Healthy Materials Series: Keynote + Series Introduction

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.