​Sarah Billington: How we shape our buildings — and how they shape us

Sarah Billington began her career in civil engineering studying concrete, a remarkable material that has literally shaped the world as we know it.

Concrete is one of the most-consumed materials on Earth — second only to water, but this one material alone is also responsible for 6 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere.

That cold realization and a dispiriting morning meeting spent in a bunkerlike concrete-walled room led Billington to alter her research focus. She now studies how we can construct buildings designed to enhance human health and well-being. As a part of their research for the Stanford Catalyst for Collaborative Solutions, Billington and James Landay are co-leading efforts to better understand how buildings could be central contributors to our sense of fulfillment in life. From artistic, behavior-nudging digital displays to spaces that inspire a sense of belonging and creativity, tune in as host Russ Altman and Sarah Billington discuss a new and more holistic approach to building design.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

Connect With Us:

Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website

Connect with Russ >>> Threads or Twitter/X

Connect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X