Evan and Cormac catch up on Cormac's 6,800-mile road trip from Detroit to the AIA National Convention in San Diego with his daughter, built around a bucket list of architectural pilgrimage stops. They explore what happens when a non-architect finally sees a building that lands emotionally (Thorncrown Chapel), what happens when a canonical masterpiece doesn't (the Salk Institute reads as "a parking garage"), and what the 2026 AIA National Convention got right and wrong.

This episode is especially relevant for architects who've ever tried to get a non-architect family member excited about a building they love, and for anyone curious what 18 states and 10 national parks look like when the itinerary is built around Route 66 gas stations, Louis Sullivan bank buildings, and a soda shop with a 66-foot bottle out front. Expect a reminder that the buildings people love most aren't always the ones architects were taught to revere.

Buildings & Projects Mentioned

• Thorncrown Chapel — E. Fay Jones
• The E. Fay Jones Conservancy
• POPS (Pop 66) — Rand Elliott Architects
• Salk Institute for Biological Studies — Louis Kahn
• Geisel Library — William Pereira, UC San Diego
• Wainwright Building — Adler & Sullivan, St. Louis
• Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center — Missouri Botanical Garden
• John Deere World Headquarters — Eero Saarinen, Moline

Context: AIA National Convention

• AIA National Convention (A'26), San Diego

Related Work

• Rand Elliott Architects

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