No Festival Required does it again! Executive Director Steve Weiss is showing three architecture films sure to take our breath away at this year's Architectural Film Showcase. The first film will be shown on Thursday April 16, 2026 at the 7pm at the Third Street Theater. It's called "Ancestral Artistry: The Influence of Africans and Creoles of Color on Louisiana Architecture" and features artisans responsible for the gorgeous and intricate buildings of New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana. The second is called "Remembering the Future with Herb Greene" and highlights the work of the legendary and groundbreaking organic architect Herb Greene. This film will be shown on Saturday April 18, 2026 at 7pm at the The Pavilion at Taliesen West. The final film of the Showcase, "Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace", will show stunning movie palaces of yesteryear and many that still live on. Appropriately, it's showing at our own historic movie palace, The Orpheum Theater on April 21, 2026 at 7pm. Tickets for all showings are available at www.nofestivalrequired.com!

Listen to my conversation with former State House representative, housing advocate and architect Christian Solorio about equitable neighborhoods and the recently passed state laws mandating fewer restrictions on accessory dwelling units and missing middle housing. Christian was heavily involved in the passing of these laws and he tells us why he thinks they're so important. He also introduces a new City of Phoenix program where homeowners can choose from approved standard ADU plans instead of creating plans from scratch and how this program will make it that much easier to make affordable housing and equitable neighborhoods in Phoenix a reality.

Environmental Artist Joan Baron has long been interested in earthen materials. She is currently obsessed with adobe and making earthen ovens or hornos as a way to empower everyday people to not only make their own food, but build their own earthen oven too! She, along with artisan Clint Plecas (who was a previous guest on Tea with Taz), lead adobe workshops teaching everyday people how to make adobe bricks and how to build with them. Making your own earthen home with adobe, Joan believes, could be an answer to the housing affordability crisis young people are facing. We also talk about the role of art in the built environment and how it can be used for placemaking. You won't want to miss this conversation with Joan, who is a powerhouse of an artist, community builder, and activist!

What does a real estate developer actually do? Ryan Hilbun, a local up-and-coming Phoenix developer illuminates the inner workings of the development world in this podcast. He tells us what matters to developers and how they make decisions. (Hint: It's not always JUST about the bottom line.) We also talk about Ryan's passion for Placemaking and how it impacts the work he does.

Everyone has gone through some level of trauma, but some have to deal with more serious trauma than others - think of people who have lost housing in a natural disaster or war, people recovering from domestic abuse or hospitalized patients. These may be examples that don't apply to you but designing with a trauma-informed approach benefits everyone! RJ Millhouse, Assistant Professor at the ASU Design School, breaks it down for us and explains how trauma-informed design is a thoughtful approach that would improve design for all demographics.

Although adobe is an ancient building material that likely originated in the Middle East, it has a uniquely Arizonan dimension in that our clay-heavy soil is perfect to make sturdy and beautiful adobe bricks. Clint Plecas, an adobe craftsman, gives us an overview of this natural building material, its origins in Arizona, it's rich history, how to make it and how adobe is used and made in modern times.

Join us for a timely conversation with Clinical Associate Professor of Architecture Phil Horton about how the recent changes in federal funding and policy are impacting The Design School at Arizona State University along with the positive and sometimes challenging impact of eliminating barriers for students who want to study architecture. Phil also tells us about the innovative joint studio he's been running with the architecture program at the An-Najah National University in Nablus, Palestine and how this collaboration has become more relevant yet more uncertain than ever.

Kathryn Leonard is one of my favorite leaders. She has been serving as the Arizona State Historic Preservation Officer for nearly nine years and the agency is better for her courageous leadership. Listen to us geek out about historic preservation in Arizona and how stressful it can be, but when it works, how rewarding it is. We talk about some big questions that the field of preservation is facing - such as who's history is being preserved, should we be rethinking the idea of historical integrity and how can we get young people interested in preservation? One of Kathryn and her team's biggest efforts during the year is putting on the annual Arizona State Historic Preservation Conference which is happening in Phoenix this year. Everyone is welcome. You can register here: https://www.azpreservation.org/confer.... Kathryn also talks about the the Arizona State Historic Preservation Plan update which is an opportunity to address the big questions of preservation and to forge a new, more inclusive, path for historic preservation in Arizona.