials and resources to build project archives.

In this episode, host Ana Miljački speaks with Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano, founders of the New York City-based practice LOT-EK, about ascribing value to waste, the vestiges of global circular economies, and the importance of love.

In this episode, host Ana Miljački speaks with Lola Sheppard and Mason White of Lateral Office to discuss their work in the Canadian Arctic, architecture of expediency in rural areas, and the skill of deep listening.

Host Ana Miljački talks with Deborah Berke of New York City-based TenBerke about loving projects like children, striking a balance between reverence and irreverence, and measuring a project against a mission statement.

In this episode of I Would Prefer Not To, Ana speaks with Hilary Sample and Michael Meredith of NYC-based MOS Architects. Topics of discussion include the complex intertwining of work and life, playfulness and the publication of process, feedback between academic culture and the world of practice, and collaborative models.

In the premiere episode of season four, Ana Miljački talks with Germane Barnes about storytelling-as-design impetus, delivering on promises, and his skeptical relationship to emails, among other topics.

Ana Miljački speaks with Rodrigo Escandón Cesarman and Guillermo Gonzalez Ceballos of Mexico City-based practice APRDELESP about their case studies, the creation of architectural institutions, and designing appealing “spaces of encounter.”

In this episode of I Would Prefer Not To, Ana Miljački speaks with Adam Yarinsky, Stephen Cassell, and Kim Yao of Architecture Research Office about professional versus academic research, how adhering to pre-articulated values affects relationships with clients, and the benefits and drawbacks of being generalists.

Ana Miljački and Studio Gang founder Jeanne Gang discuss architects as the nexus of intersecting issues, advocating on behalf of animals as constituents, and growing one’s own building materials.

Ana Miljački speaks with members of the Mexico City-based group about the tumultuous nature of collective practice and a shifting paradigm in civic architecture.

Ana Miljački speaks with Ann Lui and Craig Reschke of Chicago-based studio Future Firm about expanding the role of the architect, absorbing risk, and how to respond when asked to do magic.

In the Season 3 premiere, Ana Miljački speaks with Annabelle Selldorf about how falling in love with projects can result in heartbreak, what it means to transcend style, and the limitations of typological experience.

Ana is joined by Nina Cooke John in this episode to discuss the impulses of feedback loops in the design process, slowness, the different ways in which institutions engage with communities and figuration as it relates to seeing oneself in a monument.

In this episode, Ana speaks with Claire Weisz, founding partner of WXY, on structural flexibility as an office, sharing ethical burdens with clients, advocating on behalf of built and material histories, and using work at large scales to catalyze work for other architectural practices.

Ana talks with Andres Jaque of Office for Political Innovation on what it means to be anarchitectural dissident, the status of formal decisions in his work, and how listening can be animportant tool for architects.

In this episode, Ana hosts Chandra Robinson of Lever Architecture. They discuss ways to support smaller-scale builders, the importance of proximity in sourcing materials, and balancing innovation with the immediate needs of community and client, among other topics.

In this episode, Ana Miljački speaks with Troy Schaum and Rosalyne Shieh of SCHAUM/SHIEH about matching a client’s ambition with economic feasibility, the privilege of being able to refuse work, the space that emerges out of energetic conflict, and the power of doing nothing.

Atlanta-based architects Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam chat with Ana Miljački about inventiveness and emotional specificity.

Michael Maltzan discusses the architect’s role in negotiating complex scenarios and the potential of long-term client relationships to enable large-scale change.

Ana Miljački speaks with Bryan Lee about design justice and challenging the architectural status quo.

Sheila Kennedy and Frano Violich of Boston-based KVA MATx chat with Ana about being proactive, finding the right set of ingredients to create commissions, viewing plants as constituents, and balancing a rejection of architecture-as-service with a commitment to professional skills and rigor.

Liz Diller of New York–based Diller Scofidio + Renfro speaks with Ana Miljački about evaluating a commission’s ethics, translating projects for different audiences, and critiquing institutions from within.

Ana Miljački speaks with Walter Hood about artistic freedom, working with institutions, and succeeding through failure.

Ana chats with Tod and Billie of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects about the contrasts of institutional versus commercial projects, developing relationships with clients, and finding meaning in work.

Tatiana of CDMX-based Tatiana Bilbao Estudio converses with Ana on working with governmental bodies, social housing, changing office culture, and how to engage with leverage points within systems of power.

Sara Zewde and Ana Miljački talk about alternative ways of doing landscape architecture, racial tokenism, design cyphers, and the value of architects as synthesizers.

Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu of Brooklyn-based studio SO — IL chat with Ana Miljački on a wide range of topics, such as discerning a client’s political intentions, the power of an architectural brand, and the possibility for architecture to transcend its relationship with an institutional client.

Amale Andraos and Dan Wood of NY-based firm WORKac talk with Ana Miljački about different facets of sustainability, the lessons learned from saying yes to everything, and regrets among other topics.