piper: decoding healthy & regenerative design – Details, episodes & analysis

Responsible material selection and procurement is keystone to lowering the environmental impact of the built environment and improving occupant health over the entire life cycle of the building. 

In recognizing this, most green building certifying bodies are continuously evaluating how to rate and measure materials, and how to reward projects for prioritizing the use of those that are multi-attribute––in other words, materials that address carbon, ecosystem and human health, equity and circularity. 

In fact, under LEED v5, the USGBC just rolled out its Building Product Selection and Procurement credit, which provides a framework for material selection––and it was the topic du jour at this year's Green Build conference. 

Naturally, it was met with equal parts excitement and questions. Luckily, Wes Sullens, director of materials and resources at USGBC, was there to unpack the details.  

The badlands of North Dakota, much like a library, are rich with story. The layers of mineral deposits visible in the buttes and hoodoos that make up the region are like raconteurs of the ancient inland seas, floodplains and volcanic ash that once covered the area 28 to 75 million years ago. But while the badlands are now cherished for their beauty and history, they were given that name long ago for a reason. They're rigid, arid and harsh––a beautiful place to visit, a difficult place to traverse.

But in the 1880s, when Theodore Roosevelt arrived in the region, he saw something different. To him, the Badlands became a place of reflection, introspection, healing, and deep connection to nature. In fact, Roosevelt said his time in the North Dakota Badlands was one of the foundational experiences of his life. And so, it was fitting that the area would become the home of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. And that's where the architecture and design firm Snohetta comes into the picture. 

Not only did the team see the rich story embedded in the landscape, they saw various pathways to connect people to TR's legacy and the historical significance of the land, while restoring the diminished ecology of the Badlands prairie. It was likely this vision and deep respect for the landscape that contributed to Snohetta being selected out of some 40 other candidates. 

From that point, the team embarked on an ambitious journey that would entail a rigorous set of sustainability goals––zero energy, zero water, zero emissions, zero waste––a number of firsts and the creation of the Native Plant Project. 

It's been said that the badlands are a great place to learn about geology, and that, in large part, was where Matt McMahon, director of landscape architecture, and Aaron Dorf, director of architecture at Snohetta, started their journey.

Over the course of his 35-year career as a structural engineer and as the past-president of the Seattle-based MKA Structural Engineers, Don Davies has guided the construction of numerous high-rise buildings around the world. But nearly 15 years ago, his focus started to shift after realizing how important structural engineers were to lowering the carbon impact of the built environment, yet they often weren't included in the conversation. 

So, Don got curious. And that curiosity, in relative short order, led him to a tribe of like-minded, intrepid individuals who would go on to co-create several organizations and carbon-calculating tools that have forever changed the industry.

In this episode, Don shares how the Carbon Leadership Forum, Building Transparency, EC3 and Tally LCA came to be, how they're testing low-carbon materials, and why those in the AEC community should stay curious about carbon. 

In the world of deconstruction and circularity, nearly all roads lead back to a handful of industry vanguards. One of whom is Dave Bennink, more commonly known as Deconstruction Dave. Dave has been working to shepherd deconstruction and reuse into the mainstream for the better part of three decades. He brought a reuse innovation center to Bellingham, Washington and is now developing one in New York City. He founded the Building Deconstruction Institute, has led countless deconstruction efforts in cities across the country, and is routinely recruited by economic development organizations to help embed circular principles into local economies. 

But what drew him to such a physically, emotionally and mentally demanding mission? It was the demolition of his high school and a fortuitous college internship.

In this episode, Dave discusses some of the challenges that often stand in the way of deconstruction and material reuse, why demand and timing are key to progressing circularity, and the important role architects, designers and contractors play in driving the mission forward.

It's estimated that more than 12 million tons of wood are landfilled every year in the US. And this figure doesn't even take into account the 46 million metric tons of urban lumber that is either landfilled, chipped or burned. In both scenarios, this is wood that still has tremendous economic and environmental value. And often, it's wood that is rich with history and story.

Luckily, there are some intrepid entrepreneurs working to extend the life of this valuable wood by rescuing and processing it, and getting it into the hands of the design-build community. One such entrepreneur is Robin Janson, co-founder of Urban Evolutions, a Wisconsin-based supplier of reclaimed and salvaged wood materials. 

In this episode, Robin discusses the valuable materials that can be found in the urban mine and how designers can unlock the richness and story that's often embedded in these salvaged materials. 

In the race to reduce the carbon impact of the built environment, and address planetary health and human health, circularity has become a key strategy. But, until more recently, circularity was almost like that one missing Lego piece needed to complete the build. And, as it turns out, that piece was actually sitting right in front of you the whole time…you just didn't recognize it. 

Still, even with the prospect of this piece getting you closer to completion, it's not always as simple as clicking it into place. And that was a primary topic of discussion at this year's Living Future Conference. For all of its benefits, circularity is not without its challenges. And now, more designers, architects, builders, contractors and manufacturers are exploring and sharing ways to make reuse and circularity more approachable.

In this episode, Laurel Chadzynski, AIA, Sustainable Design Leader at Dyer Brown & Associates, and VP of Engagement at mindfulMATERIALS, shares some of the challenges when it comes to creating a truly circular design economy and some ways designers can overcome them. 

Take a moment to look around your current environment. Have you ever noticed just how many materials went into the makeup of your immediate surroundings?

Materials are everywhere and in everything we come into contact with. As such, they have a massive impact on us and the planet. And there's a level of complexity in understanding that impact that drew architect Simona Fischer to study them. 

Today, Simona is the director of sustainable practice at MSR Design based in Minneapolis. And with the knowledge she's gained over the past 10+ years, she helps educate other designers on how to specify healthier materials and consider reuse as often as possible.

In this episode, Simona shares how designers can unearth the health and carbon impact of a material, what tools to use, how to work creatively with salvaged materials, and some of the natural materials she's most excited about currently. 

Is it possible to feel like you are genuinely rooted in nature while living in the middle of suburbia? That was the hypothesis architects Matthew and Maria Salenger of coLAB studio set out to test––and they used their 1950s Cedar Street suburban tract home as the test ground.

In fact, they embarked on a study of sorts. A study that would span several years and evolve into something much larger than either likely imagined. As they began to rethink the way one could live in suburbia, they unearthed learnings in passive and biophilic design, planet-positive design, modularity and flexibility, and even building with reuse in mind.

In this episode, discover what resulted from that multi-year study and how this dwelling, despite being in the middle of a bustling city, feels like an escape to a secluded desert garden.

Dr. Esther Sternberg may not have predicted she would author several books on the built environment's impact on human health. After all, until 2012, she was working as a senior scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) studying the brain-immune connection. But a chance encounter in 2000 with the then-research director for the US General Services Administration (GSA) would forever change the trajectory of her research work––and it started with one question, "Can we measure the impact of a workplace on employees' health, happiness and productivity?"

It's a question she answers in her latest book, "Well at Work," where she details the significant impact the built environment has on human health and longevity.  

Today, Dr. Sternberg serves as Professor of Medicine in the University of Arizona College of Medicine and as the Research Director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine. She's also an advisor for the International WELL Building Institute. And it's through this work and her various roles that she advocates for design professionals to view themselves as health professionals and true partners in the health of the nation. 

And this is exactly what we discuss in this podcast episode.   

Have you ever met one of those people who seems like they've already lived a thousand lives in just a matter of decades? Well, Dr. Gautam Gulati (or Dr. G as he prefers) is one of the humans…or rather super humans.

He's earned multiple degrees, from medical to business to design, launched several successful ventures, and speaks around the world...and that's the short list. And the golden thread through each of these endeavors? Changing people's lives.

Of course, Dr. G. also doesn't shy away from challenges. So when his dad developed a rapidly progressive form of Alzheimer's and wasn't getting the support he needed from the traditional healthcare route, he became his full-time caregiver. He moved him into his home then began investigating how the built environment could help or hinder his father's health, longevity, and safety. After implementing some of these design strategies, they were astounded by the outcomes. Not only did the redesign help reduce agitation and improve happiness, it even cut his father's medications from 12 to 3. These findings then led Dr. G. to create The Well Home, and now he's made it his mission to help others change their lives by adapting their environments. 

In this episode, Dr. G. shares the design strategies they implemented to make a marked difference in his father's health, and provides tips for creating a well home.