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Evelyn Lee

Practice of Architecture: Bryan Boyer on why architects must learn to build, not just design

Published 25 days ago • 1 min read

2026

Hello Reader,

I'm writing this from Spring Break, and I'm keeping it short. (Apologies in advance for slow email responses this week.)

Here's the question I keep coming back to: are architects going to figure out startups first, or are startups going to figure out architecture first?

That's what's at the center of this week's episode of Practice Disrupted. I sat down with Bryan Boyer, founding director of the BS in Urban Technology at the University of Michigan's Taubman College and Faculty Director of UMCI, a $250 million innovation hub opening in downtown Detroit in fall 2027, and Larry Fabbroni, architect, MBA, and Practice of Architecture's CIO, to talk about what it would actually take for architects to lead the companies reshaping our industry rather than simply work for them.

This conversation also marks the beginning of something new.

This summer, Larry and I are co-teaching a professional intensive in partnership with Bryan and the Taubman School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan. We are opening registration in the next week or two. If you're curious, register your interest now at beradicallybetter.com.

🎧 Listen to episode 228 here.​

What would it take for you to move from someone who uses the tools of your industry to someone who builds them?

Keep learning and growing,

Evelyn M Lee, FAIA | NOMA

Founder, Practice of Architecture

Host, Practice Disrupted & Fractional COO

/// PoA Podcast - Practice Disrupted ///

Architecture, Innovation, and What the Built Environment Needs to Learn

Are architects going to figure out startups first, or will startups figure out architecture first?

113 Cherry St. #92768, Seattle, Washington 98104-2205
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Evelyn Lee

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