Show notes
How can we make our exhibitions more sustainable — in every way?Where do we start? What can museum teams learn from sustainability advancements in architecture? What’s a “red list?” What is the difference between embodied and operational carbon? What does it mean to do “design for deconstruction?” And when can we all buy the upcoming “Sustainable Museum Exhibition Handbook?”Douglas Flandro (Exhibition Designer & Director of Sustainability, CambridgeSeven) discusses “What is Sustainable Exhibition Design?” with MtM host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio).Along the way: museum egos, dark skies, and heat islands.Talking Points:1. Embracing Imperfection2. Design for Human Health3. Design for Social Health and Equity4. Design for Ecosystem Health5. Design for Climate Health6. Design for the Circular EconomyHow to Listen:Listen on Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-the-museum/id1674901311 Listen on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/6oP4QJR7yxv7Rs7VqIpI1G Listen at Making the Museum, the Website:https://www.makingthemuseum.com/podcast Links to Every Podcast Service, via Transistor:https://makingthemuseum.transistor.fm/ Guest Bio:Drawing on his background in theater and film design, Douglas Flandro is especially interested in sustainable exhibit design, new technologies, immersive experiences, experiential graphic design and hands-on interactive exhibits. He has designed exhibits and graphics for numerous science museums, children’s museums, nature and visitor centers, aquariums, and zoos. As the firm’s Director of Sustainability, Douglas leads CambridgeSeven’s Sustainable Working Group and has taught and lectured at AAM, ASTC, Parson’s School of Design, and the Rhode Island School of Design. He is the author of the forthcoming book, “The Sustainable Exhibition Handbook,” due to be released in the Spring of 2026.About Making the Museum:Making the Museum is hosted (podcast) and written (newsletter) by Jonathan Alger. MtM is a project of C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio.Learn more about the creative work of C&G Partners:https://www.cgpartnersllc.com/ Links for This Episode:Douglas by [email protected] Douglas on LInkedinhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-flandro/ CambridgeSevenhttps://www.cambridgeseven.com The Sustainable Exhibition Design & Construction Toolkithttps://www.cambridgeseven.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SEDC-Toolkit_v6_Sep2024.pdf The Museum Exhibition Materials Pledgehttps://www.mindfulmaterials.com/museum-materials-pledge The Gallery Climate Coalitionhttps://measure.galleryclimatecoalition.org/ The Bizot Green Protocolhttps://www.cimam.org/sustainability-and-ecology-museum-practice/bizot-green-protocol/ The Climate Toolkithttps://climatetoolkit.org/about/ Living Future (ILFI) Red List of Worst in Class Chemicalshttps://living-future.org/red-list/ Green Science Policy Institute Six Classes of Chemicalshttps://www.sixclasses.org/ DarkSky Internationalhttps://darksky.org/ Terrapin Bright Green 14+ Patterns of Biophilic Designhttps://www.terrapinbrightgreen.com/report/14-patterns/ The Design Museum, "The Waste Age: What can design do?"https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/waste-age-what-can-design-do Links for Making the Museum, the Podcast:Contact Making the Museumhttps://www.makingthemuseum.com/contact Host Jonathan Alger, Managing Partner of C&G Partners, on LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanalger Email Jonathan [email protected] C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studiohttps://www.cgpartnersllc.com/ Making the Museum, the Newsletter:Like the show? You might enjoy the newsletter. Making the Museum is also a free weekly professional development email for exhibition practitioners, museum leaders, and visitor experience professionals. (And newsletter subscribers are the first to hear about new episodes of this podcast.)Join hundreds of your peers with a one-minute read, three times a week. Invest in your career with a diverse, regular feed of planning and design insights, practical tips, and tested strategies — including thought-provoking approaches to technology, experience design, audience, budgeting, content, and project management.Subscribe to the newsletter:https://www.makingthemuseum.com/