03 From Rolled Drawings in the Basement… to Talking to your Building with Russ Sanders

From rolled drawings in the basement… to talking to your building.”

In this new episode of Café ZAi, I meet with longtime friend and early BIM pioneer Russ Sanders, now VP of Design Integration at McCarthy.

Russ is leading some of the most complex projects in the Southwest, including major healthcare builds and terminal expansion work at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, while collaborating with teams like HOK and trade partners using tools such as Autodesk Construction Cloud and BIM 360.

What makes Russ unique is his path: from early adopter of ArchiCAD to licensed architect now embedded in the construction industry. He’s lived both sides and sees how critical it is to align technology, people, and process early and empathetically. He noted:

“Of all the things we talked about 25 years ago, the one that’s struggled most to gain traction is asset management, getting data into operations. But what if we could hand over a project with an AI assistant built in, where someone just asks, ‘Show me the ceiling drawings for Room 402’?”

We talk about:Why builders are now driving BIM, and what architects can still do to catch upThe power of early modeling and trade partner collaborationHow Russ break silos and surfaces decisions soonerAnd the real risk: if architects don’t lean into AI and digital twins now, we’ll lose the opportunity, again

Architects used to do more. We’ve slowly shed responsibilities like cost estimating and project management”

If we don’t engage with AI and data now, someone else will do it for us, again.”

Russ Sanders is an architect and leader in design and construction technology.

where he is the VP of Design Integration at the Southwest Region with McCarthy Builders

Promoting design and construction excellence. Aligning the best tools, people, and processes.

Trusting in the power of the team.

Committed to everyone having a voice and a positive experience.