piper: decoding healthy & regenerative design

Andrew Ellsworth seems to have an incessant appetite for risk. But dig a little deeper and you see that that appetite is fueled by a profound desire to drive the positive changes that will support environmental health. And he's using the built environment as the entry point to create that change.

In addition to launching Doors Unhinged, the first US company to reclaim and resell commercial door systems, Andrew also co-founded the All For Reuse initiative to strengthen the demand for reclaimed materials. He also recently collaborated with Hennepin County in Minnesota to develop Building Circularity MN, and, as part of that program, is leading a training to help entrepreneurs build viable material reuse businesses.

And when he's not doing all of that, he still finds time to take to the stage, speaking and advocating for circularity and reuse, which is where I found him, between his multiple speaking sessions at the Build Reuse conference.

In this episode, Andrew shares how Doors Unhinged came to be, the challenges of launching a business in a sector that wasn't designed for circularity, and where he sees the biggest opportunity for entrepreneurs in the circular economy.

It's difficult to capture all that the multi-hyphenate Felix Heisel has achieved and created in the world of circular architecture in the past 15 years. Since graduating from architecture school in Germany, circular construction has been a central focus of his career.

He's authored numerous books and papers on the topic, created and now directs the Circular Construction Lab at Cornell University, and has led countless circular construction exhibitions and research projects around the world, including one of his most current, called AR3-Lumber, an AI-driven application that will visually grade reclaimed lumber.

At this year's Build Reuse conference, Felix shared some of the findings from their studies and what he sees as important next steps to bring circular architecture more mainstream.

In the structural engineering of buildings, concrete and steel are among the most widely used materials. Concrete is actually the most abundant manufactured material on earth. But for all of the tremendous qualities these commonly used structural materials provide, they come with high environmental costs in the form of embodied carbon. And many structural engineers are starting to take note...and do something about it.

One such engineer is Luke Lombardi, a senior sustainability consultant at the engineering consultancy firm, Buro Happold. And at this year's Build Reuse conference, Luke spoke about the major impact structural engineers can have on the path to net zero.

In this episode, he shares some of those insights and talks about how natural building materials fit into the picture.

Michael Orbank began his career as an environmental field technician, sampling soil and water to better understand the implications of petroleum contamination. But through conversations with subcontractors while on various job sites, Michael began to see an alternative pathway that could position him to make a bigger impact in the world of sustainability. So, he went back to school, earned a master's in civil engineering and initially entered the field as a project manager at a construction firm.

That role didn't fully satisfy his deep-seated interest in sustainability, so he began seeking out like-minded groups in the Boston area. He soon found himself in a session led by the Carbon Leadership Forum about embodied carbon in buildings. And it was that session that turned the kaleidoscope for Michael.

Fast forward to present day, and Michael is serving as a sustainability manager at STO Building Group and advocating for the contractor's role in escalating reuse in the building industry. At this year's Build Reuse conference, Michael shared how he's leveraging this position to further circularity and why contractors are essential partners in achieving circular construction.

The seemingly benign act of curiosity actually has a very bold undercurrent. It has the power to conquer fear, challenge the status quo, propel innovation, and cultivate solutions. Curiosity is what drove Albert Einstein to revolutionize modern physics, and Walt Disney to produce the first feature-length animated film, which forever changed the industry.

And curiosity is what has led interior designer Jenn Chen, a former partner at LMN Architects, deep into the world of circularity and understanding the carbon impact of cyclical interior renovations.

Through her exploration of new design possibilities that could serve people and planet, Jenn co-created the firm's Path to Zero Carbon series, developed foundational research in interior design's role in lowering embodied carbon, and has inspired countless others in the industry to get curious about carbon and circularity.

In this episode, Jenn shares some of the lessons learned in trying to integrate circular design into interior projects, how they're thinking about carbon in cyclical interior renovations, and how designers can start to incorporate circularity in their own practices.

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.