Design the Future

29
Design #209

Women are living, learning, and leading towards a sustainable future. Their stories can help us all accelerate toward that vision in the built environment. Design the Future is a podcast created to elevate and explore the voices of women driving sustainable practices in the built environment and related fields. Lindsay Baker, a sustainability and social impact leader, and Kira Gould, a writer and communications strategist, host these conversations.

Recent Episodes
  • Kaarin Knudson on new patterns, agency, and a better future
    May 29, 2025 – 50:44
  • Kayleigh Houde on computational opportunity and climate progress
    May 15, 2025 – 34:50
  • Kritika Kharbanda on evidence-based design and storytelling
    May 1, 2025 – 44:56
  • Krista Egger on healthy, resilient housing for all
    Apr 24, 2025 – 41:39
  • Upali Nanda on design for human health and perception
    Mar 6, 2025 – 54:46
  • Shannon Goodman on building reuse and building community
    Feb 20, 2025 – 46:24
  • Alison Mears and Jonsara Ruth on collaboration and healthy materials
    Feb 13, 2025 – 47:12
  • Meghan Lewis on embodied carbon, research, and policy
    Jan 30, 2025 – 43:59
  • Billie Faircloth on transformation and platform shifts
    Jan 23, 2025 – 38:01
  • Joel Todd on understanding the whole and working synergistically
    Jan 9, 2025 – 41:17
  • Efrie Escott on research and bringing in more people to scale progress
    Dec 12, 2024 – 35:48
  • Myrrh Caplan on sustainability in construction and leading with passion
    Sep 19, 2024 – 40:45
  • Mae-ling Lokko on biogenic materials and practices
    Sep 12, 2024 – 51:15
  • Lu Salinas on consulting and doing what's right for the most people
    Sep 5, 2024 – 39:37
  • Cristina Gamboa on quantifying the benefits of a decarbonized economy
    Aug 15, 2024 – 46:01
  • Stephanie Phillips on valuing materials and a silo-busting mindset
    Jun 27, 2024 – 41:33
  • Sandeep Ahuja on technology tools for sustainability
    Jun 20, 2024 – 33:34
  • Nora Rizzo on materials and ethics
    May 30, 2024 – 43:45
  • Alyssa-Amor Gibbons on cultural heritage and resilience
    Apr 25, 2024 – 48:14
  • Janice Barnes on climate adaptation as part of design
    Apr 11, 2024 – 49:01
  • Paula Melton on green building knowledge and education
    Mar 21, 2024 – 48:15
  • Laurie Schoeman on climate risk, resilience, and finance
    Feb 22, 2024 – 45:17
  • Noorie Rajvanshi on sustainability as part of everyday work
    Feb 8, 2024 – 39:14
  • Veena Singla on environmental health and justice
    Dec 14, 2023 – 41:54
  • Seema Bhangar on human health, data, and buildings
    Nov 30, 2023 – 41:00
  • Annie Bevan on materials and thinking about impact holistically
    Nov 16, 2023 – 44:39
  • Alejandra Menchaca on design analytics and opening windows
    Oct 26, 2023 – 44:40
  • Victoria Burrows on decarbonization and proving the possible
    Oct 5, 2023 – 46:41
  • Ariane Laxo on the broadening impacts of design
    Sep 7, 2023 – 43:15
  • Mary Ann Piette on feedback between building design and operations
    Jun 22, 2023 – 42:42
  • Sarah Ichioka on regenerative models, integration, and reality-based thinking for the future
    Jun 8, 2023 – 57:06
  • Renée Cheng on agency and equity in the built environment
    May 25, 2023 – 45:38
  • Fiona Cousins on technical knowledge and cross-disciplinary collaboration
    May 4, 2023 – 46:34
  • Marnese Jackson on the power of ordinary people and energy equity in the Midwest
    Apr 20, 2023 – 46:35
  • Stephanie Greene on buildings electrification and the climate challenge
    Apr 6, 2023 – 44:14
  • Davida Herzl on data, health, and informed climate action
    Mar 2, 2023 – 40:31
  • Rochelle Routman on transparency and bringing passion to work
    Feb 16, 2023 – 46:38
  • Sandy Mendler on research and collaborating across networks
    Jan 26, 2023 – 47:35
  • Lakisha Woods on architects in a changing industry and world
    Jan 12, 2023 – 38:33
  • Carrie Meinberg Burke on curiosity, biomimicry, and design synthesis
    Dec 8, 2022 – 53:14
  • Marsha Maytum on practice with purpose
    Nov 17, 2022 – 50:46
  • Nakita Reed on preservation, sustainability, and dissolving silos
    Oct 27, 2022 – 40:57
  • Chandra Robinson on design for access and equity
    Oct 6, 2022 – 52:36
  • Bomee Jung on scaling climate-responsive building
    Sep 22, 2022 – 45:00
  • Frances Yang on embodied carbon leadership and collaboration
    Sep 1, 2022 – 41:21
  • Jane Abernethy on product sustainability and corporate accountability
    Aug 11, 2022 – 43:10
  • Claire Maxfield on math and persuasion in building design
    Jul 14, 2022 – 46:13
  • Adele Houghton on public health, climate change, and the built environment
    Jun 16, 2022 – 51:30
  • Laurie Kerr on climate-focused policy and getting the math right
    May 26, 2022 – 39:48
  • Arathi Gowda on movement culture and climate advocacy
    May 5, 2022 – 46:51
Recent Reviews
  • Nadav Malin
    A go-to podcast for me
    There are so many reasons that I keep this podcast at the top of my feed. I enjoy hearing the career journeys of the amazing women, I get inspired by their current work, and I’m reminded of the long evolution of sustainability in the built environment. Highly recommended!
  • AVL arch
    Great conversations
    Two things make this a wonderful podcast: the guests and the hosts. The guests are some of the most inspiring and accomplished professionals, but they all come off as genuine people, deeply committed to what they do. The hosts are both respectful and warmly connected to their guests and are able to draw real inspiration from their work. Listening to an episode makes me feel like I’ve just spent time with friends.
  • Mr. Platt in Washington
    Uniquely incisive podcast series on climate & buildings/design
    So many these podcasts - dare I say the great majority of them - are REALLY GOOD. Great guests and great hosts. They ask the right questions and the guests provide imaginative, disarmingly honest, clear-eyed and empowering answers. One has the feeling with the focus on female leadership of a different approach to sharing. While highly progressive it also not ideologically constrained and it’s all about what has worked and why. I listened to an interview with one friend and hero of mine and then found myself listening 5, 10, 15 and I’m sure soon 30 more.
  • Susana Vidal
    Women in sustainability this is your podcast
    If you are to transitioning into a sustainability career or are already working on this area this is the podcast for you. The hosts are warm, thoughtful and make you feel like you are chatting with friends who happen to work in sustainability. Their guests add different dimensions to the knowledge you already have and always share how they got into sustainability, which is great for those new to this area. Amazing work! Thank you so much! Also, I don’t work in building sustainability but business sustainability and this show is as relevant for me. You can also pick broad focused episodes or areas you are specially interested in.
  • slothslikesadie
    Found my tribe
    I am a woman landscape architect and mother working on the development of a scalable solution that responds to the needs for migratory bird habitat, clean water and supports mental health. I am so inspired by these interviews. This is hard work and to hear from people who believe in acting within a shrinking window of time helps give me the courage and roadmap for how to keep going. Thank you for the work you do to make these voices accessible! I’d love to hear from more landscape architects. Have your heard about Kate Orff’s work at SCAPE? Or the women or Roots First in NC?
  • Ambsagram
    Inspired
    I love this show. I’m constantly inspired by the diversity of guests on the show. Thank you for creating this platform to celebrate diversity and success in sustainability in building science.
  • 1ql0
    Wonderful conversations with interesting people
    I find this podcast to be a nice, depthful listen. I’m a mid-career design professional working in an adjacent dimension of sustainability and this series reminds me of what we’re all working for. In the day to day, I feel like it’s a rare treat to get to hear the voices, ideas/insights, and wisdom of women who are out there, doing the work! So happy this podcast is giving a platform
  • nish1801
    Great pod, great guests
    Enjoying the insightful conversations!
  • lbaker85
    Thanks for the feedback!
    Lindsay here (co-host), just wanted to post a reply to the review about the scope of our podcast. Indeed, we are not a podcast on the “how-to” of sustainable buildings. We talk about the progress of the movement, new frontiers in our work, and how to lead effectively in our industry. There are lots of great how-to learning opportunities out there on sustainable buildings, starting with the professional associations like USGBC, IIDA, etc. Our podcast is more about what’s next, what we need to do better, and what we have accomplished!
  • Casey Reikowsky
    Narrow Audience- I’m not sure this podcast is for young Interior Designers like me
    I really wanted to like this podcast, but the first couple episodes just didn’t hook me. I’m a young Interior Design professional with an interest in learning more about how I can design sustainable spaces and to hear from leaders in design and sustainability. I didn’t have a lot in common with the hosts or the guest and found the conversation hard to follow for someone relatively new to the industry. I’m thinking I’m not the audience they were looking for. I’d be willing to reevaluate and try listening again once more episodes are published, however it doesn’t seem like a podcast for me or people like me.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork on this page are property of the podcast owner, and not endorsed by UP.audio.