Charlene Li on AI, Architecture, and the Future of Work

The AIA Conference on Architecture & Design

Nick and Paul are back from the 2026 AIA National Conference in San Diego with a full debrief. They start with the keynotes that stood out: a celebrated culinary host on design as a curated experience, Charlene Li on winning with AI as a leadership and culture challenge rather than a magic button, and the World Bank's Sameh Wahba on designing for a changing climate - building for the next century, not just the next code cycle. From there they get into the Small Firm Exchange and what accessible technology means for smaller practices, the expo floor and an unexpected Columbus connection, and a Kent State alumni reception. Two building tours anchor the back half: Treehouse, a thoughtful multifamily project, and Snapdragon Stadium, a study in designing tiered experiences. They close on what they're taking home - embracing new tools, educating clients on resilience and long-term value, and the wide-open opportunity facing a profession that needs its next generation to step up.

Charlene Li on AI, Architecture, and the Future of Work

Charlene Li is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and strategist who has spent decades helping leaders navigate disruptive technology and organizational change. In this episode, the Arcfluence Team sits down with Charlene for a grounded conversation about AI, architecture, and what it takes for firms to adapt with clarity instead of fear. Charlene frames AI not as a magic solution or a replacement for human expertise, but as a leadership, culture, and decision-making challenge. The conversation explores how architecture and design firms can use AI to reduce friction, improve client communication, rethink workflows, support talent development, and create new value in the earliest stages of a project. Rather than chasing every new tool, Charlene argues that firms should start with the problems they need to solve, build AI fluency across their teams, and create governance that helps people move faster without losing control. The result is a practical discussion about experimentation, judgment, adaptability, and the human expertise that still sits at the center of good design.

Central Ohio, Block by Block

Central Ohio reads as a single metro on a map. On the ground it doesn’t behave like one. German Village and Dublin are fifteen miles apart and may as well be different states for how buyers think about them. Grandview is its own city. So is Bexley. So is Upper Arlington. Worthington was founded by New Englanders and still feels like Vermont. Powell has two distinct halves separated by a few minutes’ drive. Short North used to be downtown and now insists it’s its own neighborhood. For this episode we asked Isabelle Trepkoski - Columbus native, agent with Styer Real Estate Professionals, and someone who’s lived in a meaningful share of these neighborhoods herself - to walk through them with us, one at a time. What follows is what you actually need to know.

The Studio Ahead

Seventy episodes in, the hosts step out of the host seats. Danny Porter from behind the scenes dives in with Nick Karakaian and Paul Fatkins about how Arcfluence was built, where new technologies fit in a working architecture practice, what the next stretch of the firm looks like, and the studio they're about to move into. Conversations along the way: why podcasts work in 2026, what Bill Griffith and Brunelleschi can still teach an architect, Nick's frame of designing around himself in real time, Paul's twenty-year vantage on the change in the tools and what they actually give you (time), Danny's frame of AI as a cartographer rather than an oracle, the complementary strengths that make the team work, and the question Danny puts to both founders at the close: what would you tell a twenty-year-old considering this field in 2026? Hear more at arcfluence.com/podcast.

Thirty Years of Building in Columbus with Kathy Binner

In this episode of The Arcfluence Podcast, Nick and Paul sit down with Kathy Binner, founder of Kathy Binner International Academy, to trace three decades of building in Columbus - from salon ownership and commercial real estate to education, authorship, mentorship, and community leadership. Kathy shares how buying her first building forced her to learn the realities of change-of-use, life-safety requirements, and the discipline behind commercial ownership. The conversation also explores her transition from operator to educator, her work with Happy House Hunters and now the Central Ohio Investor Network (COIN), the creation of the Stephanie Milo Jenkins Initiative, and the philosophy that has guided her career: treat the work in front of you like your name is already on the door. This is a conversation about entrepreneurship as posture, real estate as education, and the quiet, long-term work of helping shape a city from inside its rooms.