Architecture, Design & Photography

In this episode of Architecture, Design & Photography, Trent Bell sits down with architect and author Danish Kurani to discuss his latest book, The Spaces That Make Us: Why Design Is Broken and How We Can Create a Happier, Healthier World. 

Trent and Danish explore the powerful ways architecture and environmental design shape our psychology, behavior, relationships, and overall well-being. From the spaces we grow up in to the cities we move through every day, the discuss how thoughtful design can influence how we connect, feel, and live.

The Spaces That Make Us: Why Design Is Broken and How We Can Create a Happier, Healthier World: https://www.amazon.com/Spaces-That-Make-Us-Healthier/dp/1400249120

About Danish Kurani: Danish Kurani sees how buildings are failing to nourish people. After witnessing how poorly designed environments hold back people across the globe – from the middle of Manhattan to villages in India – he’s made it his mission to remake architecture for human flourishing. His groundbreaking designs for New York City, Google, and communities on four continents prove that thoughtful architecture can unlock human potential.

Named one of the World’s Most Innovative Architects by Fast Company, Kurani has pioneered a human-centered approach that’s transforming lives worldwide. His work spans from floating homes in disaster-prone areas to schools in informal settlements, always focusing on one question: how can architecture solve our most pressing social challenges? 

A Harvard-trained architect and urban designer, Kurani’s architectural ideas have been shared at leading institutions including Stanford, MIT, Harvard, and Columbia, and featured in TIME, World Economic Forum, and the Wall Street Journal. National governments recognize him as a leading voice in social impact architecture – not because he builds beautiful buildings, but because he builds spaces that work for real people.

More from Danish Kurani: 

Website - https://danishkurani.com 

Architecture Website: https://kurani.us/ 

LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/danishkurani

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In this episode of Architecture, Design & Photography, Trent Bell sits down with Mike Corsie of Terrapin Landscapes to talk about building a business from the ground up, evolving from lawn care into high-end design-build work, and creating landscapes that feel deeply rooted in Maine. 

Mike reflects on 25 years in business, the turning points that helped shape Terrapin’s identity, and the importance of craftsmanship, trust, and doing what you say you’re going to do. The conversation also explores how landscape can tie architecture to place, why native plants and stone matter, and how great outdoor spaces become part of the experience of home. 

They also get into the bigger picture: the realities of running a seasonal business, the pressures of creative work, the changing character of coastal Maine, and the tension between thoughtful development and preserving what makes a place feel authentic.

About Terrapin Landscapes: 

In 2001, Terrapin consisted of Mike Corsie, a truck, and a mower. He built a network of clients in the community around his home of Kennebunkport and delivered on the promise of deeply personal, quality work. Over the years, he invested what he earned back into the business, adding equipment and building an equally committed team. He connected with clients who wanted much more than a manicured lawn and began flexing the design principles that you recognize in Terrapin today: natural stonework, native plants, careful shoreline stabilization, and an overarching sense of belonging. 

Today, Terrapin is recognized as one of Southern Maine’s premier landscape companies, with a full-time crew of landscapers, masons, and horticulturists, a fleet of hard earned trucks, and a gorgeous design office in Arundel, ME.

More from Terrapin Landscapes: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terrapinlandscapes/ 

Website: https://terrapinlandscapes.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terrapinlandscapes/

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Website: www.adppodcast.com 

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In this insightful interview, Bruno Carvalho discusses the invention of the future, urban development, and the impact of technological and societal changes on cities from Lisbon to the US. Trent and Bruno explore how history, religion, law, and innovation shape our cities and societies, with a focus on creating sustainable, inclusive, and adaptable urban environments.

More about is new book: THE INVENTION OF THE FUTURE: A History of Cities in the Modern World. 

The future has always been inextricable from urban planning. As the sea level rises and the effects of climate change become harder to ignore, plans for futuristic urban centers like Saudi Arabia’s mirrored megacity (The Line) and a floating city in the Maldives make for splashy headlines. Our modern cities—sources of greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution, overcrowding and urban sprawl—pale in comparison. Bruno Carvalho argues in THE INVENTION OF THE FUTURE that while modern-day New York City may not be designed for a period of climate emergency, its nineteenth-century architects certainly had the future in mind when laying out the plans.

Carvalho details the feats of engineering that restored Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake, transformed Paris from a medieval city into a grand metropolis, and made sprawling cities like Manhattan easier to plan and develop via the implementation of a grid system. He considers how technological innovations (steel, steam-powered engines, automobiles) and social change (the abolition of slavery, the overthrow of colonial rule) led to the rapid growth and expansion of cities in the global South, from Buenos Aires to Brasilia to Lagos. 

The future may appear bleak from our vantage point, but “there is a lot of space for reinvention,” Carvalho writes, “and if we must reinvent, there might be no better place to look than the history of the future.”

Bruno Carvalho is a professor at Harvard University, where he teaches courses on cities. He is the author of Porous City: A Cultural History of Rio de Janeiro. 

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Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/architecture-design-photography/id1447381737 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5qTtT0lpXkVGyksEkN57VS

Architectural photographer Patrick Rogers joins Trent and Tim in the studio for a wide-ranging conversation about composition, client relationships, lighting, editing, pricing, publications, and the challenge of building a sustainable creative career. This episode is full of honest insight on the craft and business of architectural photography.

About Patrick: Patrick Rogers is a Massachusetts-based architectural and portrait photographer focused on capturing the relationship between people, place, and design. His work highlights not just the finished structure, but the intention, craftsmanship, and human stories behind it—often with an emphasis on sustainable and biophilic architecture. 

Through ongoing collaborations with architects, builders, and designers, Patrick creates imagery that supports both marketing and storytelling, helping firms consistently share their work and process. He also runs a studio in Maynard, where he photographs headshots and personal projects centered on craft and community. 

At the heart of his work is a simple idea: that good design—and good photography—can help people feel something lasting.

More from Patrick:

Website: https://www.patrickrphoto.com 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patrickrphotos 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-rogers-8378265/ 

More from us: Website: www.adppodcast.com 

Instagram: http://instagram.com/adppod_ 

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/architecture-design-photography/id1447381737 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5qTtT0lpXkVGyksEkN57VS 

Thanks for watching!

In this episode, Trent sits down with longtime collaborator Eric Ratinoff of Story First to explore the power of storytelling — in film-making, business, and everyday life. 

Eric shares how his work helping organizations tell meaningful stories goes far beyond simply “making a video.” Instead, it’s about uncovering the deeper narrative: the problem, the stakes, and the transformation that makes a story resonate with an audience. 

Together they discuss the curse of knowledge, why experts often struggle to communicate what they know, and how curiosity and asking the right questions can unlock powerful stories hidden inside organizations and individuals. The conversation moves from filmmaking and editing workflows to the psychology and evolution of storytelling — and why humans are wired to understand the world through narrative.

More From Eric:

Eric Ratinoff is the founder and Chief Storyteller of Story First, a strategic storytelling firm that helps companies and organizations get clear about their story and tell it more effectively. 

Story First works with a wide range of non-profit, corporate, educational, and political clients from across the United States, and Eric brings deep experience as a writer, editor, director, strategist, speaker, teacher, and coach. He’s been invited to speak and teach about storytelling in a variety of corporate and college settings, including presenting multiple times at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)/National Public Health Information Coalition National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing, and Media.

Two recent Story First projects, Still Separate, Still Unequal, which examines education inequity in St. Louis, and Transforming 911, which tells the story of what happens after you call 911 in St. Louis, received Gold Telly Awards.

Additionally, Eric has taught Technical Writing in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis; served as the Executive Editor for the Ferguson Commission report, Forward Through Ferguson; co-authored A Seat at the Table, an award-winning column on diversity and inclusion in the New Hampshire Business Review; served as the lead organizer and a speaker coach for TEDxAmoskeagMillyard in Southern New Hampshire; and delivered a talk on storytelling and organizational culture, titled “Once Upon a Time At The Office: How Stories Shape Culture At Work,” at TEDxCapeMay in New Jersey. He’s also the head boys’ track and field coach at Manchester West High School in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Website: https://www.storyfir.st 

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ratinoff/ 

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