Alex Co: Where do you live and what do you do?

Pauline Souza: I live in Oakland. I am a partner and the director of sustainability at WRNS Studio, an architectural/planning firm with offices in San Francisco, New York, Hawaii and Seattle, with a diverse portfolio of  sustainable design. Much of my career has been focused on creating healthy, resource-efficient spaces that inspire the next generation. I have been fortunate to work as a USGBC’s Green Schools Co-Chair, working to advocate for the health and vitality of our communities. As a Sustainability Consultant for the Hawaii Department of Education, I push for healthy approaches to our schools. I am grateful to all the expertise and talent in the community that has made this possible, as it is always a community effort to advocate for beauty and sustainability in our built environments and in our communities.

AC: What are you most excited about for this year’s Living Product Expo?

PS: I’m excited to be part of the broader conversation to bring healthy materials into our buildings, and am eager to learn what other firms are doing to push for healthy, beautiful spaces. We’re all in this together and hearing firsthand how others are pushing for transparency and community health is key to sustaining this “healthy products for all” movement.

AC: In your own words, can you give us a taste of the ideas you’re going to bring to the Expo about healthy buildings and products?

PS: We’re presenting our recently completed Sonoma Academy’s Janet Durgin Guild & Commons project alongside Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s Waldorf School of Pittsburgh — showcasing that healthy material selection and sustainable practices can be employed in any project, regardless of size, scope, or location. Presenters include Patrica Culley and Chris Klehm for Waldorf, and myself and Courtney Lorenz for Sonoma Academy.

Although we’re gaining better understanding of what makes-up our typical building materials, we aren’t always clear about what we are building with. Because of this, we’re going to walk attendees through our journeys in pursuing the LBC’s Material Petal, illustrating how each project pushed for transparency, sustainable products and systems, and avoided harmful chemicals. We will show a variety of tools and approaches, and share our experiences in an effort to keep up the momentum toward a healthier material pool of products.

AC: In your opinion, what needs to happen to move designers and the materials industry toward healthier products?

PS: Changing how we select materials and engage owners and the building industry is essential to community health. Changing minds isn’t easy. Changing habits is even harder. However, through our collective community and through sharing our journey and lessons learned along the way, we can change habits and empower individuals to help us select, make, and create with healthier materials. Knowledge sharing and pushing our own industries to adopt healthier products and materials will push this movement forward.

AC: If you’ve been to the Living Product Expo before, what’s your favorite thing about the conference?

PS: The collaborative spirit of the conference and the willingness of the participants to share their triumphs and let downs with their projects.

AC: What’s the most exciting thing that has happened to you over the past couple of years?

PS: Over the past few years, I’ve been fortunate to work on two statewide green initiatives which reenergized my commitment to this movement. I worked with California’s Division of the State Architect’s 7x7x7 initiative to help reduce energy and water usage for 10,000 existing K-12 public schools and am working with the Hawaii State Department of Education to green all 256 existing campuses. Collaborating on projects of this scale has informed decisions on other client projects, allowing WRNS to make an impact across sectors. It’s invigorating to work in tandem with the industry, to fine tune key learnings and strategies, and to apply them to subsequent projects.

The Living Product Expo is this September 11 – 13, 2018, in Pittsburgh. To learn more about the Expo, Pauline’s session, and more, visit our website here: productexpo.living-future.org

 

Written By

Alex Co

Alex splits his time between supporting the Living Product Challenge and coordinating the Pittsburgh Living Product Hub, working with manufacturers to envision and create products that give back more than they take, in the Pittsburgh region and beyond.