The Science of Better Buildings

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.

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