
Our Latest Episode
32: Gabriel Ignacio Dziekiewicz | Design Legacy
In this episode, we sit down with Gabriel Ignacio Dziekiewicz, president and principal in charge of design at DesignBridge, an award-winning Chicago-based architecture firm with nearly four decades of history. The conversation covers Gabriel’s family story, including his father’s journey in architecture and founding DesignBridge, and Gabriel’s personal discovery in architecture as he moved towards…
Most Listened to
01: Jesus Jimenez | Journey to Architecture
This is the first episode of the Beyond the Surface Podcast. Jesus…
16: Katherine Darnstadt | Altering Practice
Katherine Darnstadt is the founder of Latent, a Chicago based design practice….
24: Ann Thompson | Developing History
Ann Thompson, FAIA, is Executive Vice President of Architecture and Design at…
26: Tom Lee | Drawing from Within
Tom is an award-winning architect and founder of Tom Lee Studio. He…
Bonus: Reed Kroloff | Authoring Futures
Reed Kroloff is dean of IIT College of Architecture. He previously served…
13: Alicia Ponce | Empowering Voices
Alicia Ponce is the founder and principal of APMonarch, a Chicago based…
12: Brian Lee | Building a Community of Family
Brian Lee, FAIA is a Consulting Design Partner at Skidmore, Owings &…
22: Carol Ross Barney | Design is a Superpower
Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, HASLA, is an architect, urbanist, and educator. She…
23: Annabell Ren | Everywhere All At Once
Annabell Ren is the co-founder of the Chicago based firm, New Office….
15: Ann Lui | Future of Design
Ann Lui is an architect and founding principal of Future Firm, a…
Subscribe and listen on a major platform
What Are You in the Mood For?
Filter by Topics or Search Episodes
AIA AIA Gold Medalist Alternative Career Architect Artist Design Consultant Design Principal Development Educator Firm CEO Firm Owner Immigrant Innovation NOMA NOMAC Non-Profit Organization Urban Designer Urban Planning
All Episodes
32: Gabriel Ignacio Dziekiewicz | Design Legacy
In this episode, we sit down with Gabriel Ignacio Dziekiewicz, president and principal in charge of design at DesignBridge, an award-winning Chicago-based architecture firm with nearly four decades of history….
Behind the Mic: The Beyond the Surface Story
In this special episode, co-founders Caleb Kwok and Alex Sanchez reflect on the beginnings of Beyond the Surface. Hear about how their backgrounds, inspirations for the podcast, and how the…
31: Monica Chadha | Design as Exchange
Monica Chadha is the founder and principal of Civic Projects Architecture, a Chicago-based social impact design firm with a focus on high-quality design and long-term strategic thinking. Listen in for…
30: Pascale Sablan | Authentically You
Pascale Sablan is CEO of Adjaye Associates New York studio, overseeing projects in North and South America and the Caribbean. She is the 315th living African-American woman registered architect in…
29: Rafael Robles | Proof of Concept
Rafael is the co-founder and director of Duo, an innovation studio/lab that works to create built environment innovations for the benefit of society.
Listen in for a conversation about Rafael’s journey…
28: Dr. Joseph Renow | Start Conservative Build Radical
Dr. Joseph Renow is a sociologist of science and technology who focuses on the intersection of expertise and society. Listen in for a conversation about how architects can think about…
27: Julie Eizenberg | Outside Perspective
Julie is founding partners of award winning Santa Monica based architecture firm, KoningEizenberg Architecture. Together with partner Hank Koning, Julie has been awarded the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles…
26: Tom Lee | Drawing from Within
Tom is an award-winning architect and founder of Tom Lee Studio. He has experience across a diverse set of typologies and firms including HDR where he served as Design Principal,…
25: June Campbell | NOMA Stories from a Purple Spectrum
June Campbell, is a member of the National Organization for Minority Architects Council (NOMAC). She is the wife of Wendell Campbell, one of the founders of NOMA, who was the…
24: Ann Thompson | Developing History
Ann Thompson, FAIA, is Executive Vice President of Architecture and Design at Related Midwest. She leads the design and planning of projects across the company’s portfolio of mixed-use, mixed-income, affordable…
23: Annabell Ren | Everywhere All At Once
Annabell Ren is the co-founder of the Chicago based firm, New Office. Listen in to episode to hear her experiences as an immigrant to the US, and for a conversation…
22: Carol Ross Barney | Design is a Superpower
Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, HASLA, is an architect, urbanist, and educator. She is the 2023 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal recipient, of which she is the first living woman…
21: Paola Aguirre Serrano | Translating Spaces
Paola is an urban designer and partner at Borderless Studio, a design and research practice based in Chicago and San Antonio. Listen in to hear about Paola’s path between architecture…
20: Michel Rojkind | Design for reciprocity
Michel is a Mexican architect and founder of Rojkind Arquitectos, based in Mexico City. Listen in to hear about Michel’s time in music before architecture, and a conversation about how…
19: Jason Pugh | One Step at a Time
Jason Pugh is a licensed architect, certified planner, and a Principal at Gensler, where he serves as the Global Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. He also served as the…
18: Deborah Berke | Altering […]
Deborah Berke is an architect, educator, and founder of New York-based architecture firm TenBerke, while serving as the Dean of Yale School of Architecture. Listen in to hear stories from…
Bonus: Reed Kroloff | Authoring Futures
Reed Kroloff is dean of IIT College of Architecture. He previously served as the Director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum and Dean of the Tulane School…
17: Chana Haouzi | The Power of Design
Chana Haouzi is an architect, educator, and founder of Architecture for Public Benefit. Listen to this interview for conversations about the value of architecture and design for the public, and…
16: Katherine Darnstadt | Altering Practice
Katherine Darnstadt is the founder of Latent, a Chicago based design practice. Listen in to the interview for a conversation about the changing architectural profession as the next generation of…
15: Ann Lui | Future of Design
Ann Lui is an architect and founding principal of Future Firm, a Chicago based architecture and design research practice. Listen to this interview that includes conversation about architecture shaping life…
14: Dawveed Scully | Designing Healthy Communities
Dawveed Scully is Managing Deputy Commissioner of Planning and Development at the City of Chicago. Prior to the DPD, Dawveed was an Associate Principal in the urban design and planning…
12: Brian Lee | Building a Community of Family
Brian Lee, FAIA is a Consulting Design Partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Listen in to hear about design ideas an influences in his architectural career.
13: Alicia Ponce | Empowering Voices
Alicia Ponce is the founder and principal of APMonarch, a Chicago based architecture firm. Alicia is also the founder of Arquitina, a national 501(c)3 organization with a mission to increase…
11: Bryan Hudson | Home Grown
Bryan Hudson, NOMAC, AIA is a former NOMA National President. Listen in to hear about the path he took through architecture and NOMA. Bryan talks about the mentors and influences…
10: Dr. L. David Stewart | Everything is Architecture
Dr. L. David Stewart is an advocate and consultant for race, equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives for companies. Listen in to hear about his path from architecture school to a…
09: Daniel Mai | A Road Less Traveled
Daniel Mai is vice president for NC NOMA, and an HR Manager at Little Diversified Architectural Consulting. Daniel studied architecture and after exploring different careers in the architecture, construction and…
08: Maurice Cox | Designing Policies for Change
Maurice Cox is the former Commissioner for the Chicago Department of Planning and Development. Listen in to hear stories from a long career in architecture, academia, and politics spanning across…
07: Ernie Wong | Shaping Landscape Legacy
Ernie Wong fASLA is the founding principal and president of Site Design Group, an award winning landscape architecture firm. Listen in to hear his story, and discussion about the relationship…
Bonus: Human Scale, feat. Walmer Saavedra
Beyond the Surface has a special episode featuring Walmer Saavedra, the co-founder and executive director of the non-profit organization Human Scale. The organization was founded by a group of architecture…
06: Linda Chavez | Driven to Design
Linda Chavez is a Principal at Future Firm in Chicago. She focuses on civic and community driven spaces. Listen to follow Linda’s journey from Mexico to Chicago, and the perseverance…
05: Mustapha Williams | Mentee to Mentor
Mustapha Williams is an architect at Gensler in Chicago. At the firm, he serves as the North Central Region Community Impact Leader, and a member of the regional Summer Intern…
04: Ashlen Williams | The Call to Diversity
Ashlen Williams AIA, NOMA is an architect at KOO in Chicago, and the 2022-2023 I-NOMA President. Listen in to follow Ashlen’s story from growing up in Missouri, to where she…
03: Jen Park | Breaking Barriers, Paving Future
Listen to this episode to discover the remarkable life and accomplishments of Jen Park. From being an award-winning architect and co-founder of Park Fowler Plus, to receiving prestigious honors like…
02: Davey Friday | Born to Build Chicago
Davey Friday is an urban designer with Perkins & Will. After studying biology, Davey went to IIT to study architecture and landscape architecture. He is a practicing multimedia fine artist,…
01: Jesus Jimenez | Journey to Architecture
This is the first episode of the Beyond the Surface Podcast. Jesus is a recent IIT graduate, designer, veteran, father, and husband. In this episode, we follow Jesus’s journey and…
