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A Design and Technology Podcast where we talk about all things impacting our visual culture. Design, Architecture, movies, video games, fashion. It’s all on the table as we connect the dots between cultural hype, politics, technology and more.

  1. 3d ago

    First look inside the George Lucas Museum, 9/11 Toxic Air Cover-Up & Brad Pitt's Architecture Movie

    This week we get our first real look inside MAD Architects' long-awaited Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, opening September 22nd in LA after a wild history that started in Chicago. We compare the polished press photos to the more candid, "banal" behind-the-scenes shots making the rounds — and talk about what actually happens when hype meets reality on a capital-A architecture project. We also mark 9/11 with a look at a moving drone memorial over the NYC skyline, the debate over how younger generations relate to the day, and the bombshell records released by Mayor Mamdani confirming officials — including Giuliani — knew about toxic ground zero air and worked to cover it up. From there: Brad Pitt is producing a film about Peter Zumthor directed by Wim Wenders (plus the real story on Brad's architecture background), the Empire State Building's surprisingly massive TikTok following, Archtober events to watch, Archisource's Drawing of the Year winners and what even counts as a "drawing" anymore, and why the architecture subreddit is full of people asking if the profession is dying.

    First look inside the George Lucas Museum, 9/11 Toxic Air Cover-Up & Brad Pitt's Architecture Movie

  2. Sep 7

    Academia in Crisis, AI "Takeover" Fears & the Death of the Starchitect

    We start with the shakeup happening across higher education — starting with The New School's mass faculty cuts and what it says about the future of architecture and design programs everywhere. We talk tenure, underenrolled humanities departments, and why architecture school recruitment is struggling. Then we shift to AI: the Hugging Face "rogue agent" incident that's got security experts calling it a potential milestone in AI autonomy, why ChatGPT and Claude gave us wildly different answers about it, and Elon Musk's prediction that AI will outcode humans within two years — plus what that means for the already-brutal entry-level coding job market. We close out with a look at BIG's new Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art, why iconic "starchitect" buildings don't hit the way they used to, and a tribute to OMA co-founder Elias Zenghelis, who passed away at 89. Make sure to follow us on our socials! Instagram - mxd_signal Tiktok - mxd_signal YouTube - MXDSignal

  3. Jun 4

    The Drawings We Make for Ourselves | Narrative, Identity & Storytelling in Architecture

    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 Drawings We Make for Ourselves | Narrative, Identity & Storytelling in Architecture

  4. May 27

    Ep. 34 Image and Storytelling in Architecture with Dr Rebecca McConnell.

    The MXD crew welcomes Dr. Rebecca McConnell to the podcast! We discuss the evolving role of the rendering in Architecture in light of new Artificial Intelligence image generation techniques.We then move into a special edition of Cold Crits, featuring speculative Architectural projects from Artist Ismail Seleit. We then discuss some of the differences between education and Academia in the United States and the United Kingdom. We also discuss Crit Bay, the platform that Rebecca and Cathal founded to provide easy access to Architectural portfolio or even project feedback. Make sure to follow us on our socials!Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mxd_signalTiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@mxd_signal

    Ep. 34 Image and Storytelling in Architecture with Dr Rebecca McConnell.

  5. May 20

    Ep. 33 Drawing New Worlds; with Gary Polk!

    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

    Ep. 33 Drawing New Worlds; with Gary Polk!

  6. May 13

    Ep. 32 Designing With Models! & Mysterious Architectural Objects with Ryosuke Imaeda!

    The MXD crew welcomes Ryosuke Imaeda to discuss models, materiality, craft, and mysterious architectural objects! We start off the episode with a model-focused edition of Cold-Crits. Ryo tells the MXD crew about his time at global design firms Zaha Hadid Architects and Reiser Umemoto Reiser. We also discuss his design-research through teaching and his perspective on materiality and craft in the production of a project. In a new edition of Yay or Nay, we discuss diagrams and their roll in representation. We also debate whether metaphor has a place in architecture. And finally, in Trending Topics we talk about "aesthetics-maxing", noticing new trends in design.

    Ep. 32 Designing With Models! & Mysterious Architectural Objects with Ryosuke Imaeda!

  7. May 6

    Ep. 31 Can we talk about Ye? And Fluffy Architecture with Brendan Ho!

    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

    Ep. 31 Can we talk about Ye? And Fluffy Architecture with Brendan Ho!

  8. Apr 29

    Ep. 30 Artificial Intelligence, War, and Architecture with AI Expert: Casey Rehm!

    The MXD crew is joined by Casey Rehm, Coordinator of the Masters of Science in Architectural Intelligence program at SciArc (Southern California Institute of Architecture). He is an expert in computation and a specialist in Artificial Intelligence and specifically a leader in speculation on its impact on Architecture. He is the perfect person to help us catch up on the state of AI and its impact on our culture. We start by looking at first fun then slightly disturbing examples of the proliferation of movie studio level AI production tools. We get Casey's take on some of the emerging concerns around security in AI - including propaganda, false information, and the frightening capacities of some emerging models like Claude 'Mythos'. We talk about Casey's program at Sci Arc, what brings students to his program, and what do some of their projects look like. We also unpack some of Casey's own work and discuss the emergent and evolving aesthetic of his practice being driven by system-thinking design. Make sure to follow us on our socials!Instagram - @MXD_signalTiktok - @MXD_signalYouTube - @MXDSignal

    Ep. 30 Artificial Intelligence, War, and Architecture with AI Expert: Casey Rehm!
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About

A Design and Technology Podcast where we talk about all things impacting our visual culture. Design, Architecture, movies, video games, fashion. It’s all on the table as we connect the dots between cultural hype, politics, technology and more.

Information

  • Creator
    Mixed Signals
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    37
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Mixed Signals
  • Show Website
    MXD News