“The world is not made of atoms, the world is made of stories”

Muriel Rukeyser

“Where do buildings come from?” is a question that comes with a story. Less often asked, “Where do buildings go?”. The evolving story human society tells itself in answer to those questions is worth unpacking thoughtfully. That’s what happens in this episode. Join Kristof as he shares a conversation with Greg Esparza on the power of storytelling and the connection between stories and the materiality of buildings. The power of storytelling is clear in the ability to connect people, foster empathy, and transmit knowledge and shape cultural values. The materiality of buildings is itself a response to storytelling.

Every building belies the presence of an underlying story about our relationship with nature. At every step of the design and construction process we make decisions. What are those decisions based on? Unfortunately the answer is not often evident and is likely tangled up in outdated ideas based on stories that no longer make sense. The importance of biogenic building materials as an emerging theme in the AEC is not just their materiality, it’s deeper. It is the story of us all coming to our senses - both literally and figuratively - our senses of sight (of course), sounds, smells, and textures - while also thinking about where buildings come from and where buildings go.

Ultimately the choices we make in how we deliver homes to ourselves impacts our felt sense of life altogether. Why not curate materials for our homes that actually make us feel good? Turns out when we do this we find that these same decisions support the AEC’s ultimate triple bottom line of healthy homes, healthy people, healthy planet.

Greg Eparza

Greg Esparza is a designer and builder with over a decade of experience in custom residential design and construction as a co-founder of Moontower Design Build in Austin, TX. In 2021, Greg immersed himself in designing and building a prototype project called Cross Cabin, a “plant-based” home made of hemp, cork, and cross-laminated timber for himself and his family in Austin. Inspired by this experience. Greg established Cross Cabin Build & Supply to represent and distribute healthy, high-performance, and low-carbon building materials in Texas. Greg has a passion for building with natural, plant-based materials rooted in the commitment of the AIA Architecture & Design Materials Pledge to support health at three scales–human, social, ecosystem–and to prioritize climate impact and circular economy considerations with all material specifications. The Cross Cabin has been featured on the Build Show Network, Dwell+, Passive House Accelerator, The Architect’s Newspaper, as well as the 2023 AIA Austin Homes Tour where the most frequent feedback on the home was “I love the smell!”.

Team

Hosted by Kristof Irwin

Edited by Nico Mignardi

Produced by M. Walker

The tension between aesthetics and performance in architecture is a critical and complex issue in contemporary design. Architects are increasingly and appropriately being tasked with designing buildings that are not only beautiful but also functional in terms of impacts on owners, occupants, resources, and planetary ecosystems. The contrasting view, one where architecture is principally form-making comes at its peril. As Juhani Pallasmaa cautions, following this path “The world becomes a hedonistic but meaningless visual journey”

Navigating the path between form and function is central to the role of architecture in our society. It is also the backdrop to the daily routine for our guest in this episode. Keith Simon FAIA is both an architect and an enclosure consultant, two roles that move him from one vantage point to the other continually.

As Keith says in this interview Architects could be leading many of the changes society needs now but are not. I think we should all look introspectively and ask “Am I prioritizing the right things?”. This episode is both a tribute to the importance of architecture and an appeal to prioritize the lived experience of homes and buildings over the hedonic sculpture on the cover of the glossy magazine. The themes touched on here will ripple out through the AEC for the rest of our careers. It’s both important and captivating to reflect on them now. Enjoy!

Keith Simon

An expert in building enclosure technology, Keith Simon addresses the critical and often unmet need for ensuring and improving building performance, resilience, and durability by guiding design teams, educating future architects, and facilitating interdisciplinary exchange. Keith is the Vice President of Design Phase Services at Salas O'Brien. He is a Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC), Legacy LEED AP, Building Enclosure Commissioning Provider (BECxP), and Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) with over 20 years’ experience in architectural design and building enclosure consultation. His experience includes peer review, design assistance, durability analysis, construction administration, testing, and forensics of building envelope issues. Keith was the founder of the AIA Austin Building Enclosure Council (BEC: Austin) and currently serves as chair for BEC: Austin and board member for the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) Alliance Austin Chapter. He also serves as the Vice Chair for the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) Building Enclosure Technology and Environment Council (BETEC) executive committee. Keith has been adjunct faculty at the University of Texas School of Architecture since 2011 teaching Environmental Controls, Building Science, Detailing, and Design Studio.

Team

Hosted by Kristof Irwin

Edited by Nico Mignardi

Produced by M. Walker