The Work Space Talk Show covers the people, projects, and decisions shaping commercial real estate today. From ownership and property management to construction, development, and workplace strategy, the show delivers sharp market updates and in-depth conversations with the builders, operators, owners, and strategists shaping how commercial spaces are planned, built, managed, and adapted. The podcast connects commercial real estate, workspace strategy, construction, and the future of the built environment.
The Hidden Costs of the AI Boom, And What We Can Do About It
Data centers have gone from largely invisible internet infrastructure to one of the most debated developments in American communities. What happens when a new facility comes to town—and who pays for the electricity, water, and infrastructure it needs?
In this solo episode, Nathan Manuel draws on his experience working in data centers to explore the surge in electricity demand from AI, the potential impact on household power bills, and the difference between direct and indirect water use. He also looks at closed-loop cooling, local opposition, secrecy around development agreements, and the rules communities are putting in place.
The central question: how can the U.S. keep building the infrastructure behind AI without leaving local communities to bear the costs?
Learn more about the Work Space Talk Show: https://workspacetalkshow.com/
28 Oct 2026
We Know Disasters Are Coming. Why Aren't We Ready? | Illya Azaroff
We know disasters are coming. Why are so many buildings and communities still caught unprepared? Illya Azaroff, FAIA, 2026 President of the American Institute of Architects and founding principal of +LAB Architect, joins Nathan Manuel to discuss what it takes to build for a changing world.
They talk about lessons from disaster recovery, why resilience needs to be part of design from the beginning, how adaptation is reshaping architects' responsibilities, and the AIA Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Pledge. They also examine the growing impact of data centers on communities, what their buildings might become as technology changes, and how AI could change architectural practice.
Illya and +LAB Architect: https://www.pluslabglobal.com/
AIA Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Pledge: https://www.aia.org/design-excellence/climate-action/resilience/disaster-risk-reduction-and-resilience-pledge
AIA Community Hub: https://communityhub.aia.org/home
Learn more about the Work Space Talk Show: https://workspacetalkshow.com/
21 Oct 2026
The Designer Who Helped Reinvent the Modern Office | Primo Orpilla
The modern office didn’t always look like this. Silicon Valley helped push companies away from high-walled cubicles and executive corner offices toward open plans, shared spaces, amenities, and environments designed around how people actually work.
Primo Orpilla has spent decades designing workplaces for companies including Facebook, Microsoft, Samsung, Uber, Yelp, Nike, and McDonald’s. He joins Nathan Manuel to trace that shift from the early Valley through Facebook’s first headquarters and into today’s AI startups, where robotics, labs, and faster-moving teams are changing the physical office again.
They also get into where open offices went too far, why different people need different kinds of space, how AI fits into the design process, and why firsthand physical experience still matters when you’re designing places for other people.
Check out Studio O+A: https://o-plus-a.com/
Learn more about the Work Space Talk Show: https://workspacetalkshow.com/
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