Archinect
Paul Petrunia

Paul Petrunia

Los Angeles, CA, US

 

About 

Paul Petrunia is the founder and director of Archinect, a (mostly) online publication/resource founded in 1997 to establish a more connected community of architects, students, designers and fans of the designed environment. Outside of managing his growing team of writers, editors, designers and technology specialists, Paul co-hosts Archinect Sessions, a weekly podcast featuring discussions of current architecture news and exclusive interviews with architecture leaders. Paul is also the founder and director of Bustler, the web's primary resource for architecture competition, events and related news stories. Paul studied architecture and the University of Oregon and the Southern California Institute of Architecture. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children and enjoys escaping everything, as often as possible, by diving Southern California's Channel Islands. 

Elsewhere:

Paul's General Blog on Archinect:

The Los Angeles Biennale : Currently at the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam. Formerly at the Shenzhen Biennale of Architecture/Urbanism.

The Los Angeles Biennale is an experimentation in creating a nomadic biennale on urbanism, hosted by the International Architecture Biennale in Rotterdam. This blog will cover the preparation, activities and findings from this experiment.

Category Title

Paul's Featured Articles on Archinect

Quilian Riano at Pratt: 'Believing in the Power of an Architectural Education' for the Next Generation, Tue, Dec 5 '23

Archinect's Deans List series offers readers an exclusive glimpse into the minds shaping the future of architectural education. This series not only delves into the unique programming of each school but also uncovers the philosophies and approaches that define their educational landscape. In ...

Quilian Riano at Pratt: 'Believing in the Power of an Architectural Education' for the Next Generation
 

Designers in Tech: How Architecture Is Unlocking the Potential of New Emerging Technologies, Wed, Feb 3 '21

As 2021 starts, there is growing evidence that technologies connecting us together are scaling up the game. The COVID-19 lockdown has introduced a wider community to more new emerging technologies, like VR and AR, and we find ourselves integrating more smart devices into our daily lives. As the ...

Designers in Tech: How Architecture Is Unlocking the Potential of New Emerging Technologies
 

How to Use Archinect to Get a Job: Optimizing Your Profile With Your Current Portfolio and CV, Tue, Jan 26 '21

It goes without saying that the job market for architects is really tough right now. It does need to be said, however, that there is much more job seekers can do to improve their chances of getting hired. Naturally, Archinect, the first and only go-to talent marketplace for the Architecture ...

How to Use Archinect to Get a Job: Optimizing Your Profile With Your Current Portfolio and CV
 

A Studio Visit With Frederick Fisher & Partners as They Embark Upon the Next Phase of Practice, Thu, Dec 17 '20

For nearly 30 years, Frederick Fisher and Partners (FF&P) has occupied an enviable position within contemporary architecture as a design practice that takes on diverse and adventurous clients in realms that include residences, artist studios, universities, and other cultural institutions and ...

A Studio Visit With Frederick Fisher & Partners as They Embark Upon the Next Phase of Practice
 

A Conversation with Mia Lehrer on Her Origins, Civil Service, and Design Leadership, Wed, May 27 '20

Born in El Salvador, Mia Lehrer grew up under a mother and father committed to making a difference in their local community, a quality the pair passed along to their children. It was at a young age that Mia and her siblings began advocating for the well being and empowerment of those around them ...

A Conversation with Mia Lehrer on Her Origins, Civil Service, and Design Leadership
 

Studio Visits: Studio-MLA, Tue, May 19 '20

The city within a city is a common architectural idea, but few times does one have an opportunity to experience this loose concept as a physical reality. Studio-MLA captures the essence of this dynamic interior urbanism, as it situates itself as a kind of indoor campus greenhouse. But, instead of ...

Studio Visits: Studio-MLA
 

WFH Show & Tell: French 2D, Thu, Apr 16 '20

As the world shifts to a work-from-home (WFH) survival strategy, architects and architectural academics have been forced to learn a variety of new tools and methods to keep moving forward in the face of the growing COVID-19 pandemic. While many in our community are already fluent in this ...

WFH Show & Tell: French 2D
 

WFH Show & Tell: Alvin Huang, Fri, Mar 20 '20

As the world shifts to a work-from-home (WFH) survival strategy, architects and architectural academics have been forced to learn a variety of new tools and methods to keep moving forward in the face of the growing COVID-19 pandemic. While many in our community are already fluent in this approach ...

WFH Show & Tell: Alvin Huang
 

Archinect's Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak, Tue, Mar 17 '20

These are crazy days we’re living in.  This COVID-19 pandemic is like nothing most of us have ever experienced. It’s affecting almost everyone in the world, without any bias toward nationality, race, religion or political affiliation. The crisis is forcing us to change the way we live ...

Archinect's Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak
 

"They Should Have a Sense of Agency and Be Able to Speak Truth to Power": Barbara Bestor on What She Looks for in New Hires, Wed, Mar 4 '20

Since Barbara Bestor started her eponymous practice, Bestor Architecture, in 1995 she has worked to extend the boundaries of contemporary architecture and landscape architecture by focusing her multi-disciplinary staff on a variety of refined and innovative projects. The firm has steadily grown ...

'They Should Have a Sense of Agency and Be Able to Speak Truth to Power': Barbara Bestor on What She Looks for in New Hires
 

Studio Visits: Lehrer Architects, Wed, Jan 29 '20

When you first walk into Lehrer Architects’ studio you’re struck by something you can’t quite put your finger on. It only takes seconds to get a full picture of the studio’s essence. Absent of obstructions and barriers, large arrayed work surfaces centralize the primary workstations and ...

Studio Visits: Lehrer Architects
 

Studio Visits: Assembledge+, Mon, Jan 13 '20

When David Thompson graduated from Tulane University in 1991, he began searching for his place in the design world. Eager to tackle something manageable for a recent grad, he tried his hand at furniture design, winning some early commissions and gaining some experience as a young professional. To ...

Studio Visits: Assembledge+
 

Studio Visits: Bestor Architecture, Wed, Dec 18 '19

Since 1995, Bestor Architecture has upended architecture and design by infusing their projects with a bold use of pattern, color, and graphics. The steadily growing practice is almost single-handedly responsible for generating California’s now-ubiquitous “Bohemian Modern” style that blends ...

Studio Visits: Bestor Architecture
 

Choosing the Right Specification Software for an Architecture or Interiors Firm, Wed, Dec 4 '19

Remember when we had to look up a business in the yellow pages? Or when we had to go to the library to learn about a topic of interest? Technological advances, particularly the internet, have drastically changed the way we perform such tasks. Clearly, this has had a profound impact on ...

Choosing the Right Specification Software for an Architecture or Interiors Firm
 

Remembering Phil Freelon; A Full Transcript from Our Podcast, Fri, Jul 12 '19

This week brought the sad news of the Phil Freelon's passing. Our conversation with Mr. Freelon had quite an impact on us when we recorded the conversation two years ago. Before our recording we had already understood his incredible talent as an architect. Hearing his story, first-hand, however ...

Remembering Phil Freelon; A Full Transcript from Our Podcast
 

Nader Tehrani on Thesis and Its History at Cooper Union, Sun, Nov 18 '18

On Tuesday, October 23 2018, The Cooper Union opened a new exhibition entitled Archive and Artifact: The Virtual and the Physical, presenting 50 years of undergraduate architectural thesis projects by students of The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture. Immediately before the opening ...

Nader Tehrani on Thesis and Its History at Cooper Union
 

Designing AND Developing Is a Fantasy for Many Architects; David Freeland Tells Us How FreelandBuck Did It With the Stack House, Fri, Sep 14 '18

Nestled in the hillsides of North East Los Angeles, a new four-story home built by the architecture duo FreelandBuck is offering a lucky buyer a taste of quintessential California living. Designed as a series of volumes stacked on top one another to slightly varying orientations, the 2,207-square ...

Designing AND Developing Is a Fantasy for Many Architects; David Freeland Tells Us How FreelandBuck Did It With the Stack House
 

Cross-Talk #5: 'Radical Candor'; Some Thoughts on Criticism from the Archinect Sessions Podcast, Fri, Apr 20 '18

The role of Archinect’s series Cross-Talk is to bring forward the positive aspects of the polemic and allow for the resulting conflict to bring to life an otherwise still and comfortable climate of creativity—if there can be one. Cross-Talk attempts—if to only say ...

Cross-Talk #5: 'Radical Candor'; Some Thoughts on Criticism from the Archinect Sessions Podcast
 

Brand New Reviews Logos of the 10 Most-Followed Firm Profiles on Archinect, Wed, Feb 14 '18

Logos are the cornerstone of branding, presenting the uniqueness of a company through its visual representation. Choices in color, font, sizing, etc. are all indicators of the values, services, and type of company the logo is defining, and the difference between a good logo, and one less ...

Brand New Reviews Logos of the 10 Most-Followed Firm Profiles on Archinect
 

A Conversation with Guy Nordenson, Recipient of the 2017 Richard Neutra Award , Thu, Dec 14 '17

On October 9th Guy Nordenson was presented with the 2017 Richard Neutra Award for Professional Excellence from the Cal Poly Pomona Department of Architecture. Established in honor of Richard Neutra's architectural legacy, the medal recognizes individuals for their dedication to ...

A Conversation with Guy Nordenson, Recipient of the 2017 Richard Neutra Award
 

Listen to 'Next Up: Arroyo Seco Weekend' Mini-Sessions, Thu, Jul 20 '17

Recently, Archinect teamed up with Bureau Spectacular for the Arroyo Seco Weekend festival. Jimenez Lai and Joanna Grant designed a pavilion for the event, while Archinect's Paul Petrunia and Nicholas Korody held a series of interviews within it. Conversations focused on temporary architecture ...

Listen to 'Next Up: Arroyo Seco Weekend' Mini-Sessions
 

Happy Canada Day! A quick look at some of Archinect's favorite practices from each province and territory, Sat, Jul 1 '17

Every July 1, Canadians unite to celebrate their country and its history. Specifically, Canada Day commemorates the merger of what were once three separate colonies—New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Canada (contemporary Ontario and Quebec). It was a milestone in the movement from colony to ...

Happy Canada Day! A quick look at some of Archinect's favorite practices from each province and territory
 

Why we're starting a print magazine after 20 years of publishing digitally, Tue, May 2 '17

When I started Archinect 20 years ago, in the summer of 1997, the internet was still many years away from becoming a replacement for newspapers and magazines. Since then, the media landscape has changed drastically, with most print publications now dedicating the majority of their time and budget ...

Why we're starting a print magazine after 20 years of publishing digitally
 

Architects Respond to the AIA’s Statement in Support of President-Elect Donald Trump, Mon, Nov 14 '16

The AIA’s formal statement, and follow-up, in response to Donald J. Trump’s election has elicited outrage within the architecture community. Architects, AIA-members and not, feel that the organization has failed to represent their interests, choosing instead to cooperate with what many ...

Architects Respond to the AIA’s Statement in Support of President-Elect Donald Trump
 

Cutting Room: Joseph Kosinski talks to Archinect about his transition from architecture to Hollywood, Fri, Sep 5 '14

As we've seen throughout our Cutting Room series, there's a clear relationship between architecture and filmmaking. Architecture is inspired by film as often as film is inspired by architecture, so it's not uncommon for architects to experiment with film, or even transition into a film ...

Cutting Room: Joseph Kosinski talks to Archinect about his transition from architecture to Hollywood
 

Working out of the Box: Bryan Boyer, Tue, Oct 1 '13

Working out of the Box is a series of features presenting architects who have applied their architecture backgrounds to alternative career paths. In this installment, we're talking with architect-turned-public-design-instigator Bryan Boyer. Are you an architect working out of the box? Do you know ...

Working out of the Box: Bryan Boyer
 

"The Sidewalk's End", by Flux Foundation, for Coachella 2013, Wed, Jun 5 '13

The Sidewalk's End is a project about experience. How can art be inextricably linked to the landscape to enhance the experience of the physical place? In an environment over-saturated with stimuli, what are the fundamental kinds of human experience that are lacking? And how can the act of ...

'The Sidewalk's End', by Flux Foundation, for Coachella 2013
 

Tadao Ando Interview: 20 Minutes with a Master, Mon, Apr 23 '12

I can easily point to Tadao Ando's work as one of my earliest sources of inspiration, pulling me toward a life embedded in architecture. The powerful simplicity of his forms has always seemed to me, to represent an understanding far greater than that of the built environment alone. A few weeks ...

Tadao Ando Interview: 20 Minutes with a Master
 

Working out of the Box: Pinterest Co-Founder Evan Sharp, Fri, Mar 16 '12

If you haven't heard of Pinterest yet, you don't get online much. Pinterest, Silicon Valley's latest darling, has skyrocketed in popularity due to its dead-simple concept and beautiful execution. It's a website (and app) that allows members to collect and share their favorite ...

Working out of the Box: Pinterest Co-Founder Evan Sharp
 

Working out of the Box: Logan Amont, Wed, Apr 27 '11

Working out of the Box is a series of features presenting architects who have applied their architecture backgrounds to alternative career paths.   Are you an architect working out of the box? Do you know of someone that has changed careers and has an interesting story to share? If you would ...

Working out of the Box: Logan Amont
 

Student Works: Rock and Roll Fantasy - SCI-Arc at Coachella: Elastic Plastic Sponge, Tue, May 19 '09

The title "Rock and Roll Fantasy" might be a little misleading for this SCI-Arc studio project lead by Ball Nogues ' Benjamin Ball, Gaston Nogues and Andrew Lyon. While the program was 100% rock and roll, the practical lessons learned during this collaborative design-build experience were far from ...

Student Works: Rock and Roll Fantasy - SCI-Arc at Coachella: Elastic Plastic Sponge
 

Checking the Pulse of the Architecture Industry Part I: the Surveys , Tue, Nov 4 '08

As we're constantly reminded in the media, the developed world markets are entering uncharted territory. The economic and credit crises are becoming painfully evident to those in the architecture industry. Commissions are getting canceled, talented architects are getting laid off, and the ...

Checking the Pulse of the Architecture Industry Part I: the Surveys
 

A Mere Sliver of Time Archiculture: The Documentary, Fri, Mar 14 '08

Few outside the architecture field can imagine the rigor of an architecture studio or thesis experience. When Archinect launched the School Blog Project in 2005, readers began to experience this relatively closed culture as selected students at universities around the world blogged their ...

A Mere Sliver of Time Archiculture: The Documentary
 

The Pink Project, Mon, Dec 3 '07

While filming on a set in New Orleans, actor Brad Pitt became seduced by the powerful image of a pink-clad CGI house within the lush Louisiana surroundings. He saw the pink structure as a metaphor, representing the future of renewed housing for those displaced by the recent disasters.

The Pink Project
 

Danny Forster, Extreme Host, Tue, May 30 '06

This Wednesday, May 31st, a new season of the Discovery Channel's Extreme Engineering will debut at 10pm. This season will introduce an on-screen host to replace the previous voice-over narrator. The new host, Danny Forster, also happens to be an architect who is currently working on his MArch ...

Danny Forster, Extreme Host
 

Transmaterial Research , Mon, Nov 15 '04

NEW MATERIALS ARE RESHAPING OUR WORLDThroughout human history, material innovation has been defined by the persistent testing of limits. Transmaterial is a catalog of materials, products and processes that are redefining our physical environment, based on a compilation of Blaine Brownell's ...

Transmaterial Research
 

Cover Page Archive, Wed, Nov 3 '04

From September 1999 to November 2001 we commissioned many of the most groundbreaking designers in the emerging new web design medium to design a monthly cover page for Archinect. The mission was to create a cover page invoking an architectural theme, using the tools that each designer was most ...

Cover Page Archive
 

Front Design, Mon, Jul 12 '04

Front Design is a design group composed of four women based in Stockholm, Sweden: Sofia Lagerkvist, Charlotte von der Lancken, Anna Lindren, and Katja S'vstr'm. They give credit for their products to animals, physics, surroundings, and materials. Some are captures of a moment in time, like ...

Front Design
 

KDLAB and the Art of Speed, Fri, Jun 25 '04

In this feature we present Les Jumelles, the Art of Speed film created for Nike by KDLAB, a New York-based design studio founded by architects Dean DiSimone and Joseph Kosinski. We also explore the making and conception of this piece in a brief interview with Joseph.

KDLAB and the Art of Speed
 

Employment 

Bustler, Los Angeles, CA, US, Founder/Director

Jul 2006 - current
 

Extra Medium, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, US, CEO/Creative Director

Jan 2001 - current
 

Archinect, Los Angeles, CA, US, Founder & Creative Director

Jul 1997 - current
 

Education 

Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), Los Angeles, CA, US, BArch, Architecture

Sep 1997 - Apr 1999
 

University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, US, BArch, Architecture

Sep 1995 - Jun 1997
 

University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, CA, Bachelors, Art History, Calculus & Physics

Sep 1994 - Apr 1995
 

Areas of Specialization