https://www.larchitect.org/

https://www.instagram.com/realtorkaitlin

What Architects Can Learn from a Real Estate Agent's Viral Social Media Strategy

In this episode of The Landscape Architecture Podcast, host Michael Todoran interviews Salt Lake City real estate agent and Instagram personality Kaitlin Hannig, whose darkly funny “asshole home tours” have gained a massive following by breaking all the conventional marketing rules.

This conversation is especially relevant for architects, landscape architects, and interior designers who are navigating how to present themselves online. Caitlin shares how she built a loyal audience not by showcasing perfection, but by leaning into flawed, human, and refreshingly honest content.

We explore:

• Why traditional marketing tropes fall flat in today’s digital culture
• How to create content that speaks to your audience instead of about yourself
• The power of humor, vulnerability, and storytelling in professional branding
• Why beauty alone doesn’t engage—and what does
• How design professionals can stand out in a sea of aesthetic sameness

Whether you run a small studio or work in a large firm, this episode will challenge how you think about digital presence, authenticity, and the kind of content that actually drives trust and engagement.

https://www.studiopappaterra.com/

Today’s episode feels especially timely with a heavy heart. As fires in the Palisades area of Los Angeles continue to devastate communities and landscapes, we are reminded of the growing urgency to design with resilience and sustainability at the forefront.

Our guest today is Elisa Read Pappaterra, a landscape architect and founder of studio pappaterra. Elisa is renowned for her expertise in fire ecology and her dedication to designing landscapes that not only harmonize with the natural world but also mitigate the risks of living in fire-prone areas. Her work is as vital as it is inspiring, offering solutions that preserve life, property, and biodiversity.

This conversation was recorded in Santa Barbara on October 5, 2024, following Elisa’s keynote speech at San Marcos Growers’ final event, “The Last Dance: A Celebration of 45 Years of Horticultural Legacy.” Elisa shares her insights on the importance of understanding a site’s cultural and ecological “soul,” as well as her approach to creating firewise, ecologically sound, and artistically inspired landscapes.

This episode is a reminder that how we design our landscapes today will shape the safety and resilience of tomorrow. Whether you’re a designer, an advocate, or simply someone invested in the future of our environment, this is an important and compelling episode.

https://www.larchitect.org/ https://hapsagency.com/

Shawn Maestretti's work at Studio Petrichor https://studio-petrichor.com/ resonates deeply with the metaphor of the first rain experience that stirs something intrinsic in humans. The smell of the first rain, defined as "petrichor," evokes a sense of renewal, calm, and connection to nature. This sensory reaction is rooted in our survival instincts; rain signals life, growth, and sustenance. Throughout history, humans have been tied to the land and water. The arrival of rain often meant the end of drought, the rebirth of crops, and the revival of ecosystems. Thus, the first rain isn’t just a sensory pleasure—it’s a symbol of hope and balance, ensuring survival by replenishing resources vital for life.

This same ethos drives Shawn’s work at Studio Petrichor. His approach to landscape architecture, particularly as discussed in the podcast with Jason Wan https://www.hunterindustries.com/, reflects the harmony between human intuition and the natural world. Just as the first rain revives the earth, Shawn’s designs aim to restore balance and sustainability to landscapes. By integrating water-smart technologies like rainwater harvesting and smart irrigation systems, Shawn helps create self-sustaining environments that support native ecosystems while conserving vital resources.

What stands out to me in this podcast episode is its immersive, almost voyeuristic quality, driven by the reliance on the video component available on LAP's YouTube channel. This layered experience invites listeners to engage their imagination, much like reading a book that leaves room for personal interpretation of its visual elements. Whether you choose to dive into the full video or simply listen, the episode offers a rich narrative that allows your mind to fill in the sensory details, making it a versatile and enjoyable experience in either format.

https://www.larchitect.org/

https://www.bciburke.com/

Interested in typologies of the built environment - the artist and landscape designer explores the values and meaning embedded in structures and symbols using industrial materials and construction methods evocative of the urban space along with various landscapes. His artwork examines the relationship between humanity and the natural world, reflecting on how we intervene in the environment, imposing order and artifice, and how time will mark itself on the urban fabric. Andrade’s open-ended practice includes the use of a variety of mediums, ranging from drawing, photography, digital fabrication to sound, and are shown in various formats, including installations, public interventions and collaborations. He is of Mexican-American heritage and is originally from National City, California.

this episode sponsored by: https://www.bciburke.com/

Cliff Garten

Cliff Garten is an internationally recognized sculptor and founder of Cliff Garten Studio in Venice, California.

By connecting people to places and infrastructure through sculptural material, social history and ecology, Garten's work locates the latent potential in every public place and situation to become more than the specific functions it appears to perform. Sculpture and landscape, function and form, like public and private experiences are never distinct, but exchange places throughout the day. Sculpture defines our interaction and movement by creating energy between things, generating interest in public activity, reframing our private lives and creating a sense of place within public and private realms.

Garten received a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design and a Master of Landscape Architecture with Distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Sponsored by: https://www.bciburke.com/

SEL .nft https://opensea.io/assets/ethereum/0x495f947276749ce646f68ac8c248420045cb7b5e/68753288684922086608564403316877929801832631715139355806789553097587046744065

https://www.punkrockzen.com/

Marcel Blanco known by the street name SEL, is a Los Angeles based, multifaceted artist best recognized by his paintings and murals that evoke emotion and thought through his use of color, narrative imagery and movement.

His foundation began in the early ’80s when he started designing flyers and t-shirts for local punk/hardcore bands around Los Angeles. In his quest for new inspiration he discovered graffiti art and became part of the early L.A. graffiti scene which lead him to join the WCA (West Coast Artists) crew, one of seminal graffiti crews in Los Angeles. He then re-focused and aimed his creativity on computer graphics and art direction in the music and entertainment industries working on packaging and marketing material for indie and major record labels.

Today his work expresses an introspective reflection that seems to touch people. His pieces are filled with emotion and a sense of individual wonder that easily grabs the eye of the audience creating a connection that goes beyond the aesthetics. Wether mural, painting, digital print, or installation the expression in his work is undeniable.

this episode sponsored by: https://www.bciburke.com/

Sarah Lisiecki combines a passion for play, the outdoors and movement with more than ten years in the play industry and hundreds of presentations given on topics from Inclusive Design, Musical Play and Trends in Play at Parks and Recreation Conferences, District Meetings, Landscape Architect Firms and Representative Trainings. She studied Communications and Political Science at University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and is a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI). As an advocate for play as a critical part of development, she serves on the Steering Committee of the US Play Coalition, on the Parks & Recreation Editorial Advisory Board, is part of the IPEMA Marketing Committee, is a member of multiple play research project teams, the Product Development Council and presents at a variety of conferences, Lunch and Learns, panels and events. She spends her spare time hiking, running, biking and climbing and with her rescue dogs.

This episode is sponsored by https://www.bciburke.com/

BILLY KRIMMEL
FOUNDER, ECOLOGIST
Billy completed his PhD in Ecology at UC Davis where he focused his research on native plant-insect interactions. Billy also holds a Bachelor of Science from Brown University and serves on the board of directors for the California Native Grasslands Association.

Billy founded https://www.miridae.com/ with the intention of creating a habitat for native species within human-occupied areas and engaging people with the species interactions occurring in these habitats. With each project, we come one step closer to creating a network of habitat gardens and migration corridors to support resilient populations of native species.