Disrupt magazine
Disrupt magazine interviews our founder, Dr. Melissa Sterry on working at the edge of innovation in the built environment and the need for industry to take a radically more pro-active approach to the problem of living with wildfire…
Interview extract:
“The reductionist approach prevalent since the Industrial Revolution, which has replaced localised problem-solving with mass-market solutions - is a significant problem…
Highlighting the oversimplification of nature within architectural practices, she observes that many people design with nature through simplistic concepts such as the notion that it’s ‘collaborative’ not ‘competitive’ and that ‘green’ means ‘sustainable’ by default. But she warns that nature is more complicated than that, using the predator-prey dynamics in the wild to illustrate some of the harsher realities of natural ecosystems…
In her research, Melissa has focused on areas prone to natural disasters, such as California's wildfire-prone regions. These regions often present more immediate opportunities for implementing innovative building solutions due to their urgent needs. "You want to build the business case first," she advises, reflecting her approach of conducting thorough research before seeking investment or broader implementation. This strategy ensures that innovations are viable in the long run because if you don’t, you can literally be “playing with fire”, among other potentially deadly elements.”
Read the full article here.