Deep Green

This episode is brought to you in partnership with furniture retailer Room & Board. The furniture industry has seen something of a transformation over the last decade with the rise of fast furniture: cheap, disposable pieces, often produced overseas with little to no oversight. Every year in the United States, about 12 million tons of furniture goes to waste, and 80 percent of that ends up in our landfills. In addition to contributing, through that enormous amount of waste, to our environmental problems, furniture is also often cited as one of the industries most at risk for exploitative labor practices. But furniture retailer Room & Board was founded in 1980 as a business that’s different: putting sustainability at the heart of its operations since day one and producing 90 percent of its products in the United States. Most recently, the Minneapolis-based retailer achieved B Corp certification, an independent verification of its practices to show that it meets the highest standards of performance, accountability, and transparency on a range of factors from employee benefits to charitable giving, supply chain practices, and materials. In this episode, Room & Board director of sustainability Emily McGarvey joins METROPOLIS editor in chief Avinash Rajagopal to discuss why the retailer decided to aim for B Corp certification, how they went about it, and the challenges they faced—but also what it means at a very fundamental level for the furniture industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discover industry tools and resources for circular design, as Avi Rajagopal and Samantha Sager discuss actionable steps we can take toward tackling the challenges discussed throughout this season of Deep Green. How can we make an impact on an individual level? How can we educate ourselves and those around us? What organizations can we turn to for guidance? Incredible tools, research, and innovations are helping the industry move in the right direction but to meet the moment we will have to shift away from our culture of consumption and redefine the roles of architects and designers in shaping a sustainable future. Hear from Rajagopal on his hopes for the journey forward. Chapters Review of the principles of circularity How can we pursue circularity as individuals? How can we pursue circularity as a community? Industry resources and tools Rethinking the designer’s role Resources Salvage Superstar: Renovation Angel Rheaply Brings Ingenuity to Recycling Building Materials Arup’s Circular Buildings Toolkit Two Platforms Help Designers Specify Low-Carbon Interiors Build Reuse Deep Green is produced by Samantha Sager, Wize Grazette, Lauren Volker, Rachel Senatore, and Hannah Viti, and is part of the SURROUND podcast network. Special thanks to Avi Rajagopal, Editor in Chief of METROPOLIS, for his insights. Recorded at the podcast studio by Vornado in the Penn 1 building in Manhattan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special bonus episode, Avi Rajagopal sits down with materials expert Dr. Andrew Dent. As executive vice president of research at Material ConneXion, which for 25 years has been empowering designers with access to innovative materials, Dent says he has seen increasing excitement from his clients around sustainability over the past decade. But making the most responsible choices in the world of materials can be very complex. Listen as he shares how he navigates these tricky waters, the challenges with recycling, his optimism around chemical recycling, why he’s more excited about new processes than the materials themselves, and more. Chapters A little bit about Material ConneXion The responsible materials landscape Recycled and renewable materials What is chemical recycling? Biobased and biodegradable materials The promise of processes Resources Material ConneXion Deep Green is produced by Rachel Senatore, Lauren Volker, and Hannah Viti, and is part of the SURROUND podcast network. Special thanks to Avi Rajagopal, Editor in Chief of METROPOLIS, for his insights. Recorded at the podcast studio by Vornado in the Penn 1 building in Manhattan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn how we can deepen the connection between the built environment and the natural world, as Avi Rajagopal and Samantha Sager discuss the third principle of circular design: regenerating nature. Navigating the complexities of where materials are derived from, how they are made, and what happens to them at the end of their useful life is crucial as architects and interior designers work to support a more circular economy. What defines a biobased product? How do we responsibly source these materials? Is a biobased plastic always biodegradable? Hear from Rajagopal on the ideas and experiments coming out of the industry designed to return more materials go back into their natural cycles and loops on this planet. Chapters The third principle of circularity: regenerating nature What does biobased actually mean? Biobased vs. Biodegradable Success story: a completely biodegradable chair Responsibly sourcing biobased materials Infrastructure and composting Resources PROWL Urges Designers to Consider the Afterlife of Products Model No. Furniture Natural Habitat: A Tranquil Retreat in Cold Spring Deep Green is produced by Samantha Sager, Wize Grazette, Lauren Volker, Rachel Senatore, and Hannah Viti, and is part of the SURROUND podcast network. Special thanks to Avi Rajagopal, Editor in Chief of METROPOLIS, for his insights. Recorded at the podcast studio by Vornado in the Penn 1 building in Manhattan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore the intricacies of material recycling, as Avi Rajagopal and Samantha Sager pick up where they left off last week, focusing on the second principle of a circular economy: circulating products and materials at their highest value. Are all materials suitable for recycling? How can we make sure that recycled or reused materials perform to the standards of commercial settings? How can we better design products and buildings for their end of life? Hear from Rajagopal on some innovative ways our industry is circulating products and materials, recycling more responsibly — and giving nature a much-needed break. Chapters Circulating products and materials at their highest value Recycling obstacles (incentive, policy, and more) Success story: Nylon The hierarchy of recycling strategies Designing for disassembly Resources METROPOLIS Climate Toolkit The Ellen MacArthur Foundation METROPOLIS July/August 2023: This New Upholstery Line Features Yarn Made From Marine Plastic Deep Green is produced by Samantha Sager, Wize Grazette, Lauren Volker, Rachel Senatore, and Hannah Viti, and is part of the SURROUND podcast network. Special thanks to Avi Rajagopal, Editor in Chief of METROPOLIS, for his insights. Recorded at the podcast studio by Vornado in the Penn 1 building in Manhattan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What obstacles does our industry present to the dream of a circular economy? Join METROPOLIS’s Editor in Chief, Avi Rajagopal, and producer Samantha Sager as they begin to explore these challenges, beginning with how we can eliminate more waste and pollution from our processes. A&D culture is shifting away from building new (for the first time in 2022, retrofits and renovations accounted for more money in architectural buildings than new construction!) but are we adapting buildings as sustainably as possible? Are we preparing them for future adaptations or just passing the buck? Are we considering the interiors? What about the communities that live around these projects? It’s easy to say, “Oh, let's reuse a building,” but in practice it tends to be a pretty tough and complicated process. Hear from Rajagopal on the steps our industry is taking to reuse more responsibly—and live a little bit closer to harmony with nature. Chapters What are the principles of circularity? Principle 1: eliminating waste and pollution Unpacking adaptive reuse Future-proofing our buildings Resources METROPOLIS Climate Toolkit The Ellen MacArthur Foundation METROPOLIS July/August: “3 Adaptive Reuse Projects Prioritize Flexibility for the Future” LMN’sTenant Improvements Embodied Carbon Study Deep Green is produced by Samantha Sager, Wize Grazette, Lauren Volker, and Rachel Senatore, and is part of the SURROUND Podcast Network. Special thanks to Avi Rajagopal, Editor in Chief of METROPOLIS, for his insights. Recorded at the podcast studio by Vornado in the Penn 1 building in Manhattan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unpack the environmental impact of the building industry and the hurdles we face in reducing our carbon footprint with METROPOLIS’s' Editor in Chief, Avi Rajagopal, and producer Samantha Sager. They discuss how the sector is responsible for 40% of global carbon emissions and 30% of worldwide waste, and is the second largest consumer of plastics, putting the industry at the heart of the problem of the climate crisis. A must-listen for those passionate about sustainable interior design and architecture, this episode underscores the urgent need for change: a move away from our trend-driven culture. Join us this season as we explore the challenges our industry presents to the dream of a circular economy. May you be inspired to advocacy and action. Chapters The building industry and climate change What is embodied carbon exactly? The consequences of a culture of trends The building renovations craze - and its implications Resources METROPOLIS Climate Toolkit “Why Interior Designers Must Fight Climate Change” LMN’s Tenant Improvements Embodied Carbon Study Deep Green is produced by Samantha Sager, Wize Grazette, Lauren Volker, and Rachel Senatore, and is part of the SURROUND podcast network. Special thanks to Avi Rajagopal, Editor in Chief of METROPOLIS, for his insights. Recorded at the podcast studio by Vornado in the Penn 1 building in Manhattan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new season of Deep Green is on its way! On this season of Deep Green, we’re doing things a little bit differently: METROPOLIS Editor in Chief Avi Rajagopal is going to be sitting in the hot seat, and with him will be producer Samantha Sager. Join us as they have an honest conversation about the environmental impact of the building industry and the unique challenges the sector presents to the dream of a circular economy. May you be inspired to advocacy and action. Deep Green is produced by Samantha Sager, Wize Grazette, Lauren Volker, and Rachel Senatore, and is part of the SURROUND podcast network. Special thanks to Avi Rajagopal, Editor in Chief of METROPOLIS, for his insights. Recorded at the podcast studio by Vornado in the Penn 1 building, Manhattan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you heard of the term biophilia or perhaps biophilic design? If you're an interior designer or you have a lot of interior design videos on your TikTok feed, you likely have. The word was popularized by a 1984 book by Edward O. Wilson, and he defined biophilia as the urge to affiliate with other forms of life. In recent years, designers have taken the word and interpreted it in many ways. Your wallpaper has a pattern that looks like wood grain, that's biophilic. Your glass and steel skyscraper has plants growing on its facade, that's biophilic. In this episode, Metropolis contributor Audrey Gray talks to the renowned architect Moshe Safdie, who has spent his entire career navigating and exploring the relationship between buildings and nature. While he has been working on mega developments—like the legendary Habitat 67 project in Montreal and Marina Bay Sands Resort in Singapore—he has also been thinking about how nature is integrated into our cities. And that has led to an evolution of ideas about density and urban design. Join us to hear from Safdie about the release of his book, If Walls Could Speak: My Life in Architecture, and how he feels about the term biophilia and how it is being co-opted. Connect with our host Avi Rajagopal on LinkedIn! Discover more shows from SURROUND atsurroundpodcasts.com. This episode of Barriers to Entry was produced and edited by Wize Grazette and Samantha Sager. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On average, it costs about $2.95 per watt for a home solar system. So, a 6-kilowatt system, about the size you'd need for an American home, would set you back around $17,700. If you factor in solar incentives, like the Federal Solar Credit, that number can come down to about $12,400. The annual savings on your utility bills after installing a home solar system are about $1,346. So, over a 25- or 30-year period, those savings could be in the region of $30,000 or more. Not bad for a $12,400 investment. If of course you have $12,400 to invest. As always, you’ve got to spend money to save money. And that means clean, affordable energy might stay out of reach of those who need it the most. Enter energy equity advocates like Daphany Rose Sanchez. Metropolis editor Jaxson Stone sat down with Sanchez, who is executive director at Kinetic Communities Consulting, which works with energy and affordable housing industry partners to connect, educate, and simplify energy efficiency opportunities for underrepresented communities. Join us to hear how Sanchez is working toward energy equity and learn more about the community solar movement and New York's Power Up initiative. Connect with our guest Daphany Rose-Sanchez on LinkedIn! Connect with our host Avi Rajagopal on LinkedIn! Discover more shows from SURROUND atsurroundpodcasts.com. This episode of Barriers to Entry was produced and edited by Wize Grazette and Samantha Sager. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices