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Evan Troxel shared thisIs it time to stop trying to perfect your BIM setup? In my latest TRXL Podcast episode, Martyn Day and I spent some time digging into this. He's been covering this industry for 37 years as the publisher of AEC Magazine. His framing: firms spending enormous energy refining BIM 1.0 workflows are polishing something that's already been made obsolete. Not in five years. Now. BIM is becoming a drawing conduit. The real work is happening outside Revit, in tools that can't run inside it, and being pumped back in just to produce output. Tools like Arcol, Hypar, Motif, Snaptrude, TestFit, and many others. The firms that understand this are already rethinking their entire stack, hosting their own project data, and building bespoke tools on open SDKs. The ones that don't are going to spend the next two years optimizing themselves into a corner. If you're a BIM manager, technology director, or firm leader trying to figure out where to put your energy right now, this episode's for you. 👉 Listen wherever you get your podcasts or follow the link in the comments. #AECtech #Architecture #DesignTechnology #TRXL
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Evan Troxel shared thisIf you’re reading this, you probably already get my TRXL podcast episodes in your podcast app, but did you know I also publish the episodes on YouTube too? Youtube is a great place to share real conversations about technology, leadership, digital practice, and the future of architecture and construction. Long form videos are gaining momentum right now. If that’s your world, I think you’ll find it valuable. I’m trying to build my audience there and can use your help reaching more people, and in turn, our profession. 🙏 I’d really appreciate your subscribe. Follow the link in the comments and help me build!
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Evan Troxel shared thisHeatherwick Studio built a library of computational design tools. They built them in Grasshopper. They got almost no adoption. Sound familiar? Pablo Zamorano Mosnaim, Head of Computational Design at Heatherwick, described this failure clearly when we talked in TRXL Podcast episode 223. The problem wasn't the tools. It was who they were built for. Grasshopper is a specialist's environment. Generalist designers couldn't use the tools without already knowing how to use the environment. So they didn't. More recently, they built an internal AI image generation tool with a chat interface. Thousands of images in the first month... from a 260-person studio. The constraint on technology adoption in most firms isn't access. It's activation energy: how much does someone have to already know before they can start using the thing? The latest edition of my Leadership Edge newsletter goes into that failure, what it taught them, and what the parallel is for every firm evaluating tools right now. If you're responsible for how your firm adopts technology, this edition is for you. 👉 Follow the link in the comments. #AECtech #Architecture #Leadership #AIinAEC #TRXL
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Evan Troxel shared thisCormac wrote an email at 7:30 in the morning. He sent it at 7:30 that night. Not because it was complicated... because every time he sat down to hit send, something else pulled him away. A Zoom notification. A "quick question." A "just one sec" that became an hour. That story is episode 385 of the Archispeak Podcast. It sounds funny, but it also sounds exactly like every Friday in an architecture office. I'm sure you can relate. So we went deep on what's actually happening: meetings that replaced the natural flow of in-person conversation, AI tools that make it easy to do more of the wrong things faster, and the structural reason architects say yes to everything. Including the things that eat the whole day before anything real gets done. If you've ever gotten to 5pm and couldn't name a single thing you finished, this one is for you. 🎙️ Follow the link in the comments. #Architecture #Archispeak #AEC #ArchitecturePractice
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Evan Troxel posted thisA new Archispeak podcast episode is out → #385 - Why Architects Can't Say No Cormac spent twelve hours trying to send one email. Evan has seventeen apps open at all times. This week they trace the architecture of modern distraction — from "you're on mute" killing the flow of real-time thinking, to AI making it ea... 🎧 https://lnkd.in/gcK7HqMy
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Evan Troxel shared this🎙️ What do you charge a client when seven hours of processing replaces three months of engineering? That's not a rhetorical question. It's the actual problem Martyn Day walked me through in a recent conversation. He's been covering AEC technology for 37 years. When he says the billable hour model is structurally broken, he's not being dramatic. The value of architecture was never really in the hours. It was in the judgment, the decisions, the things that couldn't be automated. But the hours were the package we put around that value because it was the model that existed. Now the model is breaking. And the firms that figure out how to charge for judgment instead of time are going to look very different from the ones still counting seats and billable hours in 2027. If you're an architect or firm leader who's been quietly wondering when this reckoning arrives, this one's for you. 👉 Listen wherever you get your podcasts or follow the link in the comments. #AECtech #Architecture #DesignTechnology #TRXL
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Evan Troxel posted this🎙️ "I've been told AI will replace programmers year on year since 2022." That's a comment on the latest episode of my TRXL Podcast with Martyn Day. The person who left it works in AEC from the inside. They know the code. They've watched the hype cycles come and go. You can read the thoughtful (and long) comment yourself over on my youtube channel. They weren't attacking the conversation (I did sense the eye-rolls though 😂). They were asking for middle ground between what gets pushed out into the media field and what most people actually experience on the job every day. That's a fair ask. And a few of their points land cleanly. On the CDE claim: fair. A prototype is not a product. I should have pushed harder on that in the conversation. On tacit knowledge: they're right. AI is limited to what's been recorded. The knowledge that lives in someone's head after 30 years of building, that never got written down, isn't available to train on. There's no software solution to that problem alone. This is very real thing firms have to figure out how to deal with. On timeline skepticism: also fair. The asteroid framing wasn’t about speed. AEC doesn't move fast, and pretending otherwise doesn't help anyone make better decisions. The point is trajectory and whether there's enough lead time to act intentionally. But let’s also apply the premise from the “Don’t Look Up” movie… the gap between firms making deliberate choices now versus firms that aren't is real, even if the pace is slower than anyone on the hype end would have you believe. Where do you sit on this? Is the needle actually moving in your corner of the industry, or is it still mostly noise? What's genuinely stuck? 👉 Episode link in the comments. CC: Gavin Nicholls for some reason or another
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Evan Troxel shared this🎙️ "The technologies are arriving faster than institutions, firms, or software vendors can adapt." That's from Martyn Day, 37 years into covering AEC tech, said without a hint of hype. Everyone is feeling it. It's not one thing changing. MEP automation. Open SDKs dismantling software moats. Palantir deciding AEC is worth owning. The death of the named user license. They're all arriving at the same time, from different directions. Martyn calls it the asteroid. The technologies are already visible on the horizon. New episode of the TRXL Podcast. If you're a firm leader or technology director who senses the ground shifting but can't quite name why, this one's for you. 👉 Listen wherever you get your podcasts or follow the link in the comments. #AECtech #Architecture #DesignTechnology #TRXL
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Evan Troxel shared this"Whoever is watching from the sidelines — they better find something else to do." That’s Pablo Zamorano Mosnaim, Head of Computational Design at Heatherwick Studio, on the question of whether people in architecture need to actually engage with AI tools right now or can afford to wait. He wasn't being dramatic. His point was specific: you learn by doing. There is no other way. And if you're not in it, you can't develop the judgment to know when a result is good, when it's bad, when it's actually AI-generated, or when a workflow is taking you somewhere you shouldn't go. He also made an argument I’ve been mulling over for the last couple months. We're entering what he called the ultimate ease of producing bad architecture. The tools to make generic buildings fast and cheap are getting very, very good. What gets harder to replicate is the other stuff — the ideas, the critical thinking, the ambition to make something that actually affects people at the human scale. His prediction: very soon small teams with the right tools and big ideas will be able to do what large teams with the wrong tools currently do. That changes who gets to play. But only if you're in the game. If you're in architecture and have been watching all of this from a safe distance, this one's for you. 👉 Listen wherever you get your podcasts or follow the link in the comments. #AECtech #Architecture #DesignTechnology #TRXL
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Evan Troxel liked thisEvan Troxel liked thisAEC Roundtables Moves to Fall (same week as Leadership Retreat), Enscape 4.17, Veras 4.2 Best Practices and More - Enscape Update for April 2026! https://lnkd.in/gTVPQvm2
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Evan Troxel liked thisEvan Troxel liked thisI wrote a satire about our profession. It was supposed to be totally absurd. Then my architect and designer friends started telling me it was too accurate to be funny (sorry guys) 🙃 ⬇️ Full essay + Link in comments.
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Evan Troxel liked thisEvan Troxel liked thiswe’ve been reorganizing internally. AI made it possible to go from idea → something real in a day (every day). so things got kinda tricky because of all the bullshit around the work: who owns this? who decides? are we even working on the right stuff? our structure (and our OKR model) started getting in the way. it kinda felt like everyone now has a rocket strapped to them and we couldn’t get out of the way fast enough, or even point everyone in the same direction. we’ve moved to smaller loops: clear ownership. fewer people. less coordination. more shipping. my main learning from all this: speed isn’t the hard part anymore. getting out of your own way is - I wonder how many AEC firms are navigating this, and how many are choosing to wait....
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Evan Troxel reacted on thisEvan Troxel reacted on this🏗️ Arcol Interlude - a week where every person on the Arcol team was given five days to build whatever they wanted. Here are some highlights of what the team built. 👇We want to hear what excites you most, drop it in the comments below👇
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Evan Troxel liked thisEvan Troxel liked thisI read Martyn Day's AEC Magazine cover story on Thursday. By Friday afternoon I had four working prototypes. Martyn's piece - "The Agentic Future of BIM" - picks up exactly where my BIM 3.0 post left off last week. His argument: BIM was built to produce documents. Agentic AI needs something it can actually reason over. Those are different things, and no amount of cloud delivery fixes it. So I built against it. Four prototypes, each one testing a different proposition from the article: 1. Geometry as code - a floor plate defined by rules, not drawn. Change the site boundary, setback, or target area and the geometry updates automatically. No one redraws anything. 2. Declarative rule engine - minimum corridor widths, room adjacency, egress distances - live in the model as rules, not checked separately weeks later by someone in Solibri. 3. Model as state - the building accessible via API. Read it, modify it, query its history. No file sent back and forth. 4. Multi-agent loop - four agents running at the same time on the same model: one making layout changes, one resolving clashes, one checking compliance, one tracking cost. No handoffs. No waiting. Two years ago none of this was a realistic weekend project. Now it is - which tells you something about where things are headed. More on each one over the next few weeks. Links in comments. #BIM #AEC #AgenticAI #AECTechnology #DigitalConstruction
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Evan Troxel liked thisEvan Troxel liked thisLS3P brought Hypar into a K-12 replacement school project for rapid evaluation of alternatives, saving time and money on early site test fits before public review. What could your firm do? Find out by trying Hypar for free today at hypar.io.
Experience & Education
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TRXL Media
View Evan’s full experience
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Licenses & Certifications
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Architect
Oregon State Board of Architect Examiners
IssuedCredential ID ARI-15043 -
Publications
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Full STE(a)M Ahead: Planning for Workforce Demand and the Rise of STEM Education
Society of College and University Planners
Workforce demand in the fields of science and technology, coupled with a renewed focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education at the K-12 level, are forcing higher education institutions to re-think how they provide and deliver curriculum in mathematics and the sciences. This session will discuss how to build programs and plan facilities that build community, incorporate active learning methodologies, address workforce demand, and respond to trends in education within…
Workforce demand in the fields of science and technology, coupled with a renewed focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education at the K-12 level, are forcing higher education institutions to re-think how they provide and deliver curriculum in mathematics and the sciences. This session will discuss how to build programs and plan facilities that build community, incorporate active learning methodologies, address workforce demand, and respond to trends in education within the fields of math and science.
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Acoustics First: Sound Design as More Than an Afterthought
Construction Specifier
See publicationAcoustics has an ever-increasing influence on modern commercial construction. There are guidelines stating how loud classrooms should be, how much noise workers can be exposed to, and even the level of privacy needed in sensitive spaces. Innovative building products and technology can help professionals meet new and changing standards, but these tools are only as good as the designs into which they are incorporated.
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ARE Hacks: Learn How to Pass the Architect Registration Exam
Evan Troxel AIA
See publicationYou’ve already done the hard part—you got your degree in architecture. Now it’s time to get your license so you can level-up in your career by becoming an architect.
But your excuses are holding you back. You have a busy life, you’re working long hours building your career, and on top of that you might even have a family. Everything is competing for your time and attention and you don’t have any more to give. How do you dedicate yourself to something that takes so much time and effort…You’ve already done the hard part—you got your degree in architecture. Now it’s time to get your license so you can level-up in your career by becoming an architect.
But your excuses are holding you back. You have a busy life, you’re working long hours building your career, and on top of that you might even have a family. Everything is competing for your time and attention and you don’t have any more to give. How do you dedicate yourself to something that takes so much time and effort to accomplish? The answer isn’t simply more coffee.
In ARE Hacks, Evan shares how to create the space in your life that is needed to finish what you started. He decided to silence the voices in his head that kept nagging him to get licensed fifteen years after graduating. In every way imaginable, he had a busy and full life. The good news is that he did it, and now he’s sharing everything you need to know to get your license—his tips and tricks, his strategies, and all the things people don’t talk about that are involved with passing the Architect Registration Exam.
We need more great architects. Use this guide to create a master plan for success, get your license, and become one. Choose yourself first, then help change the world.
Honors & Awards
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Top Architecture Blogs of 2017
The Architect's Guide
"The Archispeak Podcast, while not a blog per se, is a great resource covering a variety of topics. Each episode, Evan Troxel, Neal Pann, and Cormac Phalen have a casual conversation about all things architecture, and invite you to listen in as they talk about everything in the profession, both the good and the bad." —Brandon Hubbard, The Architect's Guide
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[x]ref 2016
HMC Architects
HMC's [x]ref competition awards two travel fellowships to merits employees to encourage the exploration of other cultures and to strengthen the creative ethos of the firm. Each entrant submits a destination and describes how the experience would contribute to their personal vision and professional growth.
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Best Architecture and Design Podcast
Architectural Digest
AD named Archispeak one of the best architecture and design podcasts on their Daily AD blog in January, 2015.
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2014 Merit Award for Clearwater Elementary School (unbuilt category)
AIA Inland Chapter
The AIAIC awards program recognizes achievements for architectural works that elevate the quality of the architectural practice and design, and inform the public of the breath and value of the architectural practice.
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Sustainable Innovation Award for the Middle College High School Project at LACCD Southwest Campus
United States Green Building Council (USGBC)
L.A. Southwest College is the site of LAUSD’s Middle College High School. Students can take college courses and obtain their Associate’s Degree while meeting the requirements for a high school diploma. Southwest also has partnerships with other local high schools and offers college-level classes to students at their home campus and online. - See more at: http://www.lasc.edu/Why_LASC.html#sthash.MIP2ct6S.dpuf
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The 8 Best Podcasts for Architects
NCARB
NCARB: Whether you’re just starting school or you’ve been practicing for years, we found eight podcasts guaranteed to leave you feeling inspired (and a little less cranky from your morning commute). In no particular order, here are the best audio shows for architects and design buffs. - See more at: http://www.ncarb.org/sitecore/content/Blog/Blog/2014/October/Best-Podcasts.aspx?sc_lang=en#sthash.92yT3qHx.dpuf
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2013 President’s Award Object-Making Design Competition
Brian Staton, CEO of HMC Architects
A 3d printed object for each of the 7 winners of the 2013 President's Award at HMC Architects. Each year, the President’s Award celebrates and honors individuals who have made a significant contribution to HMC and/or the community.
"Evan’s design is a 3d printed trophy titled, “Micro City” that opens up to reveal the award name and year. It’s an engaging and detailed design, and will complement any desktop. Thanks to everyone who participated in the competition, all the submissions were…A 3d printed object for each of the 7 winners of the 2013 President's Award at HMC Architects. Each year, the President’s Award celebrates and honors individuals who have made a significant contribution to HMC and/or the community.
"Evan’s design is a 3d printed trophy titled, “Micro City” that opens up to reveal the award name and year. It’s an engaging and detailed design, and will complement any desktop. Thanks to everyone who participated in the competition, all the submissions were engaging, thoughtful, and creative." -
New & Noteworthy Podcast - Archispeak
Apple Inc.
Archispeak was recognized as a New & Noteworthy Podcast in 2013.
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Award of Excellence for the design of Elementary School #9 for LAUSD
AIA Inland Chapter
The AIAIC awards program recognizes achievements for architectural works that elevate the quality of the architectural practice and design, and inform the public of the breath and value of the architectural practice.
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Honor Award
Design Build Institute of America
HMC Architects and Balfour Beatty were presented with an Honor Award from the Design Build Institute of America (DBIA) for J. Paul Leonard Library and Sutro Library at San Francisco State University. The national design-build awards are presented to the highest-rated projects in each category and are the most prestigious project awards presented by DBIA. The Leonard Library was honored in the Rehabilitation/Renovation/Restoration category.
The Leonard Library is a tribute to the teamwork…HMC Architects and Balfour Beatty were presented with an Honor Award from the Design Build Institute of America (DBIA) for J. Paul Leonard Library and Sutro Library at San Francisco State University. The national design-build awards are presented to the highest-rated projects in each category and are the most prestigious project awards presented by DBIA. The Leonard Library was honored in the Rehabilitation/Renovation/Restoration category.
The Leonard Library is a tribute to the teamwork of all the stakeholders who had the vision to go beyond and push the edges of design-build methodology. It’s a standout example of what design-build can achieve when confronted with a complicated program and diverse client goals. The new $103.8 million library renovation and expansion project addressed the need to accommodate a growing student population and restored structural inadequacies while concurrently updating the building’s electrical and telecommunication systems. -
AIA Design Award - Fontana Superior Courthouse - Civic Category
AIA Inland Chapter
The AIAIC Chapter Design Awards Program recognizes achievements for a broad range of architectural works that elevate the general quality of architectural practice, establish a standard of excellence against which all architects can measure performance; and inform the public of the breath and value of architectural practice.
To achieve these goals, the AIAIC Chapter Design Awards Program seeks to recognize both Architecture and Interior Design. A variety of building type categories…The AIAIC Chapter Design Awards Program recognizes achievements for a broad range of architectural works that elevate the general quality of architectural practice, establish a standard of excellence against which all architects can measure performance; and inform the public of the breath and value of architectural practice.
To achieve these goals, the AIAIC Chapter Design Awards Program seeks to recognize both Architecture and Interior Design. A variety of building type categories and sizes will be considered. Awards will be conferred in the categories of Honor, Merit, and Citation. -
HMC President's Award
HMC Architects
The President’s Award recognizes the significant efforts by an employee having a direct impact on the success of HMC Architects. This program has been designed to recognize HMC employees who have gone above and beyond their normal responsibilities or achieved something truly unique.
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Citation for Design Award - Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facility - Unbuilt Category
AIA Pasadena and Foothill Chapter
The 2012 Pasadena & Foothill AIA Design Awards program provides a forum to celebrate design excellence and innovation; an arena where architects are recognized by their peers for their effort and dedication to the profession.
By publicizing this recognition, the Chapter aims to raise the public consciousness and foster a wider appreciation for design excellence as well as highlight the significant role of the architect in the community. -
[x]ref 2009
HMC Architects
HMC's [x]ref competition awards two travel fellowships to merits employees to encourage the exploration of other cultures and to strengthen the creative ethos of the firm. Each entrant submits a destination and describes how the experience would contribute to their personal vision and professional growth.
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Design Excellence Award
City of Claremont Architectural Commission
2007 Design Excellence Award for the renovation of the modernist Sangsland Residence in Claremont, CA.
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Concourse de Elegance
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Thesis Project Design Award, Department of Architecture; Cal Poly Pomona.
Organizations
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American Institute of Architects
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- PresentThe AIA advocates for the value of architecture and give architects the resources they need to do their best work, driving positive change through the power of design.
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Mt San Antonio College Architectural Advisory Council
Advisor (private sector)
- PresentMt. San Antonio College holds yearly meetings where outside influencers and advisors are invited to help steer future architectural curriculum. Advisors consist of local university architecture chairs and professors, private sector firms, and past students. I provide direction as a previous professor (Mt Sac & Cal Poly Pomona) and private sector architect at HMC.
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