Perspectives September 25, 2025

Net Zero in Focus: A 2024-2025 Innovation Incubator Podcast Series

Our Innovation Incubator is a playground for bold ideas. Through micro-grants, the internal research program gives staff the time, funding, and freedom to pursue projects that stretch creativity, unlock new business opportunities, strengthen our design work, and expand the architecture and design industry’s knowledge base. With over 15 years and 300 projects, it has become a cornerstone of our commitment to innovation, producing research that tackles critical challenges in architecture, urbanism, equity, and sustainability.

This three-part podcast series followed an Innovation Incubator project from Fall 2024 to Spring 2025 that asked how design could help achieve a net-zero, resilient future. Each conversation explored sustainable design through staff-led research, uncovering ideas and strategies that could be applied to real-world projects. Net Zero in Focus was one of 11 projects selected for funding within the firm.

The podcast was hosted by Isha Mishra, Designer II in our Seattle studio, and Dr. Luis M. Barajas Saldaña, Sustainability Design Advisor III in our Houston studio. They featured voices at the forefront of this work: Heather Burpee, John Nelson, and Christopher Meek. The conversations explored everything from climate-responsive design and energy efficiency to the role of healthcare facilities in advancing green energy. Ultimately, the series was a testament to collaboration—how designers, policymakers, and communities can help build a resilient future, together.

Episode 1: Net Zero in Focus with Heather Burpee

Hosts Isha Mishra and Luis M. Barajas Saldaña sit down with Heather Burpee, Research Professor at the University of Washington’s Integrated Design Lab, to talk about energy as a building resource. Burpee, a leading voice in high-performance buildings and healthcare facilities, shares how rethinking systems design and smart load management can change the way energy flows within buildings. The conversation points to a future where circular energy flows and internal resource optimization redefine what resilience looks like in practice.

Episode 2: Net Zero in Focus with John Nelson

John Nelson, Senior Regenerative Design Advisor in our Bainbridge Island studio, discusses how climate literacy and awareness are shaping both culture and the built environment. He emphasizes passive strategies as the first step toward reducing energy demand, before renewables even come into play. Nelson also highlights the potential of buildings as energy storage systems, underscoring the importance of grid integration and cultural change in reaching true net zero.

Episode 3: Net Zero in Focus with Christopher Meek

In the final episode, Christopher Meek—Professor of Architecture at the University of Washington and Director of the Center for Integrated Design—talks about designing buildings that respond directly to climate and connect people with their surroundings. He stresses the value of proof-of-concept projects in convincing stakeholders of sustainable design’s benefits, as well as the lessons learned through post-occupancy evaluation. Meek closes with a reminder that collaboration among designers, policymakers, and communities is essential to building a more regenerative future.