215: ‘Proactive By Design’, with Wes Reynolds and Hugh Soward

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Dec 9, 2025

Wes Reynolds, Principal at OPN Architects, and Hugh Soward, the firm’s Innovation Manager, dive into the future of architecture through digital practice and technology. They discuss the importance of their digital practice group in enhancing communication and design outcomes with tools like LiDAR and AR. The duo shares insights on their transformative annual retreats that blend business with creativity, fostering a culture of innovation. They also touch on decentralized collaboration and the exciting potential of digital fabrication in regaining craft.

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INSIGHT

Decentralized Team, Central Influence

OPN's digital practice is decentralized across studios with champions embedded locally.
Decentralization plus frequent travel and digital contact lets the group scale influence without centralizing headcount.

ADVICE

Combine Grassroots Trials With Strategic Prioritization

Let grassroots experimentation surface ideas and then prioritize based on firm value and deployability.
Keep freedom for staff trials while the digital practice organizes and scales the highest-value initiatives.

ADVICE

Match Approach To Problem Scale

Tackle large, firm-wide problems top-down while encouraging small, project-level experiments bottom-up.
Use staff input sessions to surface recurring pain points and convert them into prioritized projects.

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Wes Reynolds and Hugh Soward join the podcast to talk about how OPN Architects is intentionally shaping its future through digital practice, experimentation, and culture-building. They discuss the evolution of OPN’s digital practice group, how they evaluate and adopt emerging technology, and why their long-running annual retreat has become essential infrastructure for aligning design, tech, and people across the firm.

For anyone navigating innovation, change management, or digital strategy inside an AEC organization, OPN’s approach offers a clear example of what proactive firm development really looks like.

To learn more about Wes Reynolds and Hugh Soward, see the full show notes with links at https://trxl.co/215

To get more great conversations with AEC technology leaders on the TRXL podcast please visit https://trxl.co

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