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Lindsay Baker is the CEO of the International Living Future Institute and as the Chief Strategist, she heads their mission for transformation towards a better world. We are so lucky to sit down with Lindsay today for an in-depth conversation about living buildings, her passion for structures and shelter, and what the built environment could look like in the future. 

With a steadfast focus on transforming the building sector, Lindsay has managed to evolve through her career, refining her philosophy and practice as she has learned lessons about the most effective avenues to explore. As a researcher and climate movement leader dedicated to ecologically restorative action, Lindsay has worked with non-profits and in the private sector and is currently an advisor and board member at a number of tech startups.

In our chat, we get to hear about what she loves about the world of building, what she means by biophilic design, the goals of community and healing, and why stories and imagination play such a big role in achieving these goals. 

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Key Points From This Episode:

• Lindsay's attraction to building and the focus she has maintained on the environment. [0:01:58]

• A little about the Living Building Challenge and the International Living Future Institute. [0:05:45]

• Comments on broad cultural shifts towards catalyzing change. [0:12:29]

• Issues with oil and gas and the lack of information about home usage. [0:17:44]

• Lindsay's perspective and touch-points for retrofitting and renovating existing structures. [0:22:03]

• How to get involved in and learn more about International Living Future Institute. [0:25:36]

• Observations from Lindsay around what leads to actual progressive action and change. [0:29:29]

• Frontline building and creating alignment in different organizations. [0:32:40]

• The challenges of rethinking our broken model for real estate, shelter, and architecture. [0:35:02]

• Our need for new stories and envisioning the healthier future we actually want. [0:37:01]

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Tweetables:

“I am really passionate about shelter, and I love working with people who are engaged in this really critical piece of civilization.” — @lindsaytherobot [0:02:55]

“At the centre of it, what we do is to ask ourselves the question, 'What does good look like?'” — @lindsaytherobot [0:08:17]

“Walking into a living building should feel like walking into a forest.” — @lindsaytherobot [0:10:09]

“A lot of my work is focused on what happens after these buildings open and how do we steward them to be the best versions of themselves, because buildings are alive, too.” — @lindsaytherobot [0:11:28]

“I think cultural change works outside the bounds of the market, which is part of what excites me.” — @lindsaytherobot [0:14:41]

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Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Lindsay Baker on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsayabaker1/

Lindsay Baker on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lindsaytherobot

International Living Future Institute: https://living-future.org/

Living Future 23: https://www.livingfutureconference.org/event/28710dad-dc14-4b04-940c-6b6965cdb154

US Green Building Council: https://www.usgbc.org/

WeWork: https://www.wework.com/

Comfy: https://comfyapp.com/

Rocky Mountain Institute: https://rmi.org/

Ray Anderson: https://www.raycandersonfoundation.org/biography

Interface: https://www.interface.com/

Cradle to Cradle: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780865475878

William McDonough: https://mcdonough.com/

Oberlin College: https://www.oberlin.edu/

Winston Churchill: https://www.gov.uk/government/history/past-prime-ministers/winston-churchill

Stewart Brand: https://longnow.org/people/sb2/

This Is an Uprising: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781568585703

BlocPower: https://www.blocpower.io/

Elevate Midwest: https://www.elevatenp.org/

Design the Future Podcast: https://www.designthefuturepodcast.com/

Donut Economics: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781603587969

Kate Raworth: https://www.kateraworth.com/

East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative: https://ebprec.org/

Sustainable Economies Law Center Radical Real Estate Learning Group: https://www.theselc.org/radical_real_estate_law_school

Erin Axelrod on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinaxelrod

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Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/