Walking through my nephew’s elementary school last Tuesday, I couldn’t help but notice how the hallways felt more like sterile hospital corridors than spaces designed for growing minds. Fluorescent lights…
Last Thursday morning I found myself standing knee-deep in what used to be a construction site, watching mycelium slowly colonize a wall panel made from agricultural waste. The contractor looked…
Walking into the lobby of The 1 Hotels in Brooklyn Bridge last month, I couldn’t help but smile at my own hypocrisy. Here I was, a person who preaches about…
The other day I was standing in my kitchen, watching water from my rooftop collection system flow through the living wall that separates my dining area from the workspace. My…
I walked into what used to be my grandmother’s dining room last Tuesday and nearly cried. The wallpaper was peeling, the hardwood floors were scratched beyond recognition, and someone had…
You know how sometimes you walk into a space and immediately feel your shoulders drop? Like your nervous system just exhaled without your permission? I experienced this phenomenon so powerfully…
You know those moments when you walk into a space and immediately feel… different? Not just visually pleased, but physically more at ease, like your nervous system just downshifted into…
Walking through the Singapore Botanic Gardens last month during a consulting trip, I found myself completely mesmerized by how the city had woven nature into its urban fabric. But it…
Yesterday I walked into a corporate lobby that felt like stepping inside a terrarium, and honestly? It caught me completely off guard. The reception area incorporated live moss walls, cascading…
The phone call came at 7:23 AM on a Tuesday. I remember the exact time because I was standing in my kitchen, coffee mug in hand, watching steam rise from…
Walking through Manchester’s Northern Quarter last Tuesday, I couldn’t help but notice how dramatically the area’s architectural character has shifted over the past five years. What used to be a…
Three months ago, I found myself standing in what used to be a 1920s bank lobby in downtown Portland, watching a team carefully remove layers of dropped ceiling tiles to…
You know what really bugs me about the whole “green building” movement? Don’t get me wrong – I appreciate the effort, I really do. But sometimes when I’m sitting in…
Three months ago, I was sitting in a research library at UC Berkeley, surrounded by towers of academic journals and feeling slightly overwhelmed. I’d promised to compile evidence for a…
Last Tuesday, I found myself standing in the bowels of a paper mill in Wisconsin, sweating through my safety gear while staring at what looked like a massive metal hamster…