Episode
Patrick Cunningham: Design Build Diaries
- Podcast
- Beyond the Design
- Published
- Apr 17, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2033
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://beyond-the-design.captivate.fm
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Summary
Patrick Cunningham always keeps a sketchpad within reach. Not because a client asked — because the ideas don’t wait. The co-founder of C & C Partners has spent four decades translating the personalities, dreams, and budgets of Southern California’s most discerning homeowners into architecture that feels inevitable. In this conversation, Patrick walks us through what that actually looks like: pools cantilevered off sheer cliffs, underground tunnels connecting guest houses to main residences, and a glass cube engineered to float beside an Antoine Predock landmark in Manhattan Beach. He talks about learning to read a client — whether they’re a fireplace-and-a-book person or a home theater and rooftop infinity pool person — and then finding the architecture that fits that life. He also opens up about what drives him: a sketchpad always within reach, a library full of architecture books, and a biannual tour of high-end custom homes across the country with a network of elite design-build peers. With nearly 30 projects currently on the board spanning seven distinct architectural styles, this episode is a masterclass in creative range without creative compromise. If this episode gave you something to think about, leave us a rating — it’s the single best way to help another architecture lover find the show. Follow the show so you never miss a conversation like this one. Patrick Cunningham is the co-founder and principal architect of CNC Partners, a fully integrated design-build firm based in Southern California. Since co-founding the firm with his brother Michael in 1987, Patrick has led the design of some of the region's most distinctive custom homes — from cliffside estates in Beverly Hills and Pacific Palisades to award-worthy reimaginings of architectural landmarks in M…