METROPOLIS recently released its first U.S. Sustainable Design Report, produced in partnership with Interface, offering a deep dive into the state of sustainability in American architecture and design. Over the coming weeks, we’re speaking with leaders who have a bird’s-eye view of how we can build more sustainably here in the United States—what wins we’ve had, what challenges remain, and where we should focus our efforts.

In this episode of Deep Green, host Avinash Rajagopal is joined by Holly Samuelson, Associate Professor and Fairchild Career Development Chair at MIT's School of Architecture and Planning. She's a building scientist, an architect, and an educator whose work focuses on how building design impacts health and carbon emissions.

At MIT, she directs the Livable Spaces Lab, an interdisciplinary research group advancing healthy, energy-efficient buildings for people and the planet. The lab combines computational and experimental methods to tackle urgent challenges, including heat, vulnerability, thermal resilience, indoor air quality, carbon emissions, and the future of building design in a shifting energy landscape.

Listen in to hear her take on the current state of sustainable design in the U.S., how energy performance and occupant health are increasingly connected, the biggest roadblocks to mainstreaming sustainable strategies, and the tangible steps architects and collaborators can take to create healthier, lower-carbon buildings.

Resources:

Livable Spaces Lab

METROPOLIS Interface U.S. Sustainable Design Report 2026

This season of Deep Green is presented by Interface.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

METROPOLIS recently released its first U.S. Sustainable Design Report, produced in partnership with Interface, encapsulating the state of sustainability in American architecture and design. On Deep Green, we’re speaking with leaders who have a bird’s-eye view of how we can build more sustainably here in the United States.

Gensler is the largest architecture and design firm in the world. With more than 6,000 professionals working across 56 offices, the firm generated $1.88 billion in revenue in 2024—that’s billion with a “B.” According to the firm’s recent Resilience by Design report, its 2024 portfolio is projected to avoid emitting 19.6 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide.

In this episode of Deep Green, host Avinash Rajagopal is joined by Katie Mesia, firmwide design resilience leader and director of sustainability at Gensler. A central part of Mesia’s role is shaping Gensler’s culture to help the firm attain its goal of carbon neutrality by 2030.

She consults on deep sustainability strategies for projects around the world, working to reduce carbon emissions and minimize environmental impacts. She has also championed Gensler’s product sustainability standards, helping drive industry-wide adoption of more regenerative materials in architectural interiors.

Listen in to learn how large firms can shift culture at scale, what it really takes to reach carbon neutrality, and where the biggest opportunities for impact lie today.

Resources:

METROPOLIS Interface U.S. Sustainable Design Report 2026

Gensler Product Sustainability (GPS) Standards

Genlser Resilience by Design Report

Design Forecast 2026 | Gensler

This season of Deep Green is presented by Interface.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

METROPOLIS recently released its first U.S. Sustainable Design Report, a deep dive into the state of sustainability in American architecture and design. Over the coming weeks, we’re speaking with leaders who have a bird’s-eye view of how we can build sustainably here in the United States—what wins we've had, what challenges remain, and where we should focus our efforts.

In this episode of Deep Green, host Avinash Rajagopal is joined by Lindsay Baker, CEO of Living Future, the nonprofit behind some of the most ambitious and comprehensive frameworks for sustainable and regenerative design in the built environment. Through initiatives like the Living Building Challenge, Living Future advances a vision of buildings that give back more to nature than they take, creating places in true harmony with life itself.

Baker brings decades of experience across nearly every facet of sustainable design and construction—from her early work as a program manager for LEED, to serving as WeWork’s first head of global sustainability and impact. Together, they discuss regenerative design, transparency in building materials through the Declare label, and what it will take to move from reducing harm to actively restoring the ecosystems we build within.

Resources:

METROPOLIS Interface U.S. Sustainable Design Report 2026

International Living Future Institute

Living Building Challenge

Declare Label

This season of Deep Green is presented by Interface.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.