In 1998, co-founders Joshua Aidlin and David Darling joined forces in a small woodshop studio crafting furniture. As that partnership grew, they took their approach to sensible and functional design to their work-a-day jobs as architects. Eventually joining forces and launching their own design firm, Aidlin Darling Design, in San Francisco, they found a way to take their ethos and approach to custom furniture design to large-scale projects. This podcast excavates the many layers and nuances Aidlin and Darling employ to integrate biophilic design, all the human senses, and sustainable design into high-profile projects. Their approach to each project is client and site-specific and includes open communication among clients, consultants, fabricators, and builders to achieve innovative, unexpected results. From projects like the AIA Center for Design in San Francisco, to the University of Virginia Contemplative Sciences Center, Aidlin and Darling practice an architecture of restraint that has a focus on nature, coupled with sensorial engagement of occupants.

Photo courtesy of Aidlin Darling Design

AIASF and the Center for Architecture + Design's ground floor storefront in the historic 1918 Hallidie Building

Aaron Prinz is the host of the Design:ED Podcast and holds a Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He was born and raised in the rural Northern California town of Red Bluff, just two hours south of the Oregon border. After one year of college, Prinz relocated to San Francisco to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. At age 26, he began studying architecture at Portland State University while interning at Studio Petretti Architecture led by Amanda Petretti. His professional contributions while at Studio Petretti were focused on a portion of the new Multnomah County Courthouse which is a prominent addition to the Portland skyline. He currently resides in Austin, Texas with his wife Roxanne where he continues to work as a designer.