Some are born with good taste, and Teo Yang is one of them. Among South Korea’s most interesting designers and collectors, he consistently studies the country’s past to find inspiration and connection to its present and future. His interior design practice creates private, public and corporate spaces, often filled with an eclectic mix that includes furniture and furnishings that he’s designed. Evan and Josh spent time with Teo in Seoul and more recently caught up with him while he was passing through NYC on his first visit in many years. They spoke with the gifted entrepreneur about how he weaves his vision across multiple businesses, including skin care, fragrances and science fiction.

TeoYangStudio.com

en.Eastern-Edition.com

Instagram.com/TeoYang

CoolHunting.com/TeoYang

en.EathLibrary.com

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Have you ever walked into a space and immediately sensed it had a rich history? Faraz and Ella explore the idea of iteration from a musical context and how this occurs in the built environment through thoughtful preservation and adaptive reuse. What makes up the soul of a building or place? Does it start with the architecture or with the people and activities that bring a space to life?

Notes / Links:

Want to learn more about the things we’ve mentioned in this episode? Please find links to additional content below.

• Faraz’s YouTube Rabbit Hole
• Who we spoke with: Preservation Chicago
• Book Recommendation: Stewart Brand | How Buildings Learn
• Book Recommendation: Jane M. Jacobs and Stephen Cairns | Buildings Must Die
• Podcast Recommendation: Alie Ward | Ologies: Domicology Episode
• Article: Wax Trax building gets preliminary landmark designation | Urbanize Chicago!

As always, if you have something you want to share with us, please don’t hesitate to reach out via our socials. We want to know what’s important to you!

Turf | Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/turf.design/

https://linkedin.com/company/turf-design-acoustics-/

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It finally happened. After months of name dropping, Bobby and Andrew finally visited the Sphere and they brought along a new friend to talk about it. Kelly Knapp has been at the forefront of immersive experiences for much of her career and she joins the pod to talk about the process of creating projects like Sphere, where she was a pre-launch creative lead, as well as a host of other exciting work she’s been a part of around the world. From planning experiences no one has ever experienced before, to the search for talent and even (of course) some hot takes on the role of AI in the creative process, this conversation has it all.

Discover more episodes of Barriers to Entry at surroundpodcasts.com.

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Surround Presents showcases our favorite episodes on the Surround network as well as narratives, interviews, and innovations shaping design today.

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What makes good design endure in an era of constant change? Recorded live at NeoCon 2026, AJ Paron sits down with Wick Wolfe, president of Unica Vaev, to discuss the principles that outlast trends. From the evolution of NeoCon to the growing importance of acoustics and sustainability, Wolfe shares how thoughtful, user-centered design remains relevant in a rapidly changing industry.

This episode is presented by Unika Vaev and was recorded in the NeoCon Podcast Lounge Powered by SURROUND. Thank you to our Lounge sponsor, Unika Vaev, and partners: B+N, DARRAN, Framery, Momentum, and UpSpring.

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Find more episodes of Deep Green at SURROUNDpodcasts.com

Listeners of Deep Green know that we have a big problem with office furniture. In 2018, an estimated 12 million tons of furniture went to landfills in the United States alone, and eight million tons of that was office furniture.

Not cheap e-commerce or flat-pack couches or low-quality furniture. These were desks, workstations, and ergonomic chairs that probably had many more years of life left in them. Now, if we could divert those pieces to new projects and give them a second life, it could mean some money for the original owners, savings for the new owners, and a whole lot of good for the planet.

That's where Reseat comes in. In this episode, created in partnership with Reseat, host Avinash Rajagopal sits down with the company’s founder and CEO, Brandi Susewitz. Building on Susewitz’s deep knowledge of the furniture industry, Reseat is making an increasingly big impact through furniture reuse every year. Listen to learn about what's new with the Reseat platform, how the challenges and opportunities around circularity and design have changed, and why furniture is still a key lever in our transition to a circular built environment.

Resources:

Reseat’s Mission

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Listen to every episode of Design Nerds Anonymous at SURROUNDpodcasts.com

In the Season 10 premiere of Design Nerds Anonymous, host Amanda Schneider kicks off a season built around the ideas inside her upcoming book, Work for What’s Next, with a guest who lives at the intersection of innovation, risk, and human potential: Deb Golden, Deloitte’s US Chief Innovation Officer. Together, they unpack a core tension shaping work right now: companies keep trying to fix a software problem (culture, trust, systems) with hardware (office mandates). The result is a conversation about the trust gap, unlearning outdated rules, and what it takes to design workplaces that become magnets—not mandates. 

Links Mentioned: 

• Grab your copy of Work for What's Next. 
• Sign up for ThinkLab’s Newsletter to keep up with industry trends.  
• Follow Amanda on LinkedIn for more workplace insights. 
• Book Amanda to speak  

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Find more episodes of Barriers to Entry at surroundpodcasts.com/barriers-to-entry

Architecture as a Startup

Season 4 opens with a milestone moment: Andrew Lane’s first solo episode as host. With a little encouragement from Producer Rob, Andrew welcomes back friend of the show Matthias Hollwich, founder of HWKN Architecture, for a conversation about why the architecture industry may need to reinvent itself entirely.

Matthias argues that today every architecture firm needs to think like a startup. With AI transforming design tools and workflows at breakneck speed, his studio has embraced rapid experimentation—running internal AI sprints, rewriting their design process every few months, and using generative tools to explore entirely new forms of architecture.

Andrew and Matthias discuss how AI is reshaping everything from design research to client collaboration, how new technologies can unlock more emotional and human-centered architecture, and why this moment may allow architects to reclaim influence over the future of the built environment.

Connect with our host, Andrew Lane, on LinkedIn

Follow Matthias Hollwich on LinkedIn

References and resources

HWKN Architecture

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Recorded live at NeoCon 2025, Helene Oberman, Managing Director of Interior Design Magazine, sits down with Neel Bradham, CEO and Managing Director of Parador. In this episode, they discuss Parador's debut in the U.S. market, their rich legacy of nearly 50 years in the European design industry, and how Parador integrates innovation and sustainability in their products. Neel also shares insights into how Parador navigates global expansion and the importance of partnerships in achieving their vision.

This episode was produced in partnership with Parador and recorded live in the NeoCon Podcast Lounge Powered by SURROUND, sponsored by Material Bank, and in partnership with HÅG, Stylex, KI Wall, and Turf.

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This special episode of SURROUND Presents was recorded live during NeoCon 2025, in the DesignScene lounge hosted by SANDOW DESIGN GROUP. Surrounded by more than 300 full-sized lamps and countless miniature models, Interior Design Editor-in-Chief Cindy Allen sat down in the experiential space with Ryan Smith, Chief Creative Officer of 3form companies and founder of LightArt. The duo shared behind-the-scenes details on how the installation came to life, the bumps and brilliance along the way, and why this partnership means so much to everyone involved.

Click here to learn more about DesignScene.

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You can find every episode of architecture 5 10 20 at surroundpodcasts.com.

Welcome back to architecture 5 10 20! I’m your host, Guy Geier, Managing Partner of FXCollaborative Architects in New York. My guests for this podcast are pioneers and visionaries shaping the future of the built environment across various disciplines. Join me in exploring their remarkable journeys, discovering how they reach their current heights, and envisioning what lies ahead in the next 5, 10, and 20 years.

Join me for this special episode as I have a great conversation with Avi Rajagopal, editor-in-chief of Metropolis magazine and host of the Deep Green podcast, to discuss connections between sustainability and design. Recorded at FX Collaborative’s Brooklyn office during Green April, our conversation touches upon how sustainability has evolved in the built environment and how media plays an important part in pushing the conversation forward.

Avi, whose career has been shaped by his commitment to sustainable design, shares his journey from product design to leading sustainability projects at Metropolis, and we talk about some of the challenges facing the architecture and design industries such as the carbon emissions tied to interior design and the importance of thinking about materials as long-term investments. Avi provides some insights into how we can shift our mindset to reduce waste and adopt a more circular approach to design.

Avi also goes into how design practices differ across sectors, from corporate offices to healthcare facilities, and how we can rethink how buildings change over time. We discuss the role of reuse in sustainability and the shifts that we are going to need to actually elevate this practice. Focusing on practical and actionable steps, we consider how designers can model circularity, from reusing materials to rethinking aesthetic choices. Avi even answers a few questions from a few of my FXCollaborative colleagues here in the studio with me!

This episode of the show is full of forward-thinking ideas on how we can design better, more sustainable spaces, so whether you are an architect, a designer, and/or a sustainability advocate, this conversation offers valuable insights from Avi that will surely challenge and inspire!

Time stamps:

[02:34] - Avi reflects on how his interest in sustainability developed over time, from design studies to Metropolis' focus on it.

[05:59] - The media connects architecture to the public, advancing professional conversations around sustainability.

[08:08] - Avi reveals that Metropolis has explored how interior design contributes to carbon emissions.

[11:03] - Focusing on building life-cycle emissions led to creating the Climate Toolkit for Interior Design to reduce waste.

[13:33] - Proposals for circularity in design have led to ideas for new professions and assessing the quality of reused materials.

[15:03] - Avi argues that avoiding new materials is the best way to reduce rising carbon emissions.

[17:54] - Aesthetics and sustainability are not inherently linked, and global practices embrace broader, more sustainable design values.

[20:29] - Avi explains how different building types age uniquely, which requires customized strategies and approaches.

[22:58] - As an optimist, Avi points out how retrofits, natural materials, and holistic thinking suggest a shift in sustainable practices.

[25:04] - FXCollaborative’s work highlights how urban design increasingly considers the impact on all life on Earth, not just humans.

[27:21] - Adaptive reuse, Avi asserts, should prioritize flexibility and longevity, not just destroying and rebuilding existing structures.

[30:51] - Can reuse alone satisfy future infrastructure and housing needs?

[31:53] - It's important for new construction to be assessed for whether it serves the public good.

[34:39] - Rethinking building use and shared responsibility is important for maximizing environmental and social value.

[37:20] - FXCollaborative draws ongoing inspiration from Avi's vision for a circular, sustainable architectural future!

Links / Resources:

Guy Geier

Instagram | Twitter

Avinash Rajagopal on Instagram

Metropolis

Climate Toolkit for Interior Design

Deep Green

Ezra Klein - Abundance

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Alma Jimenez Lopez is a creative force — a designer, artist, and curator who builds bridges between cultures and communities. In this episode, she shares how growing up as a first-generation Mexican American shaped her superpower: empathy. From honing her skills as an interior designer and building bridges across sectors of the design industry, to curation and community-building with the co-founding Of Threads, which celebrates the richness of Mexican American stories through art, design, and fashion, Alma’s journey is one of vision, healing, and unstoppable drive. This conversation is bold, heartfelt, and full of light.

You can find more episodes of Clever and the entire SURROUND library at SURROUNDpodcasts.com

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