After a year of Covid-19, environmental crises, and calls for social justice, ‘Healthy Materials’ could not be more important. We have seen the air polluted with carbon from the extraction of raw materials. We have seen manufacturing plants release toxic by-products into the air and water, compromising neighborhoods predominantly of color. We have seen contagions spread through our buildings, ill-equipped to suppress such viruses and bacteria. We have seen fires burn toxicity into our air, poisoning our firefighters and neighbors. Now is the time to reimagine the products of our built environment.

Local AIA COTE, CLF, and USGBC chapters in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, present the Healthy Materials Series, a 6-part program starting in May 2021 and continuing through August 2021. This series explores new and old materials while discussing methods for analyzing material health as it relates to our society, environment, and equity. Each 90-minute episode will showcase research projects and case studies using healthy materials presented by our selected panelists. Following the presentations, we will discuss the obstacles and opportunities to implement these materials into our design process.

Keynote + Series Introduction
Monday, May 24th, 2021, at 5pm PST

In this introductory episode, the speakers will discuss a holistic approach to choosing healthy materials: The Keynote, Malo Hutson sets the scene, describing material production’s broad impacts and pointing out the communities left out of the conversation. Ruchi Shah and Jack Dinning join the conversation to begin a deep dive into a new framework for selecting healthy materials.

Keynote Address:
“The Forgotten Impacts of Material Choice” Malo Hutson, Columbia University

Panelists:
Jack Dinning, Parsons Healthy Materials Lab
Ruchi Shah, Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation

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