Joel Yow: Technology, disruptions, design and quantum possibilities

I wanted to be an architect who started his own firm or enlist in the U.S. Army. Those are the only two career paths I’ve ever considered. 

My family lived in a small town within walking distance of Fort Bragg in North Carolina. This was 25 years ago, pre-September 11, so security wasn’t nearly as locked down. We’d walk over to scavenger hunt for caliber shell casings and watch military paratroopers do night jumps. I have ridden around inside Humvees, seen anti-tank range practice and war “games” with Bradley Fighting Vehicles up close. 

My mom stayed at home mostly with a few side hustles. My dad was a southern Baptist pastor who worked with specialized military personnel.  

We didn’t have a lot of money growing up and I’ve worked since I was about 10. There were no video game systems or cable TV in our house. I didn’t have access to the internet at home until I was 17. My two younger brothers and I played outside a lot. Backyard camping and creating your own “worlds” to play in. We collected Legos, K’Nex, sports equipment. We were always applying things creatively to entertain ourselves. 

We lived in a very rural area until I was 12, mostly farming and blue-collar jobs, and one of our neighbors was an architect. He was an interesting character. My parents didn’t let me hang out with him, for good reason, but the mystery of his job and personality always piqued my curiosity.

I’m a pretty determined person. When I decide I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it unless the universe really says “No.” Many of my classmates at UNC Charlotte quit in the first two years of architecture study, but I made it through.

I became really interested in daylighting and high-performance environments during my college years. Unknowingly at the time, these fields led me to computer science. My research lead and I were writing thousands of lines of code using a notepad back then; we felt like amateur hackers as much as architects some days. 

I was the part of the team that helped UNC Charlotte create its first-ever dual master's in architecture and computer science.

As CannonDesign’s Director of Digital Products, I’m in the perfect role for my professional and personal goals. The technology we use is changing so rapidly and so often, it is impossible for me to get bored. 

There can be a lot of non-value-added time in the design process – packaging the work, dealing with budget and schedule constraints, reworking solutions – my team is building tools that give every CannonDesign team member more value-added time back.  

Value-added time is precious. You give that back to designers, and they can explore even more dynamic design solutions. The value for our clients is huge. 

We just rolled out Billie 2.0, our company’s own generative AI tool, and it’s a big step forward. 

Billie 2.0 brings together the best of today’s AI capabilities to elevate productivity, streamline workflows, and unlock deep research. Our designers and clients are already realizing the benefits.

I’ve touched the entire project delivery process. I’ve worked on construction sites, talked to builders, contractors, owners, trades... you name it. That has given me a “supply chain” mindset. I know if we help our teams become 1 or 2 percent more effective, that’s value-added time and energy that reverberate throughout a project.  

As far as I know, CannonDesign is the only large architecture firm working with D-Wave Quantum, the world’s first commercial supplier of quantum computers. 

We went through an application process with D-Wave. Their engineers were fascinated with our concept for how their quantum computing technology could be applied to the built environment, especially within healthcare. 

We have piloted D-Wave's platform in projects where we can evaluate tens of thousands of variables across all combinations and generate optimal predictions in seconds. The opportunities are boundless when that type of computational power is more widely available. 

Our digital products and design technology team wants to work with other startups like World Labs. They are building generative AI models that can understand and interact with the real world, moving beyond language into spatial awareness. CannonDesign has a valuable perspective to help them on that journey. 

I believe AI will be like electricity, if you think about how it could integrate into everyday life. AI and electricity are power sources that are used to build and innovate. 

Our industry skipped right over machine learning on the way to AI, and that’s one reason there can be angst with AI today.  

Machine learning is important for us to understand first because it can be modeled for consistency and reproducible results, which is more helpful for our clients in ways that AI can’t be yet because of trust.  

Anyone who has asked the same question multiple times to an AI assistant and received multiple, wildly different answers has experienced what I’m describing. There is still so much we can do with traditional machine learning, and I expect to revisit this topic over the coming months and years.

I feel like I have “career ADHD” and that is a good thing. I love constantly exploring new things. Once I learn how to do something well, I eventually want to do something else. I like constantly challenging myself and learning new skills. 

I still don’t play video games. I have a whiteboard in my office and a dart board. I love using physical hacking tools like my Flipper Zero and lockpicking kits. I am getting back into indoor rock climbing and I love to hike and camp. 

I’ve been with my partner, Amber, for more than 20 years. We designed our condo in Chicago together, uniting two neighboring timber lofts into a single unit. We lived through demolition and construction together all during Covid. Now we’ve infused an “urban jungle” of 80+ plants and share the space with our two cats, Disco and Newsprint. 

Designing and making things will always be my first love. Woodworking and furniture making is a side hobby. I designed and built a hardwood table that sits in my dining room, and I am constantly tinkering on small projects at our home. 

Best advice I can give someone? Do not plan too far ahead. Be flexible. Give yourself goals and be open to the unexpected. Practice being curious every day and never stop learning. 

Joel Yow is CannonDesign’s first-ever director of digital products. Part entrepreneur, data enthusiast and designer, Joel transforms data into compelling narratives and develops innovative new applications for digital tools.