I Hear Design: the i+s podcast

How Retail Design Is Becoming Social Infrastructure with Greg Lyon

What keeps people coming back to physical spaces in an increasingly digital world? In this episode of I Hear Design, Robert Nieminen speaks with Greg Lyon, chairman and president of Nadel Architects, about how retail and mixed-use environments are being reimagined as places for connection, culture, and community. Lyon explores why brick-and-mortar retail continues to evolve rather than disappear, how dining and entertainment have become essential anchors, and what architects can learn from successful urban districts when designing modern “third spaces.” The conversation also touches on authenticity, local identity, and why the most compelling destinations today are those that give people a reason to linger.

ICYMI: When Architecture Listens: Community Spaces Shaped By History And Land

In this In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) episode of the I Hear Design podcast, we revisit an article by Nicholas McWhirter, AIA, NCARB, design principal and studio head at SHM Architects, on what it means for architecture to truly listen. Through projects at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society and in Crested Butte, Colorado, McWhirter examines how community spaces can be shaped by history, landscape, and long-term use.
Rather than replicate historic architecture or impose a disconnected contemporary gesture, these projects demonstrate a more nuanced approach: translating precedent, designing for transformation, and treating land as an active part of the program. The episode explores how adaptable pavilions, framed views, and long-term institutional relationships can create spaces that serve communities across seasons, events, and generations.

Why Material Intelligence Matters at NeoCon and Chicago Design Week 2026 with Jon Strassner and Kenn Busch

As Chicago Design Week 2026 approaches, the conversation around commercial interiors is expanding beyond product launches and showroom trends at NeoCon and Design Days to focus more deeply on the materials that shape our built environments.
In this episode of I Hear Design, host Robert Nieminen welcomes back Kenn Busch of Material Intelligence and welcomes Jon Strassner, founder of ReWritten and host of Once Upon a Planet, for a timely discussion about materiality, sustainability storytelling, and circular design. Together, they preview what attendees can expect from Destination NeoCon and the ReWritten pop-up, while unpacking why designers, specifiers, and manufacturers need to ask better questions about what products are made of, where they come from, how they perform, and what happens at the end of their useful life.
The conversation explores embodied carbon, material transparency, supply chain accountability, certifications, circularity, remanufacturing, reuse, product take-back programs, and the challenge of making sustainability feel accessible rather than overwhelming. Busch and Strassner also explain why storytelling may be one of the most powerful tools the design industry has to move sustainable material choices from niche conversations into the mainstream.

ICYMI: Swan Dive Design Studio Transforms a Sam’s Club into a Community Hub and Pickleball Destination

In this In Case You Missed It episode of the I Hear Design podcast, we revisit an interiors+sources article by Janelle Penny on Relish Food Hall + Pickleball, an 88,000-square-foot adaptive reuse project in Louisville, Colorado, designed by Swan Dive Design Studio. Once a former Sam’s Club (and briefly used as a community center after the 2021 Marshall Fire), the building has been reimagined as a year-round destination with 19 indoor pickleball courts, two outdoor courts, eight locally driven food concepts, a coffee shop, full bar, event spaces, conference areas, outdoor patio and game lawn.
The episode looks at how Swan Dive used zoning, circulation, acoustical separation, playful material references, and strategic indoor-outdoor connections to make a massive big-box space feel welcoming, human-scaled, and community-centered. It’s a story about adaptive reuse, design constraints, bold client trust and the growing role of experiential destinations in giving underused retail buildings a second life.

Product Talk | The Future of Textiles: Why Soft is Power

Textiles are no longer just a finishing touch—they’re a high-performance design solution. In this episode of Product Talk, Lauren Brant explores how textiles are shaping acoustics, wellness, and sustainability while influencing how people feel and interact within a space.
From antimicrobial and acoustic fabrics to the rise of tactility and wellness-driven trends like “soft-clubbing,” this episode breaks down why materials matter more than ever. Plus, a look at evolving sustainability standards, certifications, and smarter sampling practices.
Key Moments in This Episode
00:00 – Introduction: Why textiles deserve a second lookRethinking textiles as essential to performance, wellness, and storytelling—not just aesthetics.
01:30 – Soft is doing hard workHow textiles are replacing traditional building systems with acoustic, antimicrobial, and performance-driven solutions.
04:30 – The rise of tactility and wellnessWhy touch, comfort, and emotional response are shaping material specification.
06:00 – What is “soft-clubbing”?A cultural shift toward wellness-driven social spaces and how it’s influencing interior design.
08:00 – Behavioral design through textilesHow materials like bouclé, wool, and linen impact how people feel, stay, and remember a space.
10:00 – Sustainability to accountabilityWhy “eco-friendly” isn’t enough anymore—and what designers should be asking instead.
11:30 – Understanding textile certificationsBreaking down OEKO-TEX® and GOTS and what they actually verify.
13:30 – Rethinking material samplingHow platforms and take-back programs are reducing waste and supporting circularity.
15:00 – Craft vs. technologyThe balance between high-performance textiles and handcrafted, human-centered design.
16:30 – Design takeaways for specifiersKey strategies for evaluating textiles as functional, sensory, and storytelling tools.
18:00 – Outro: Spec smarterFinal thoughts on why textiles are now doing the heavy lifting—technically, emotionally, and environmentally.

Earth Month 2026: What the Sustainability Conversation Gets Right (and Wrong) with Robert Nieminen

What does sustainable design actually look like when you strip away the rhetoric? In this Earth Month episode of I Hear Design, host Robert Nieminen takes a thoughtful (and at times provocative) look at the state of the sustainability conversation in architecture and design. Drawing on reporting from interiors+sources, BUILDINGS, Architectural Products, and Building Design+Construction, he explores why the strongest case for sustainability has never been moral perfection, but better buildings: healthier, more efficient, more resilient, and better equipped for a changing world. From adaptive reuse and LEED v5 to embodied carbon, smart building controls, and resilience planning, this episode challenges both cynicism and climate melodrama while offering a more practical framework for progress.

ICYMI: From Classroom to Career: The People Who Shape a Designer’s Path

In this In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) episode, we revisit an interiors+sources article titled, "From Classroom to Career: The People Who Shape a Designer's Path," about the vital role mentorship plays in shaping the next generation of designers. While formal education builds technical knowledge, this conversation highlights why soft skills like communication, teamwork, and time management are often what determine early-career success. Drawing on insights from leaders at ASID, //3877, and FCA, the episode examines how mentorship can strengthen confidence, create meaningful professional connections, and help emerging designers navigate the path from classroom to career.

How to Build an Interiors Team From Scratch with Christina Franklin

What does it take to build an interiors team from scratch and make it a true strategic partner to architecture, not a “finishes at the end” function?
In this episode of I Hear Design, we sit down with Christina Franklin, Partner and Director of Interior Design at Generator Studio in Kansas City. Christina shares what it was like joining as a team of one and how she established the foundations that allowed an interiors practice to scale, which included defining a clear point of view, clarifying the scope of ownership, and embedding interiors into the design process from day one.
We also talk about what “hospitality-forward design” really means beyond buzzwords (translating it into tangible decisions like arrival sequence, lighting, and emotional resonance instead), plus the tools and standards that help maintain quality as a team grows. Christina also offers a candid take on AI as an early-stage ideation tool, how to gauge whether a team is truly healthy, and the leadership shift she calls out most: learning to release control and build trust.

ICYMI: Behavioral Health Facility Design: Begin By Balancing Safety, Dignity, and Therapeutic Outcomes

Behavioral health facility design requires more than durable materials and safety protocols—it calls for spaces that actively support healing, dignity, and positive patient experiences. In this In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) episode, we revisit a recent interiors+sources article exploring the foundational principles designers need to understand before planning these complex environments.
This episode looks at how treatment types, therapy methods, social dynamics, and levels of patient privacy shape design decisions from the outset. It also explores why safety and therapeutic outcomes are not competing priorities, but closely connected ones, and how thoughtful interior planning can help create environments that are both protective and humane.

Product Talk | Material Intelligence: Why the Future of Product Specification Goes Beyond Carbon with Kenn Busch

In this episode of Product Talk, host Lauren Brant speaks with sustainability journalist and material expert Kenn Busch about the growing importance of material intelligence in product specification.
As more architecture and design firms begin collecting materials data through initiatives like the American Institute of Architects Materials Pledge, designers are gaining new insight into how products impact human health, climate, and the built environment.
But carbon metrics only tell part of the story.
Together, Brant and Busch explore how chemistry, lifecycle thinking, and responsible sourcing—especially when it comes to forests and wood products—are shaping the future of sustainable specification in the A&D industry.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Why “material intelligence” is becoming essential in product specification—and how designers can move beyond trends to evaluate products through chemistry, lifecycle impacts, and human health.
What the latest data from the American Institute of Architects Materials Pledge reveals about how architecture and design firms are collecting materials data—and where the industry still has work to do.
How forests and responsibly sourced wood products fit into the future of sustainable design, and the role designers play in communicating their value through the materials they choose to specify.