Bad Words Good Buildings

Leah Kiren Solk & Yuliya Ilizarov

5.0 (1)
DESIGN

Two smart women shoot the shit about the design and construction industry.

6D AGO

That's a Wrap!

Episode 13: This week's episode is bittersweet – it's our last one of the season! Join us as we reflect on the journey and look towards the next. We break down how we make the show, why we curse, and what surprised us during the process. We seek to be a part of an evolving discourse and invite listeners to feel empowered to join in as well. We aren't featuring a Good Building this week, but please ponder on how distance makes the heart grow fonder. If you've enjoyed listening to us banter, we ask that you share this podcast with two friends. We miss you already, but will return later this year with Season 2! Leah Solk is an architect and principal of Solk Architecture. Yuliya Ilizarov is an architect and builder, and founder and partner of Coburn Construction Management. Follow us on Instagram @badwordsgoodbuildings for updates.

32 min
FEB 11

Unhappy Customers

Episode 12: Despite our best intentions, sometimes clients aren't 100% happy with the process, experience, or finished product. It's important to examine these relationships and use them as an opportunity to grow as professionals. We discuss how misalignments of expectations can lead to disappointment, specifically exploring communication around scope, services, schedule, and cost. What kind of questions can clients ask to avoid the wrong fit with an architect or contractor? Our Good Building this week is Donald Judd's 101 Spring Street in the Soho neighborhood of New York. The cast iron building was originally built in 1870 as space for manufacturing and was purchased by the artist in 1968 as a home, studio, and gallery. ARO completed an extensive restoration in 2013, and the building is now a foundation open to the public. Judd approached his renovation with a thoughtfulness for detail, warmth and experimentation. He and his family lived in a minimal and communal manner that allowed for the art and architecture to shine. Leah Solk is an architect and principal of Solk Architecture. Yuliya Ilizarov is an architect and builder, and founder and partner of Coburn Construction Management. Follow us on Instagram @badwordsgoodbuildings for updates.

1h 10m
FEB 4

AI versus our Daily Lives

Episode 11: This week's episode delves into the fast-changing world of Artificial Intelligence. Join us as we discuss how we currently use AI in our businesses and muse on how it could be helpful in the future as learning models evolve. We also question how labor-saving devices may impact the development of future generations of practitioners and who is ultimately benefitting from the reduction of time spent on architectural production. Our Good Building this week is the Yokohama International Passenger Terminal by Foreign Office Architects (FOA), completed in 2002. Located just outside of Tokyo, it's a highly unique tectonic expression that combines infrastructure, building, and landscape. The form questions expectations of what is a wall, floor, or ceiling, enveloping the visitor in a mind bending wonderland of architecture. Leah Solk is an architect and principal of Solk Architecture. Yuliya Ilizarov is an architect and builder, and founder and partner of Coburn Construction Management. Follow us on Instagram @badwordsgoodbuildings for updates.

1h 13m
JAN 28

The Monster Under the Bed: Soft Costs

Episode 10: This week's episode breaks down the soft costs of a construction project and we discuss why it's so essential to properly budget for this component. We talk about how architects bill, the time and value they can bring to a project, and how much their services may cost. We also discuss how contractors think about labor and overhead to understand why buildings cost more than the sum of their parts. Our Good Building this week is the Clark Art Institute. Specifically, we examine the Visitor Center by Tadao Ando, completed in 2014. The work was part of an all-star cast of architects and landscape architects to create a new vision for this spectacular museum campus. Ando's work is notably precise with an elegant clarity. It's a stunning welcome that pulls you into the landscape and then melts away around you. Leah Solk is an architect and principal of Solk Architecture. Yuliya Ilizarov is an architect and builder, and founder and partner of Coburn Construction Management. Follow us on Instagram @badwordsgoodbuildings for updates

1h 4m
JAN 21

We don't have dicks!

Episode 9: This week's episode gets real about gender, and we share our thoughts and experiences as women in our industries. These personal stories speak to the limitations and preconceptions that women face in our fields, and the implied work that women are often required to do to make men comfortable in professional interactions. We also focus on how we see a path forward to create an equitable environment together where everyone can work to their fullest capabilities. Our Good Building this week is the Berkeley City Club (originally called the Berkeley Women's City Club), by the diva herself, Julia Morgan. Built in 1929, the building was conceived of and championed by women, and is now a designated a California State Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places. It's both structurally and aesthetically fascinating. Leah Solk is an architect and principal of Solk Architecture. Yuliya Ilizarov is an architect and builder, and founder and partner of Coburn Construction Management. Follow us on Instagram @badwordsgoodbuildings for updates.

1h 5m
JAN 15

It's Not Easy Being Green

Episode 8: This week we are chatting about why it can be challenging to apply conventional green design principles to smaller projects. We dive into the waste involved in renovations, how to think about selecting new materials, passive house strategies, and why building smaller is both more sustainable and also budget-friendly. Ultimately, good design is sustainable design. Our Good Building this week is the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice, by the firm Roche Dinkeloo Associates in 1967 and renovated by Gensler in 2016. Located in mid-town Manhattan, this is an architectural marvel of bringing-the-outside-in. Check out this masterclass in proportion and materiality. Leah Solk is an architect and principal of Solk Architecture. Yuliya Ilizarov is an architect and builder, and founder and partner of Coburn Construction Management. Follow us on Instagram @badwordsgoodbuildings for updates.

1h 11m
JAN 7

Politics Matter: Part II

Episode 7: This week we continue to discuss the idea that architecture and construction are inherently tied to politics. We begin with a conversation about our personal and professional stories and thoughts about the topic of immigration. We then shift to the hot topic of tariffs, and specifically how uncertainty and increases of this form of tax impacts our respective industries. As a bit of a "f**k you" to the federal mandate (discussed in Episode 6) that declares all brutalism to be ugly, our Good Building this week is the Biblioteca Nacional Mariano Moreno in Buenos Aires, by Clorindo Testa, Francisco Bullrich and Alicia Cazzaniga, completed in 1992 after a decades-long construction period. Watch out, it's brutal. Leah Solk is an architect and principal of Solk Architecture. Yuliya Ilizarov is an architect and builder, and founder and partner of Coburn Construction Management. Follow us on Instagram @badwordsgoodbuildings for updates.

1h 1m
12/23/2025

Politics Matter: Part I

Episode 6: This week we are exploring the concept that architecture is inherently a political act, which is now coming up against a highly conservative administration. We explore the White House mandate that all new civic buildings must be in a classical architectural style, the complete demolition of the East Wing, and the recent directive that architects (among others) are no longer considered professionals by the federal government. As a counterpoint to the concept that only classical styles are recognizable to the public as civic structures, our Good Building this week is the highly modern Vietnam Veterans Memorial by Maya Lin. It's a chef's kiss that a young woman of color delivered modernism in 1982 and it became one of the most beloved memorials in our country. Leah Solk is an architect and principal of Solk Architecture Yuliya Ilizarov is an architect and builder, and founder and partner of Coburn Construction Management Follow us on Instagram @badwordsgoodbuildings for updates.

1h 9m

Two smart women shoot the shit about the design and construction industry.

Creator

Leah Kiren Solk & Yuliya Ilizarov
Years Active

2025 - 2026
Episodes

13
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© 2026 Bad Words Good Buildings
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Bad Words Good Buildings