1.22 Green Vision with MAAM Architects

"We need to radically reconsider what home means, and what’s beautiful and healthy."  - Mariam Mojdehi MAAM, founded by Meredith McDaniel and Mariam Mojdehi, is a collaborative design studio specializing in architecture and interior design. They believe good design is rooted in sustainability and resilience. Taking a pragmatic approach, they look for opportunities to incorporate sustainability into all their work, which might be in systems that you cannot see, insulation, water treatment, etc. as well as finishes.  Their work aspires to not only "be less bad" but to actually improve our environment. The idea of  “less bad” is an approach to materials and manufacturing that considers more cyclical view as oppose to linear of extraction, manufacture, use, and disposal, which reframes our mindset to look for opportunities to use the waste of one system that would become fuel to another. “Carbon sequestering materials” removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores as either liquid or solid.  While there are traditional building materials and techniques that help to sequester carbons, there are many new innovations and technologies: ex. hempcrete, strawbale, cellulose,  Blue Planet concrete, CarbonCure.Building industry is doing a good job of improving their products.  It is our responsibility as architects to specify products.  Once we help them understand what’s at stake for individuals, especially from the health perspective and it is for their own good and for their subs, everybody starts to get more invested and it becomes a win-win situation.