Unfrozen

Daniel Safarik

A podcast on architecture and urbanism.

  1. Oct 19

    133. Regen360

    Intro/Outro: “Getting Better,” by Shed Seven == Discussed: People David Gottfried: guest; co-founder of USGBC, founder of WorldGBC (Wikipedia; Regen360)Mitch Albom: author of Tuesdays with Morrie, Gottfried's model for the book's dialogue format (Wikipedia)Zenobia: third-century queen of Palmyra, namesake of Gottfried's AI thinking partner (Wikipedia)Bryan Boyer: co-author of Chain Drain; Taubman College, University of Michigan William McDonough: architect and Cradle to Cradle co-author, cited as a blurber of Regen 360 (mcdonough.com) Frank Duffy: DEGW co-founder and past RIBA president (Wikipedia; RIBA obituary)Art Gensler: founder of Gensler and a Gottfried mentor (Wikipedia)Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal: 2021 Pritzker laureates known for "never demolish" transformation (Harvard GSD lecture) Patrick Bellew: founder of Atelier Ten; 2023 CTBUH Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Award (CVU profile; Atelier Ten announcement)Books and media Regen360: An Operating System for a Regenerative Earth, David Gottfried (regen360.net)Explosion Green, David Gottfried's previous book (Wikipedia author page)Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom (Wikipedia)Unfrozen 129: Chain Drain, with Bryan Boyer and Greg Lindsay (episode)Unfrozen 131: Chatting with Barbarians, with Alexandros Washburn (episode)Chain Drain: Why the Built Environment Struggles to Learn and How to Fix It, Boyer and Lindsay, 2026 (chaindrain.netlify.app)Companies and organizations U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) (usgbc.org)World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) (worldgbc.org)USGBC California and Arup: California Wildfire Rebuilding Guide after the 2025 Los Angeles fires (Architect magazine; 2026 update) Gensler (gensler.com) Blue Planet Systems: synthetic limestone aggregate made from captured CO2, a likely match for the carbon-negative concrete sample Gottfried shows (technology)Atelier Ten (atelierten.com)Rivian R2: cited as an example of published vehicle life cycle data (rivian.com)AI tools named: ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and GeminiCouncil on Vertical Urbanism (CVU), formerly CTBUH (verticalurbanism.org)Standards, codes, and rating systems LEED (usgbc.org/leed)LEED v5: carbon assessment prerequisite and whole building life cycle assessment (One Click LCA overview; LEEDuser NC-v5 MRc2)BREEAM (breeam.com) Green Star, Green Building Council of Australia (gbca.org.au)WELL Building Standard (wellcertified.com)Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and life cycle assessment (LCA)Paris Agreement and COP climate conferences (UNFCCC)Policy and finance PACE financing (Property Assessed Clean Energy) (U.S. Department of Energy)Nevada Green Building Tax Abatement and CityCenter, Las Vegas (state project list; Las Vegas Sun)Arlington County, Virginia, Green Building Incentive Policy: bonus density (FAR) for LEED (Arlington County)San Francisco priority permitting for LEED Gold (SF Environment)CTBUH 2023 International Conference, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Humanizing High Density (see Atelier Ten announcement above)

  2. Sep 20

    132. Sound and Architecture in Harmony

    Intro: “Miss the Start, Miss the End,” by Sparks Interstitial: “She Blinded Me with Science,” by Thomas Dolby Outro: “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” by Rodgers & Hammerstein, performed by the Liverpool FC Supporters Choir == Discussed: People Michael Webb (architecture writer, co-author) — Wallpaper* contributor pageThomas Aujero Small (co-author; music critic) — ORO Editions author bio via ACC Art BooksElizabeth Valmont (Arup, Americas Technical Services Leader) — Arup staff profileCharles and Ray Eames — Eames Office / Eames FoundationRichard Neutra (architect, Strathmore Apartments) — WikipediaCharles Garnier (architect, Paris Opera) — WikipediaHans Scharoun (Berlin Philharmonie architect) — WikipediaAlvar Aalto (Essen opera house architect) — WikipediaHerzog & de Meuron (Elbphilharmonie) — Official siteSnøhetta (Oslo Opera House) — Official sitePeter Haimerl (architect, Konzerthaus Blaibach) — ArchDaily project profileThomas E. Bauer (baritone, Blaibach initiator) — Ignant interviewWilly Brandt (Mayor of West Berlin, Deutsche Oper inauguration) — WikipediaWalter T. Grondzik (co-author, MEEB) — Wiley author pageMark Schiller (USC, glare research on Disney Hall) — USC School of Architecture facultySam Pellman (chime tuning, Tower of Voices) — ENR profile of the projectPaul Murdoch (architect, Flight 93 National Memorial) — Paul Murdoch ArchitectsBooks Michael Webb & Thomas Aujero Small, Music and Architecture in Harmony: Opera Houses and Concert Halls of Europe (ORO Editions, 2026) — Publisher/distributor listingWalter T. Grondzik, Alison G. Kwok et al., Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings ("MEEB") — Wiley product pageBuildings & Venues Strathmore Apartments, Westwood, LA (Richard Neutra, 1937; former Eames residence) — Confluence lecture backgroundEstates Theatre, Prague (Don Giovanni premiere) — WikipediaPalais Garnier (Paris Opera) — WikipediaDeutsche Oper Berlin — Official siteStaatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin — Official siteBerlin Philharmonie (Scharoun, 1963) — Official siteElbphilharmonie, Hamburg — Official siteOslo Opera House — Official siteTeatro di San Carlo, Naples — Official siteBlaibach Concert Hall Bayreuth Festspielhaus — WikipediaGrand Théâtre de Bordeaux (1780) — WikipediaMusikverein, Vienna — Official siteLa Scala, Milan — Official siteWalt Disney Concert Hall, LA — Official siteStavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Athens (Renzo Piano) — Official siteLA Memorial Coliseum — Official siteFlight 93 National Memorial / Tower of Voices — National Park Service pageInstitutions & Organizations Arup (engineering firm) — Arup SoundLab (R) overviewUniversity of Southern California, School of Architecture — Official siteCranbrook Academy of Art (Eames connection) — Official siteAmerican Film Institute — Official siteNational Park Service — Official siteNew York MTA / Second Avenue Subway — MTA project pageSociety of Building Science Educators — Official site— 2005 Conference Award RecipientsMusic & Opera Works Mentioned Mozart, Don Giovanni — WikipediaRichard Strauss, Elektra — WikipediaWagner, Das Rheingold (Ring cycle) — WikipediaAndrew Lloyd Webber, The Phantom of the Opera — Official siteOther Items of Interest

  3. Aug 31

    130. Build or Die

    Intro/Outro: “The Housebuilding Song,” by David Ferguson -- Discussed: People Ned Resnikoff (guest) — Resnikoff Consulting · Public Comment newsletter Greg Lindsay (co-host) — greglindsay.org Dan Safarik (co-host) — LinkedIn Christopher Cabaldon, California State Senator, former mayor of West Sacramento — Senate biography · Wikipedia Gabriel (Gabe) Metcalf, Head of Planning, California Forever; former CEO of SPUR — California Forever profile · The Planning Report interview Zohran Mamdani, Mayor of New York City — Office of the Mayor · Wikipedia Marc Andreessen — a16z profile Scott Wiener, author of SB 79 — sd11.senate.ca.gov Organizations, companies, and government bodies Ned Resnikoff Consulting — resnikoffconsulting.com NYC Mayor's Office of Mass Engagement — establishing announcement California Forever — californiaforever.com SPUR (San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association) — spur.org Blackstone — blackstone.com Cornell Tech — tech.cornell.edu Metro, Portland's regional government — oregonmetro.gov Atlanta Regional Commission — atlantaregional.org Town of Atherton, California — ci.atherton.ca.us City of San Jose — sanjoseca.gov County of Los Angeles — lacounty.gov Legislation and policy programs California SB 79, Abundant & Affordable Homes Near Transit Act — bill text · California YIMBY summary Road to Housing Act — U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs New York City "City of Yes" zoning reforms — NYC Department of City Planning ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) — NYC Planning overview California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) — Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation Publications Build or Die: How America Is Suffocating Its Cities and What to Do About It, by Ned Resnikoff (Princeton University Press, December 8, 2026) — publisher page Emergent Tokyo: Designing the Spontaneous City, by Jorge Almazan, Joe McReynolds, Naoki Saito and Studiolab — Oro Editions (see Unfrozen 31, “Emergent Tokyo,” for more). CRE Daily — credaily.com Places and building typologies Amerikamura district, Osaka (site of the zakkyo-building cocktail bar) — Osaka Info Tokyo Metropolitan Government — metro.tokyo.lg.jp City of Sacramento — cityofsacramento.gov City of Austin, Texas — austintexas.gov City of Portland, Oregon — portland.gov

  4. Aug 24

    129. Chain Drain

    Intro/Outro: “The Chain,” by Fleetwood Mac -- Discussed: People Bryan Boyer — co-author; Taubman College, University of Michigan (transcript: "Taubin College")Greg Lindsay — co-author; U of T School of CitiesFrank Duffy — DEGW co-founder, past RIBA president; RIBA obituaryStewart Brand — How Buildings Learn, source of the shearing-layers framingBobby Fijan — co-founder, The American Housing CorporationKP Reddy — founder/CEO, Zero RFI; ex-Gehry Technologies Boon Sheridan — permitting tech lead, EPIC Jon Buerge — president, Urban Villages Jeanne Gang — Studio Gang Joanna Frank — Center for Active Design Federico Negro — CEO, CanoaAstro Teller — X, the Moonshot FactoryMasayoshi Son — SoftBank Group Adam Neumann — WeWork co-founder David Graeber — B******t Jobs Austan Goolsbee — Federal Reserve Bank of ChicagoGeorge Romney — HUD Secretary behind Operation BreakthroughCompanies & organizations Anori — company site / X project page; spun out of Alphabet's X with $26M led by Prologis and Builders Consigli AS + AECOM — AEC Magazine on the acquisition; Norwegian AI start-up acquired for roughly $390M Zero RFI — zero-rfi.com; backed by General Catalyst, built on its Foundation Zero intelligence layer The American Housing Corporation — americanhousing.com / Fast Company profileUrban Villages — urban-villages.comStudio Gang — studiogang.comSHoP Architects (Chris Sharples) — shoparc.comGensler — gensler.comAutodesk / Revit — autodesk.com/products/revitKaterra — Wikipedia; raised more than $2 billion before going out of business WeWork — WikipediaEliseAI — eliseai.com (transcript: "Elise AI")Canoa — canoa.comEPIC (Environmental Policy Innovation Center) — policyinnovation.orgPermitting Tech — permittingtech.comAvalonBay + Equity Residential → Vivmark Residential — Commercial Observer; more than 180,000 rental apartments, ~$71B enterprise value JPMorganChase / 270 Park Avenue — project pageBilt Rewards — biltrewards.comPCBC — pcbc.comCouncil for Quality Growth — councilforqualitygrowth.orgPapers, reports & standards Chain Drain: Why the Built Environment Struggles to Learn and How to Fix It — chaindrain.netlify.app; Boyer & Lindsay (2026), University of Michigan white paper built on dozens of AECO-sector interviews 2026 Permitting Technology Landscape Report — permittingtech.com; inventory of 305+ permitting technologiesConstruction Disconnected: The High Cost of Poor Data and Miscommunication – Autodesk / FMI, 2018Fitwel — fitwel.orgLEED — usgbc.org/leedWELL Building Standard — wellcertified.comToyota Production System — Wikipedia · Six Sigma — WikipediaOperation Breakthrough — HUD User archivePolicy 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (H.R. 6644) — Congress.gov; reduces barriers to building and targets institutional single-family buyers NYC Local Law 97 — nyc.govCEQ Permitting Innovation Center — permitting.innovation.govCultural references Hooli, from HBO's Silicon Valley — WikipediaFucked Company — Wikipedia

  5. Aug 21

    128. Space/Lab

    Intro/Outro: “Spacelab,” by Kraftwerk -- -- Interviewees: Greg Lemke, PhD, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Salk Institute Ryan Rosen, Friendly Futures John Galante, President, AE Ventures -- Discussed: People Louis Kahn — architect of the Salk Institute Greg Lemke — distinguished professor emeritus, Salk Institute Tony Hunter — Salk professor; discovered tyrosine phosphorylation Jonas Salk — founder of the Salk Institute Eero Saarinen — architect of Bell Labs Holmdel and IBM Yorktown  William Pereira — architect of Geisel Library and master planner of UC Irvine Walter Netsch — SOM architect of Northwestern's University Library Dawn Clark Netsch — Illinois legislator and comptroller; Walter Netsch's wife Frank Gehry — architect; designed Facebook/Meta's MPK20 campus Mark Zuckerberg — co-founder and CEO, Meta Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) — namesake of UC San Diego's Geisel Library Cormac McCarthy — novelist, author of The Road; longtime Santa Fe Institute fellow Bruno Latour — sociologist of science; co-author of Laboratory Life Steve Woolgar — co-author with Latour of Laboratory Life Christian Catalini — MIT economist; research on lab proximity and collaboration Eric Klinenberg — NYU sociologist; author of Palaces for the People Jan Gehl — Danish urbanist William H. Whyte — urbanist behind the Street Life Project Ryan K. Rosen — founder and creative director, Friendly Futures Aaron Hurst — founder and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Connection John Galante — president and founder, AE Ventures Bryan Boyer — University of Michigan; co-author of Chain Drain ("Brian" in the transcript) Kelly Alvarez Doran — co-founder, Ha/f Climate Design; formerly MASS Design Group Buildings, Campuses & Places Salk Institute for Biological Studies — La Jolla, CA Salk Institute architecture — history and design of the Kahn campus UC San Diego — University of California, San Diego Geisel Library — UC San Diego UC Irvine — William Pereira's radial campus plan Torrey Pines Mesa — San Diego's research and biotech corridor La Jolla — San Diego community Bell Works (former Bell Labs Holmdel) — Saarinen's Holmdel research campus, now adaptively reused IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center — Yorktown Heights, NY Santa Fe Institute — complexity research institute Northwestern University Library — Walter Netsch's brutalist library Jussieu Campus — Sorbonne University, Paris Meta MPK20 — Frank Gehry-designed Menlo Park office The RaDD (Research and Development District) — IQHQ's downtown San Diego waterfront life-science campus Gaylord Pacific Resort — Chula Vista, CA Wild Mile — floating eco-park on the Chicago River La Jolla Tennis Club — public tennis club, La Jolla Companies, Organizations & Events Friendly Futures — Ryan Rosen's social-architecture and neighborhood-games practice AE Ventures — John Galante's hosted-event company Builder Innovator — AE Ventures' content platform and summit series Urban Rivers — Chicago nonprofit behind the Wild Mile U.S. Chamber of Connection — Aaron Hurst's civic-connection nonprofit IQHQ — life-science real estate developer Alexandria Real Estate Equities — life-science REIT and lab campus developer Scripps Research — La Jolla biomedical research institute Scripps Institution of Oceanography — UC San Diego MASS Design Group — nonprofit architecture practice Ha/f Climate Design — Kelly Alvarez Doran's embodied-carbon consultancy Zonda — housing market research firm Future Place — Zonda/BUILDER master-planned community conference PCBC — Pacific Coast Builders Conference California Building Industry Association — CBIA Downtown Denver Partnership — downtown Denver business improvement organization Mortgage Bankers Association — MBA White House Council of Economic Advisers — CEA Bilt Rewards — rent-payment rewards platform WeWork — flexible workspace operator Los Angeles Dodgers — MLB franchise Los Angeles Rams — NFL franchise Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF) — Insulating Concrete Forms Manufacturers Association Otter.ai — transcription service used for this recording Publications, Papers & Works Cited Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts — Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar (Princeton University Press) Chain Drain: Why the Built Environment Struggles to Learn and How to Fix It — Bryan Boyer and Greg Lindsay, University of Michigan white paper Palaces for the People — Eric Klinenberg on social infrastructure The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces — William H. Whyte, Project for Public Spaces The Purpose Economy — Aaron Hurst Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next — John D. Kasarda and Greg Lindsay Road to Housing Act of 2025 — U.S. Senate Banking Committee housing legislation Conquest of the Planet of the Apes — 1972 film shot partly at UC Irvine

Ratings & Reviews

5
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7 Ratings

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A podcast on architecture and urbanism.

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