It’s August 2021 and there's no clear end in sight for the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks, of course, to the Delta variant. The Centers for Disease Control in the U.S. has had to change its advisory a few times this year. Its most current advice: If you're in an area with high infection rates, wear a mask everywhere, whether you're vaccinated or not. If your area hasn't been affected much by the Delta variant, you should still be wearing a mask indoors, whether you're vaccinated or not.

It's all about air—whether you are indoors or outside. So what should we do for clean air?

First, we all intuitively know now that indoor air is riskier, generally speaking, than outdoor air. Because of the way we build commercial buildings now in the United States, inside air invariably goes through an HVAC system, which is basically recirculated air that isn't immediately exchanged with the air outside. The system was built this way to recirculate heating or cooling—but of course it also recirculates germs. Our reporter Audrey Gray sits down with Nathan Stodola, chief engineer at the International WELL Building Institute, and Josh Greenfield, director of high performance design at HDR, to talk about how thoughtful design can help cool things off and keep us safe. 

Next, you’ve likely heard a lot about engineered and technological solutions for clean air but, as you now know, they invariably require energy and many times they're just a band-aid fix. So should we turn to nature? Should we be thinking about bigger changes, fundamentally shifting the way we design buildings and their connection to natural systems like plants, soil, and micro-organisms? To answer that, reporter Akiva Blander speaks with Brent Bucknam of Hyphae Design Laboratory.

Resources:

-      After 2020, Designing For Indoor Air Quality Will Never Be the Same: metropolismag.com/architecture/designing-for-indoor-air-quality/

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The Tokyo Olympics are underway—in the middle of a pandemic, with the Delta Variant of SARS COV-2 doing the rounds. But some analysts and activists have pointed out that the pandemic isn't the only problem with the Games. Tokyo wanted to host the most sustainable Olympics yet. The organizers promised recycled cardboard beds in the athlete's village, and super green timber stadiums. But, according to a study published by researchers from the University of Lausanne in the journal Nature earlier this year, they've fallen well below the mark. Can one have a sustainable Olympics? In this episode, we try to answer that question.

First, how does Los Angeles plan to avoid Tokyo's fate when it hosts the games in 2028? We speak with Brence Culp, the chief impact officer for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, and Nurit Katz, UCLA's Chief sustainability Officer, to learn more about the sustainability vision for LA28.

Next up, the afterlife of stadiums. Remember that sustainability analysis of the Olympic Games? Well, the researchers identified Nine Factors that determine the sustainability of the Games. Their number one factor? Long-term viability of Olympic infrastructure. The Velodrome, originally designed for the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, was recently converted into the Biodome, an enormous zoo-cum-terrarium. We speak with Yves Paris, Biodome director, and Rami Bebawi, cofounding partner at KANVA, to learn more about the project.

Resources:

-      An evaluation of the sustainability of the Olympic Games. Nat Sustain (2021): doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00696-5

-      LA28: la28.org

-      IOC Sustainability Strategy: extrassets.olympic.org/sustainability-strategy/1-1

-      Montreal Biodome: metropolismag.com/architecture/kanva-montreals-biodome/

Connect with Metropolis:

metropolismag.com

Instagram: @metropolismag

Facebook: facebook.com/MetropolisMag/

Deep Green is a production of SANDOW Design Group.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.