Mixed Signal Podcast

What stories do architects tell themselves—and how do those stories shape the work they create?This week on Mixed Signals, the MXD crew is joined by Kristen Mimms Scavnicky and Adrienne Economos-Miller, educators, artists, and designers whose work explores the powerful relationship between narrative, identity, and representation in architecture.We begin with a round of Cold Crits featuring student work from Texas A&M and the University of Pennsylvania before turning our attention to a curious trend in contemporary culture: the increasing tendency to flatten complexity into aesthetics. From the MET Gala's relationship to art and spectacle to the extraordinary mosaic-clad churches and sacred spaces built by German immigrant communities across the Midwest, we explore how meaning, authorship, and cultural memory become embedded in the things we make.The heart of the episode centers on Kristen and Adrienne's research initiative, Narrative Terrains, a symposium and growing conversation dedicated to the role of storytelling in design. Together we unpack how architects construct identities through drawings, images, texts, and projects, and why narrative may be one of the most important—and overlooked—tools in architectural practice.What is a drawing actually doing? How do personal histories shape design decisions? And can architecture ever be separated from the stories we tell about ourselves?A wide-ranging conversation about architecture, representation, memory, authorship, and the drawings we make for ourselves.Make sure to follow us on our socials!Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mxd_signalTiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@mxd_signalYouTube - @MXDSignal

The MXD crew talks with Gary Polk (BIG, Penn, Pratt) to break down the boundaries of Architectural representation and drawing.We start by diving into previous year's Archisource' Drawing of the Year Competition finalists—debating the line between a "drawing of architecture" vs. an "architectural drawing"—and discuss why standard diagrams might be ruining the discipline. Plus, Gary shares how he balances high-level corporate architecture at Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) with his hyper-detailed, whimsical personal drawings born out of the COVID-19 lockdowns.If you're an architecture student surviving finals or a designer looking for creative inspiration, this conversation on lines, hatches, and non-human agency is for you!Make sure to follow us on our socials!Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mxd_signalTiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@mxd_signalYoutube - @MXDSignal

The MXD crew welcomes Brendan Ho from Kent State University's College of Architecture and Environmental Design to the studio. We talk about the artist formerly known as Kanye West (Ye), his impactful and controversial career, his stunning SoFi stage design, and his April Fools / possibly real bid to redesign the West wing of the White House? Matt springs a story on us of his IRL run in with Kanye West, we also talk about A24s upcoming film that forefronts Architecture as a major character, and we play a wacky Nihar game . . .And then we get into Brendan's research at SciArc, how that has evolved since his thesis, and we compare notes on teaching architecture and integrating your own passions and interests into that process. Make sure to follow us on our socials and share us with your friends!Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mxd_signalTiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@mxd_signal

Joined by Architect and educator Andy Bako, the MXD crew unpack the controversy surrounding the accessibility failures of the Hunter’s Point Library by Steven Holl—and the shocking lawsuit that it has resulted in. Is this a failure of ADA compliance, or a deeper failure of spatial design and architectural thinking? And how does something like this happen at the highest level of practice?We also touch on "Architecture Against Architecture", the new manifesto / book by Reinier de Graaf, exploring its critique of the profession—from labor and authorship to the role of manifestos today. Is architecture losing relevance, or just caught in its own contradictions?The second half shifts into Andy Bako's body of work, starting with his exhibition of his studio's work at University of Texas Austin's School of Architecture. The exhibition, entitled "Waste Coats" focuses on the design thinking and culture of high fashion while displaying the studio's deep engagement with material re-use experimentation and the complex techtonics it produces.Other themes in the episode:-Architecture’s overlap with fashion, wearables, and the body-The legacy (and backlash) of parametric design-What a “soft digital” approach looks like today-How recycled materials and waste can drive new aesthetic languages-Why architecture might need to embrace the messy, ugly, and unfinished

Dwayne Oyler and Jenny Wu of Oyler Wu Collaborative join Mixed Signals to unpack a design approach that refuses to sit in one camp. From line-based experiments to volumetric assemblies, their work navigates between digital and physical, drawing and making, theory and play. Rather than choosing a singular architectural identity, they argue for operating across multiple “camps”—a position that reframes how contemporary practice can evolve.The conversation expands through teaching, media, and practice: "Cold Crits" of student work reveal shifting attitudes toward legibility, tectonics, and one-to-one fabrication; reflections on sketching challenge the dominance of digital tools; and discussions on social media, books, and “side hustles” expose how architects communicate ideas across fast and slow platforms. At its core, the episode asks: how do you build a practice—and a point of view—amid information overload, shifting audiences, and an increasingly hybrid design culture?Make sure to follow us on our socials!Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mxd_signalTiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@mxd_signal#architecture #design #education

In this episode of Mixed Signals, the crew is joined by Cathal Crumley for a wide-ranging conversation about the life of the "Online Architect", the rise of meme-based criticism, digital culture, and how architectural ideas are being communicated through new platforms. The episode moves from the “seven wonders of cyberspace” and virtual memory in games like Animal Crossing and Call of Duty: Warzone, to the Pokémon x Natural History Museum crossover, the relevance of the Pritzker Prize, and whether architecture still needs legacy institutions to validate what matters.The second half of the conversation dives into portfolio culture, Crit Bay, student work, architectural representation, and architecture school power dynamics. Cathal explains how portfolio reviews work in practice, why narrative matters more than students realize, and how digital critique can become a platform for learning and visibility. The episode also tackles a viral critique of architecture education, debating grading, subjectivity, transparency, labor, and the blurry line between rigor and abuse in design school.Cold Crit Portfolio Credits: Samuel Mcchesney, David Mulder, Ebbie Boehm, Shane BugniFeatured Artist (Cover art sample credits): Richard NadlerMake sure to follow us on our socials!Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mxd_signalTiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@mxd_signal

This week we unpack the NOMA/NOMAS Barbara G. Laurie Student Design Competition to debates about realism, anti-renders, architectural photography, and why certain images of cities feel more truthful than polished architectural visuals. The MXD crew unpacks student competition work, community-centered design, architectural representation, and the tension between formal design discourse and real-world stakeholders. The second half of the episode dives into the rise of the “anti-render”, architectural realism, landscape, labor conditions in architecture, and photography that documents decay, melancholy, and urban change. Along the way, the group debates staged versus documentary images, “despair core,” ruin aesthetics, and why raw, imperfect imagery may feel more honest than idealized architectural visualization.Cold Crit Project Credits:2025 Barbara G. Laurie NOMAS Competition Submissions:UCLA NOMAS ChapterUC Santa Barbara NOMAS ChapterChapters:0:00 Intro – Reality, Fantasy, and Architectural Images0:39 Welcome Back + Friday Recording Chaos1:21 NOMA / NOMAS Barbara G. Laurie Competition4:26 UCLA’s Winning Project and Group Design Process9:04 Reading the Competition Projects Formally15:55 Community, Culture, and What Competitions Reward19:24 Architecture, Program, and Real Stakeholders23:55 Anti-Render Poll – Why People Prefer Realism27:42 Client Expectations, Landscape, and Representation32:39 Photography, Decay, and Documenting the Real35:54 Realism vs Staging in Urban Photography42:00 Ruin Porn, Despair Core, and Aestheticizing Harm49:08 Why Raw Images Feel More Honest50:34 Fun Topic – Internet Objects, Volume Sliders, and Excel Modeling53:01 Closing ThoughtsMake sure to follow us on our socials!Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mxd_signalTiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@mxd_signal#architecture #design #education

In this episode of Mixed Signals, we dive into architectural education, student work, and the future of the discipline with special guest Ryan Scavnicky. From a segment of 'cold crits' looking at recent University of Pennsylvania studio projects to debates about Peter Eisenman, post-digital aesthetics, and neo-brutalism, we ask: what is architecture prioritizing right now?The conversation expands into virtual architecture, video games, Unreal Engine, and the attention economy—exploring how Minecraft, The Sims, Assassin’s Creed, and immersive media are shaping the next generation of architects. Is architecture just about buildings anymore? Or is world-making the real discipline? Plus: OMA’s “Death Star,” fluted facades, and one of the wildest real estate commercials we’ve ever seen a la Japanese Anime.

The MXD crew discusses Digital and Post-Digital Architecture. What's the difference and does it matter? We also discuss student work from the Bartlett and the role of the animation in explaining the projects. Also, is the corporate glossy render done? We talk about the trend of the 'anti-render'.

In this episode of Mixed Signals, we dive into a heated conversation on architecture, politics, authorship, and education—using The ATTN Podcast by the Architecture Exchange (Season 8) as a jumping-off point. We unpack what it means to talk about democracy, plurality, and politics in architecture without turning the discipline into a catch-all moral project. From post-critical theory and the legacy of Eric Owen Moss to the “Midwest Mafia,” Possible Mediums, and contemporary academic aesthetics, we debate whether this generation of architects actually lacks a project—or simply refuses to name it. We question the irony of accessibility rhetoric delivered through highly gatekept discourse, and ask whether architecture is a political duty, a cultural instrument, or ultimately a luxury.The episode also critiques viral architectural imagery, asking why certain projects circulate online while others disappear, and what gets lost when buildings are reduced to images. Finally, we turn the lens toward architectural education, examining thesis work, authorship, and the tension between student voice and the influence of critics.This is an unfiltered, opinionated conversation about where architecture is right now—and what it can realistically be responsible for.Keywords: architecture podcast, architectural theory, Attention Podcast, postcritical architecture, architectural education, thesis critique, contemporary architecture, architectural discourse, design culture, academia vs practiceMake sure to follow us on our socials!Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mxd_signalTiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@mxd_signal

The MXD crew is joined by Matt Lopez, Claire Moriarty, and Riley Studebaker to celebrate the Season 1 Finale. #architecturedesign #podcast #art #architecture #design

Ep 13 - our part 1 of our holiday special where we have many guest to speak changes in the architectural field from ai and rappers emerging into the architecture profession and we discuss contentious architectural education changes needed from retiring the design jury in design reviews; to closing down the studio space after hours.

The MXD crew discusses the legacy of Robert Stern and postmodernism, exploring how facades, ornament, and massing shape some of New York City’s most luxurious buildings. We discuss how architects turn design decisions into capital, why ornament matters even today, and the role of digital craft vs brutalism in modern architecture.