Eleven conversations recorded at Banff Session 2026, the 70-year celebration of the Alberta Association of Architects and Licensed Interior Designers. The venue's theme that year was Origin Stories. Mine, for these conversations, became Thresholds.
I'm genuinely curious about design, business, strategy, innovation, and the people behind bold ideas. So I asked eleven architects, designers, and makers — at very different stages in their careers — to sit down and talk about how they got here, and where they're going next.
New episodes drop every Friday from May 8 through July 17, 2026. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
The word came from the work. For an architect or an interior designer, a threshold isn't an abstraction — it's a deliberate, designed moment. The point where one space ends and another begins. A doorway carries weight; it lets the room before and the room after both register.
Once you start thinking about the word that way, it anchors everything. Every conversation in this season turned out to be about a threshold in someone's career — the rooms they've walked out of, and the rooms they're stepping into.
Architects, designers, and makers from Edmonton to New York, Winnipeg to Norway. Each episode runs about an hour. All released on the same Spotify channel.
Founder, Noun Consulting & Verb Architecture · Edmonton, AB
Dalhousie-trained architect, current President of the Alberta Association of Architects — the regulatory body that licenses every architect and Licensed Interior Designer in the province.
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Co-founder, 5468796 Architecture · Winnipeg, MB
Born in Yugoslavia, immigrated to Canada in 1996. Fellow of the RAIC, two-time Governor General's Medal in Architecture, represented Canada at the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale.
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Principal & Design Director, Henning Larsen · New York
Royal Danish Academy and Bartlett at UCL. Project experience across mixed-use districts, civic buildings, and campus developments in North America and Europe.
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Design Director & Principal, Gensler · Toronto, ON
Multiple ARIDO Design Awards, NEOCON product design awards, and the VMSD award for visual merchandising. Honoured by Ryerson (now TMU) for design excellence.
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Intern Interior Designer, L7 Architecture · Edmonton, AB
Grew up in Stony Plain, studied at the University of Nebraska, returned home to Edmonton. NAIT diploma, LEED AP credentials, and a fresh take on practice.
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Architect & Author · Edmonton, AB
Specialist in accessible and barrier-free design. Author of Accessible Architecture: Beyond the Ramp (2020). Eighteen-time recipient of the Edmonton Mayor's Award for Accessible Architecture.
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Founder, Dub Architects · Edmonton, AB
Founded Dub Architects in 1975 and still leads the firm today with his son Michael. Architect of Edmonton City Hall. Former Edmonton City Councillor. Member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
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Founding Partner, WXY · New York
Edmonton-raised, Yale-trained, New York-based. Fellow of the AIA, Honorary Fellow of the RAIC, recipient of the AIA New York Medal of Honor.
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Founder, Douglas Cardinal Architect Inc. · Ottawa
Born in Calgary, 1934. Officer of the Order of Canada. Gold Medal of the RAIC. Led UNCEDED: Voices of the Land, Canada's pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. (Canada Day release.)
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Founder, Saunders Architecture · Bergen, Norway
Born in Gander, Newfoundland. Based in Norway since 1997. Designer of the Fogo Island Inn and Fogo Island Arts studios. Visiting professorships at Cornell and Yale.
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Brick Artist, Groovybones Bricks · Edmonton, AB
Electrician by trade. Professional brick artist by practice. Finalist on Season 4 of LEGO Masters USA — the only Canadian on the show that season. Bonus episode.
Listen →Every guest takes the same prompt and runs somewhere different with it. What comes back are eleven distinct paths through the same question: how do you know when to start the next thing? What gets left behind, and what gets carried forward?
Always interested in hearing about architects, designers, builders, makers, and creative leaders doing interesting work — particularly anyone navigating a transition worth a longer conversation. A paragraph is plenty.