EarthX Website: https://earthxmedia.com/
As population centers boom, architecture and construction are at the forefront of customer trends, with 40% of CO2 emissions. See the industry's environmental impact and how it must evolve.
About Chez Laurence:
Designer Laurence Carr meets manufacturers and brands who are employing circular, regenerative, and sustainable practices. See how they're seeking to change the end-of-life concept with eco-friendly techniques.
EarthX
Love Our Planet.
The Official Network of Earth Day.
About Us:
At EarthX, we believe our planet is a pretty special place. The people, landscapes, and critters are likely unique to the entire universe, so we consider ourselves lucky to be here. We are committed to protecting the environment by inspiring conservation and sustainability, and our programming along with our range of expert hosts support this mission. We’re glad you’re with us.
EarthX is a media company dedicated to inspiring people to care about the planet. We take an omni channel approach to reach audiences of every age through its robust 24/7 linear channel distributed across cable and FAST outlets, along with dynamic, solution oriented short form content on social and digital platforms. EarthX is home to original series, documentaries and snackable content that offer sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. EarthX is the only network that delivers entertaining and inspiring topics that impact and inspire our lives on climate and sustainability.
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#EarthDay #Environment #Sustainability #Ecofriendly #Conservation #EarthX
As population centers boom, architecture and construction are at the forefront of customer trends, with 40% of CO2 emissions. See the industry's environmental impact and how it must evolve.
About Chez Laurence:
Designer Laurence Carr meets manufacturers and brands who are employing circular, regenerative, and sustainable practices. See how they're seeking to change the end-of-life concept with eco-friendly techniques.
EarthX
Love Our Planet.
The Official Network of Earth Day.
About Us:
At EarthX, we believe our planet is a pretty special place. The people, landscapes, and critters are likely unique to the entire universe, so we consider ourselves lucky to be here. We are committed to protecting the environment by inspiring conservation and sustainability, and our programming along with our range of expert hosts support this mission. We’re glad you’re with us.
EarthX is a media company dedicated to inspiring people to care about the planet. We take an omni channel approach to reach audiences of every age through its robust 24/7 linear channel distributed across cable and FAST outlets, along with dynamic, solution oriented short form content on social and digital platforms. EarthX is home to original series, documentaries and snackable content that offer sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. EarthX is the only network that delivers entertaining and inspiring topics that impact and inspire our lives on climate and sustainability.
EarthX Website: https://earthxmedia.com/
Follow Us:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthxmedia/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earthxmedia
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EarthXMedia/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@earthxmedia
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EarthXMedia
How to watch:
United States:
- Spectrum
- AT&T U-verse (1267)
- DIRECTV (267)
- Philo
- FuboTV
- Plex
- Fire TV
#EarthDay #Environment #Sustainability #Ecofriendly #Conservation #EarthX
Category
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TVTranscript
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00:36Urban and city planners who design public spaces to create communities
00:42and revitalize physical facilities solve complex problems.
00:47For instance, how to create walkable cities,
00:51how to best use resources and manage waste,
00:54and how to do it in a way that fosters the health of citizens and residents.
01:00But as population and urbanization grows,
01:04cities must accommodate more people against the backdrop of aging infrastructure.
01:11The job of the urban planner is now more critical than ever.
01:16They must become futurists and imagine cities,
01:20spaces and buildings that address the problems of a struggling planet.
01:25Let's learn more about the role of urban planners
01:29and how sustainability can address many modern challenges.
01:33Dror Benchetrit is described as a designer, thinker, dreamer and futurist.
01:40He is world-renowned for his work in reimagining cities, spaces and buildings
01:46through his recent brandchild SuperNature Labs.
01:50It sounds like a cliché to say that he is inspired by nature,
01:54but Dror takes it to a new level.
01:57His work is revolutionizing the built environment
02:01and how humans live with and respect the planet.
02:05I want my children and grandchildren and their children to live in a city designed by Dror.
02:13Would you please give an overview of Studio Dror
02:17and in particular your fascinating approach to the integration of design,
02:22architecture, art, technology and invention?
02:27For me, design has always been about integration of disciplines.
02:32Designing with no boundaries.
02:34And actually what interests me more is the space between disciplines
02:38where art and design collide, where architecture and design or architecture and art collide.
02:44Since I'm a little kid, I've been creating stuff.
02:48It was mostly in the form of art, paint making, print making, sculptures.
02:53It was really only in my early 20s when I realized that art plus functionality is design.
03:02It's always been very interesting for me to kind of question the essence of certain typologies.
03:08So what is a chair? Why does it look like that?
03:11Why does it behave the way that it behaves? Can it behave differently? Can it look differently?
03:16Kind of diving to the core essence of the things that we use in our lives.
03:22Close to almost now five years ago, I have turned 40.
03:28And it was a moment in which I started asking myself questions.
03:32What does the world really need from us to do at the moment?
03:36And it was clear that it was about the future of the built environment.
03:40And I felt that there must be better ways for us to build and plan cities with nature integration.
03:48And we have the technological capabilities today.
03:51We have the manufacturing capabilities.
03:53And we can totally, totally, totally lead towards a new era of living regeneratively
04:01and in a completely different relationship with the natural world.
04:05Supernature Labs is on a mission to stop urban sprawl.
04:11What does it mean to design and build like nature?
04:15We are scheduled to double the built environment in the next 30 to 40 years.
04:20Now, in addition to the fact that cities are becoming denser,
04:25we're also going to double the land coverage of cities all around the world in the next 20 years.
04:33And that's the end of the natural environment in those areas.
04:37We know today that if we utilize a more cellular approach, which is how nature aggregates absolutely everything.
04:47And also, you're creating communities that are about sharing, about trust, about inclusivity,
04:56about having nature in the center.
04:59And the motivation for those communities is what we call nature preservation and conservation,
05:05which if you think about it in the context of urban planning, that means something completely different.
05:11It's a preservation and conservation of building, not preservation and conservation of nature.
05:18That is fascinating, Gerard.
05:20I mean, it's a complete new concept.
05:23And it's really forward thinking that sort of symbiosis between nature, architecture, design,
05:32for also a greater community and to preserve the earth.
05:36I know that circularity is part of it.
05:39And my next question is going to be about materials.
05:42When you look at most of the built environment that we're creating in recent years,
05:48you can say that the environment is very mechanical.
05:52Building looks like machines and everything is quite masculine and utilitarian.
05:58And for us, there's something really beautiful about paying attention to a more curvature
06:04and kind of softer environment in which the buildings are fading into another rather than just sticking out.
06:14When we think of our typology, which we call the supercell, which intending to replace what we call the superblock,
06:22you can see that because it's have like a more circular logic, a six point type cell logic.
06:30So it kind of looks like a Pringle shape.
06:32And when you aggregate those types of Pringle shapes, you get this very soft, like almost like a landscape to the environment.
06:42You know, what is the opposite of flow in our urban experience right now?
06:46Right. Like being stuck in traffic.
06:48Every intersection is a place of conflict, is a place of, you know, if I don't stop, we're going to crash.
06:55So when you start to aggregate cells, you realize that you don't have crossing anymore.
07:00You have just mergers and divisions. Right.
07:03So you kind of flow into the environment rather than get stuck.
07:10To what degree are you concerned about the type of materials that are used?
07:15And also, you know, that is to what degree does your perspective on sustainability look back into the supply chain in addition to the design themselves?
07:26I mean, materials is everything.
07:29And when you start to realize the type of material that we use for interior, you know, outfitting and decorations and furniture,
07:37you would be kind of shocked how much toxicity there is, how polluting those materials are.
07:46We have to take those things into consideration.
07:49There are so many incredible materials that are being developed right now as replacement to the materials that we're currently using.
07:59Biological materials that are grown, such as mycelium, which is very, very, very exciting.
08:07Can you describe, you know, so then we understand even a little bit further, the bioplanning concept, you know,
08:14and how a scalable urban development typology can support all its inhabitants while fostering healthy, sustainable and regenerative ecosystems?
08:25There's also something quite important about using, for as much as possible, local material.
08:33What are the type of natural conditions that we need to respect?
08:37They're different in different places.
08:39Let's take into consideration that we are working on a piece of land that is currently a forest and it's now zoned for a high density urban area.
08:50And what we would do before, we would basically clear the forest, right?
08:55Clear the forest, pour the foundation, create a certain infrastructure.
09:00Then the buildings are going to come and then maybe we're going to bring a few more trees back.
09:05So we basically said, well, what happens if the communities are around those various specific biomass that we want to preserve?
09:14And then we kind of looked at the drawing and said, well, that kind of looks like cellular logic.
09:19Like under the microscope, you see those types of shapes.
09:23What does that actually mean?
09:24It means that we're not just designing with nature.
09:27We're actually designing like nature.
09:30In architecture, we like to say that, you know, we shape buildings and then building shapes us.
09:35If you are constantly in a cubicle with a fluorescent light, with no windows, you behave a certain way.
09:44Then if you have like an amazing corner office with, you know, trees outside and, you know, daylight.
09:52And of course, there's so many studies already that shows that if you have one tree in front of your house, the value of your real estate is approximately 9% higher.
10:01There's already studies that shows that when you're living with a close proximity to nature, your immune system is better.
10:09Your productivity is better.
10:12We're also creating environments that can meet at the center where cars are not present because cars are moving around the cells.
10:23I can't wait to get to the point where we can measure those things in real communities and say people are collaborating more.
10:31People are trusting each other more.
10:33There is more equality.
10:35There is more, you know, inclusivity.
10:37Because just like a round table discussion is round because, you know, it gives equal opportunity to everybody around, you know, a circular community can create the same thing.
10:52Really, nature is the best architect.
10:55I mean, four and a half billion years of evolution that have so much to show us, have so much to teach us in terms of ecosystem designs and incorporation of living things in our environment and in our process.
11:09In all of our projects, both on Studio Drawer and Supernature Labs, this idea of integrating the experience within the nature is quite central for us.
11:25Rick Frelizzi is the executive chairman of the International Well Building Institute and was the founding chair and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council.
11:46These two institutions develop, manage and administer the two most globally recognized and frequently used rating systems for green, healthy buildings, LEED and WELL.
12:02How do these programs help urban planners design cities and urban spaces that are more sustainable?
12:09The first wave of sustainability is planetary health, focusing on the planet and all the things we can do to reduce carbon and create a healthier, greener planet.
12:21The second wave of sustainability is the laser focus on human health and how those two things may never be separated, humans and the planet.
12:32Ultimately, we need both to be able to carry on a meaningful life for our children.
12:39The impact and how we perform is not limited to the walls that we live in inside our houses, but throughout the public spaces.
12:50Thinking now of LEED as a tool or WELL as a tool, thinking of it in the community scale, how we're going to have a future where neighborhoods are more walkable, where they encourage exercise,
13:09where local farmers markets and accessibility to organic foods is commonplace. It's not the outlier or some unique situation. It makes us human.
13:23What trends are you seeing in the planning for public spaces and urban settings in the desire to ensure these spaces are more sustainable and foster well-being?
13:35One of the things that I'm always entertained by is that we look in our communities and oftentimes we see more signs that say no dogs allowed than we do stop signs.
13:49We live in a world where a pet can actually be tremendous mental and emotional support for us.
13:55And our ability to experience our neighborhoods and our communities with our dog, with our friend, is a really important thing.
14:05When WELL Community Standard Pilot was developed, we heard from a tremendous amount of people.
14:13They wanted organic food access, farmers markets, entertainment venues.
14:19They wanted walkability and the ability to exercise even when they weren't thinking of exercising.
14:26That it was much more enjoyable to go out of your house or out of your apartment and walk to all of these elements than it was to get in your car and drive anywhere.
14:37It's a very exciting thing to see this transformation.
14:40And again, it comes back to basic human respect, helping people understand what is most important to make their lives meaningful and healthier and more vibrant.
14:55We've gone through a crisis that many people have never experienced something like this.
15:01And it's clear to me and I believe it with my heart that people have learned something that will stay with them forever.
15:10And it won't be just about wearing a mask or social distancing. It will be about how did you keep your family safe?
15:19What elements of health did you look at to continue to keep your family safe?
15:25Where did you invest your dollars going forward in your community?
15:29Those are the small lessons that we're learning right now.
15:32When we talk about promoting well-being and especially since the pandemic, I really believe there will be a three-pronged approach that will make the opportunity to achieve these goals possible.
15:47And certainly one is demand. Having customers demand this, residents, employees, students demand this.
15:54All of the opportunity for reclaiming our wellness must come from the people that feel that they have lost something to begin with.
16:05And I think the developers at the end of the day want to do this because we're creating a paradigm where they make money doing it.
16:13Envision, you open your front door, you walk out into a world that is now a well community.
16:18These wide sidewalks make it great for people that want to casually talk and walk and bikers or runners can be running on the same streets and there's no conflict as there is today.
16:31You might stop at your local farmer's market and pick up a piece of organic fruit that you're going to have for your 10 o'clock snack at your office.
16:40All of these things give you the ability to have this engaging, exciting connection to your neighborhood.
16:45It sounds almost like a dream but it's very real. And it's actually happening today. There are many places that are doing this today.
16:54And I think it's the kind of thing we all want in our future.
16:57In 2013, Vicky Meyer Ekström founded a company called Realy to upcycle used cotton and wool into premium materials that can be recycled again and again.
17:22With the backing of Kradat, the global leading manufacturer of design textiles, Vicky has her sights set on a goal, a completely waste-free industry.
17:34How do you use fashion items that have been thrown away as well as offcuts from Kradat and convert them into Realy's products?
17:45My company specifically works with textile waste streams. It's about upcycling waste textile into new valuable products.
17:57And in our case, the products are either hardboards, very dense composites or for tabletops, for example, a shelving system or front desk or panels or its acoustic membranes.
18:13Three friends formed a company saying we can actually utilize waste textiles into new valuable products.
18:22And the whole idea was to use simple mechanical processes. So basically what we do is we take the waste textile, we mill it down to small fibers like fiber strands.
18:35Then we blend it in a nonwoven process where we use no water, we use no dye. We actually use the textiles colors as it originally was.
18:47And then we can use that as an acoustic membrane or an acoustic felt or we actually compress the felt into a hardboard.
18:56It's a very simple three-step process. It's the milling, it's the nonwoven process and it's the compression.
19:06When we started out, Laurence, you know, we were three inventors that actually just saw a problem, the massive amount of textile waste that is out there in the world.
19:20We saw that problem, but we also identified that with a growing industry of fashion, with a growing industry of furniture and growing population in the world,
19:31people need commodities, people need clothes, they need tabletops, they need chairs, they need panels and so on.
19:41And we need to substitute some of the virgin materials that we work so excessively with today.
19:49We utilize so much. We need to bring in new materials that can substitute these materials.
19:56So when we started out, we saw, okay, we are three people that has the energy, we have the good idea, we need more muscles.
20:05And that was actually the reason why we reached out for Kvadrat, because Kvadrat has this history in Denmark.
20:12It's part of the Danish design legacy. It's always been around since the 50s, since the modernism, you know, it's a Scandinavian design.
20:20But Kvadrat is also a sustainable company because they create long lasting products.
20:27Everything they do have a very high quality, last forever.
20:32And that's, you know, paragraph one in sustainability, create stuff that lasts.
20:39In regards of urban planning, we need to plan for circularity, because circularity is also about systems that works.
20:47It's about being able to put your waste into a place where it actually can be grabbed by somebody else and brought into a new loop.
20:58So there's a lot of planning around logistics. You know, how do we do this with all the material streams that we're actually using?
21:07One of my points is that we cannot solemnly look at carbon emission.
21:13We also need to look at biodiversity. This is a very, very big agenda.
21:19And therefore, we need to substitute wooden material with other materials, because we cannot keep on cutting down forests.
21:28It's so important that we think smart. We use what we got. Do not use too much virgin material.
21:36Keep, you know, utilizing the waste fractions that we have. We have more than enough, but not if we keep on take, make and waste.
21:52As Dror Benchetrit from Supernature Labs put it, art plus functionality equals design.
22:00But what is any of this worth if it harms our natural ecosystems and people's health?
22:06With populations growing and cities becoming more dense, we must reimagine how infrastructure coexists with nature and create a symbiosis between the two.
22:18Sustainability and circularity are key to planning cities that support a healthy environment.
22:25Beyond that, we must also reinvent the materials we use and focus on creating lasting change from the inside out.
22:34I refuse to fall prey to traditional ideas based on how it's always been made.
22:41Progressive new solutions that benefit everyone in the most ways possible is what inspires me.
22:48That is the heart of a circular mindset.
22:51Until next time, I am Laurence Gare, designing a more circular future.