piper: decoding healthy & regenerative design
Episodes
The evolution of material transparency with Lona Rerick
23 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Like many of today's architects and designers, Lona Rerick wasn't taught material health in school. She had some exposure to sustainable design in col...
Nobody said it was easy: Overcoming resistance to change
26 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
For the composer, conductor, songwriter Steve Hackman, life has been a journey through parallel realities––or maybe, parallel dualities. At a youn...
Rising from the urban ashes with Paul Hickman
20 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
According to the US Forest Service, 36 million trees are removed from urban areas every year. These trees offer a tremendous opportunity to reduce som...
Five innovators from Greenbuild '25
01 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What do a battery-operated induction range, hemp insulation, a straw-based structural insulated panel (SIP), a whole-life carbon visualization tool, a...
Understanding materials through the lens of data with Melanie De Cola
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 2009, the American Institute of Architects launched the AIA 2030 Commitment, a strategy and framework that takes direct aim at reaching net-zero em...
LEED v5: The path to building product transparency with Wes Sullens
14 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Responsible material selection and procurement is keystone to lowering the environmental impact of the built environment and improving occupant health...
From Story to Seed to Shelter: A Library Emerges from the Badlands
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Reimagining buildings as circular systems with Marcus Hopper
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Can buildings be circular systems? Unlocking overlooked opportunity If we were to think of buildings as living beings, how might that change the way w...
Turning to history to decarbonize the future with Carl Elefante
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are we too quick to turn to technology and novelty to solve today's most pressing challenges? Perhaps history and nature hold the answers to modern-da...
Carbon smart: Is all wood good? with Jason Grant
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We need forests. They're the lungs of the earth. They're also home to more plants and animals than any other terrestrial biome. They protect watershed...
Taking calculated risk to drive circularity with Andrew Ellsworth
03 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 t...
Building from the urban mine with Felix Heisel
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 year...
Reducing the embodied carbon of structural systems with Luke Lombardi
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the structural engineering of buildings, concrete and steel are among the most widely used materials. Concrete is actually the most abundant manufa...
The critical role of contractors in circular construction with Michael Orbank
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Orbank began his career as an environmental field technician, sampling soil and water to better understand the implications of petroleum conta...
Riding the wave of curiosity to low-carbon interior renovation strategies
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The seemingly benign act of curiosity actually has a very bold undercurrent. It has the power to conquer fear, challenge the status quo, propel innova...
Using data and curiosity to decarbonize
29 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Proving the economics of deconstruction
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 commo...
Finding sustainable material solutions in the urban mine
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 milli...
The economy of circular design
29 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Designing in a material world
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Take a moment to look around your current environment. Have you ever noticed just how many materials went into the makeup of your immediate surroundin...
Reimagining suburban architecture to commune with nature
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Architecting wellbeing: How designers impact human health
15 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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, s...
Designing to Mitigate Chronic Disease and Promote Wellness
02 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 D...
How archimania is Creating a Carbon-Neutral Corridor
25 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
663 S. Cooper may be home to archimania, an architecture firm in Memphis, TN, but that's just one detail of this unassuming (yet inviting) building on...
Achieving Low-Carbon Design Through Plant-Based Building
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Build shelter. Not too big. Mostly plants. Those seven simple words––though borrowed and modified from famed author Michael Pollan in more recen...
Could These Be the Healthiest Homes in Phoenix?
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Vali Mews, a four-home urban development in the heart of Phoenix that was designed as somewhat of an experiment. Several years ago, the duo...
Preserving modernism, nature and human joy
09 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Modernist architecture may be among the more divisive, debated and controversial architectural styles throughout history. But love it or hate it, few ...
Inside the long-awaited WELL for Residential standard
05 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Most homes are not built with human health in mind. In fact, many are actually contributing to negative health outcomes and overall poor health in occ...
Civitas: Venture inside the first dual-certified zero carbon, zero energy home in the US
30 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Can high performance and beautiful design coexist? This home cracks the code. Civitas is many things to many people. It's a study in sustainability an...
How mindful MATERIALS is creating a framework for a healthier built environment
24 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Like all great movements, mindful MATERIALS grew out of a need. For many years, it existed as a database, but along that path, it began to attract sta...
What is the Red List and why should you care?
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever considered how many chemicals you encounter on a daily basis? And how many of the chemicals are hazardous to your health? It's not somet...
Is organic architecture foundational to sustainable design?
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is organic architecture the key to sustainable building? This home in Scottsdale, Arizona, designed and developed by desert modernist architect Craig ...