For the latest episode of the Design the Future podcast, Lindsay Baker and I spoke with two amazing women: Kristy Walson and Sarah Gudeman of BranchPattern. Kristy is a mechanical engineer and she is a Principal and Building Science Practice Lead (based in Orlando, Florida). Sarah is a Principal and Engineering Practice Lead (based in Omaha, Nebraska).
It was a fun moment to catch them, soon after #Greenbuild. This was a wide-ranging conversation that included their their thoughts about the power of collaboration, their work at BranchPattern, the imperatives that the movement and industry are facing in 2025, and how partnerships and friends are important in this work.
"We have an obligation to do better once we know better," Sarah says. "As designers and engineers, we have a lot of power to shift the norms -- what is high performance, what is human centered, what is low carbon -- and elevate that baseline, instead of treating those things as an upgrade."
Kristy says she is empowered by the community. "I wouldn't be here doing this work if I didn't have that North Star of feeling like I'm part of a movement," she says. "Sustainability is, in some ways, a technical craft, but being part of the movement has enabled me to advocate for equity, policy, systemic change, and for breaking and remaking the systems that don't work for all of us."
Listen at https://www.designthefuturepodcast.com/episodes/walson-gudeman or on your favorite podcast platform.
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Kira Gould Hon. AIA
Kira Gould CONNECT
Mission Hills KS
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