
Better Buildings For Humans
by BBFH is hosted by Joe Menchefski and powered by Advanced Glazings, Ltd.
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From 15 epsHost
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Recent episodes
Most Restaurants Are Designed Backwards — The Hidden Operational Mistakes Hurting Staff, Customers & Profits – Episode 141 with Ryan Mikita
Jun 10, 2026
39m 40s
Retail Is Broken, Employees Are Miserable & Your Store Design Might Be Driving Customers Away — How Better Buildings Can Fix the Experience Crisis – Episode 140 with Brian Bucher
Jun 3, 2026
34m 42s
Designing Hospitals That Actually Heal: What Architects Get Wrong About Healthcare - Episode 139 with Emily McGee
May 27, 2026
38m 25s
Dark Hallways, Toxic Materials & Dead Offices — Why Most Buildings Still Ignore Human Health (and How Designers Can Fix It) – Episode 138 with Molly Polehna
May 20, 2026
37m 47s
Big Box, Bigger Problems – Why Retail Design Is Failing Humans (and the Radical Rethink Canadian Tire Is Betting On) – Episode 137 with Sarah Heppinstall
May 13, 2026
29m 40s
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| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/10/26 | ![]() Most Restaurants Are Designed Backwards — The Hidden Operational Mistakes Hurting Staff, Customers & Profits – Episode 141 with Ryan Mikita✨ | foodservice designrestaurant operations+4 | Ryan Mikita | Ricca Design Studios | Pittsburgh | foodservice designrestaurant operations+5 | — | 39m 40s | |
| 6/3/26 | ![]() Retail Is Broken, Employees Are Miserable & Your Store Design Might Be Driving Customers Away — How Better Buildings Can Fix the Experience Crisis – Episode 140 with Brian Bucher✨ | retail designcustomer experience+4 | Brian Bucher | WD Partners | — | retaildesign+5 | — | 34m 42s | |
| 5/27/26 | ![]() Designing Hospitals That Actually Heal: What Architects Get Wrong About Healthcare - Episode 139 with Emily McGee✨ | healthcare designpublic health+5 | Emily McGee | Meadows & OhlyBloomberg American Health Initiative+1 | — | healthcare architecturedesign decisions+6 | — | 38m 25s | |
| 5/20/26 | ![]() Dark Hallways, Toxic Materials & Dead Offices — Why Most Buildings Still Ignore Human Health (and How Designers Can Fix It) – Episode 138 with Molly Polehna✨ | interior designhuman health+4 | Molly Polehna | Little Diversified Architectural Consulting | Orlando, Florida | interior designhuman health+5 | — | 37m 47s | |
| 5/13/26 | ![]() Big Box, Bigger Problems – Why Retail Design Is Failing Humans (and the Radical Rethink Canadian Tire Is Betting On) – Episode 137 with Sarah Heppinstall✨ | retail designhuman-centered design+5 | Sarah Heppinstall | Canadian TireAdvanced Glazings, Ltd. | UKCanada | retaildesign+6 | — | 29m 40s | |
| 5/6/26 | ![]() Building Without Walls – Why Architecture’s Obsession with Control Is Killing Creativity (and How Nature Holds the Answer) - Episode 136 with Anne Romme✨ | architecturecreativity+4 | Anne Romme | Royal Danish AcademyDanish Institute in Athens+4 | — | architecturecreativity+6 | — | 39m 48s | |
| 4/29/26 | ![]() Designing in the Dark – Why Modern Buildings Are Failing Our Biology (and What Norway Gets Right) - Episode 135 with Knut Knut Hjeltnes✨ | human-centered designarchitecture+4 | Knut Hjeltnes | Solera® aerogel glazingOslo School of Architecture | Norway | architecturedesign+5 | — | 45m 45s | |
| 4/22/26 | ![]() Building Hope from Garbage – Why the Future of Sustainable Design Might Look Nothing Like You Expect - Episode 134 with Matthew Panaitz✨ | sustainable designsocial impact+4 | Matthew Panaitz | Long Way Home | GuatemalaSan Juan Comalapa | sustainable designrecycled materials+4 | — | 32m 42s | |
| 4/15/26 | ![]() Cooling the Concrete Jungle – Rethinking Urban Heat and Human Comfort Through Radiant Design - Episode 133 with Dorit Aviv & Eric Teitelbaum✨ | urban heatradiant design+4 | Dorit AvivEric Teitelbaum | University of PennsylvaniaAIL Research | — | urban heat islandmembrane-assisted radiant cooling+3 | — | 46m 35s | |
| 4/8/26 | ![]() Salutogenic Design and the Future of Prisons – Episode 132 with Helena Pombares✨ | prison designsalutogenic design+3 | Helena Pombares | University of West London | — | prison architecturenatural light+3 | — | 34m 35s | |
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| 4/1/26 | ![]() The Empty City Lie: Why We Keep Building Out While Our Best Land Sits Wasted – Episode 131 with Chelsey Jersak✨ | infill developmenturban planning+5 | Chelsey Jersak | SituateWello Living | Alberta | infill developmenturban planning+7 | — | 29m 07s | |
| 3/25/26 | ![]() The Sustainability Illusion: Why “Green Design” Is Failing People—and What Actually Works – Ep 130 with Jenny Heim✨ | sustainabilitygreen design+5 | Jenny Heim | McMillan Pazdan SmithAdvanced Glazings, Ltd. | — | sustainabilitydesign+5 | — | 30m 37s | |
| 3/18/26 | ![]() The Story Lie: Why “Technical Excellence” Is Killing Trust—and What Actually Makes People Believe – Ep 129 with Robert Bean✨ | storytellingdesign+4 | Robert Bean | Impact Creative StudioIMPACT | — | storytellingdesign+6 | — | 38m 43s | |
| 3/11/26 | ![]() Hidden in Plain Sight: Why Your “Safe” Isn’t Safe – And the Rise of the Secret Room – Ep 128 with Steve Humble✨ | hidden passagewayssecurity solutions+4 | Steve Humble | Creative Home EngineeringHoneywell+1 | Brigham Young University | securitysecret doors+4 | — | 42m 29s | |
| 9/24/25 | ![]() The Most Sustainable Building Is Already Built: Why Architects Still Chase New – Ep 105 with Tommaso Bitossi | This week on Better Buildings for Humans, Joe Menchefski sits down with Tommaso Bitossi, partner at Transsolar and a passionate advocate for climate-responsive design. From Florence to New York City, Tommaso shares his unconventional path from civil engineering to climate engineering, blending a love of math, physics, and frugality with a deep respect for culture and place. Together, they dive into why renovation is cooler than you think, how building envelopes shape human comfort, and why “operable windows” might be the most underrated innovation in architecture. You’ll hear about cutting-edge technologies making electrification easier, the power of post-occupancy studies, and why resilience is the new luxury. Plus, Tommaso shares insights from the Transsolar World Academy and their ambitious carbon-neutral journey. If you care about buildings that do more with less, this episode is for you.More About Tommaso BitossiTommaso focuses on two aspects of climate responsive design: architecture and climate engineering based on his professional value of ‘sufficiency before efficiency‘. His unique perspective on the integrated design process together with his understanding of both the architectural and the engineering approaches facilitate the communication of complex strategies to the design team. Tommaso deeply believes that a decision-making process based on a solid engineered and out-of-the-box thinking leads to resource conscious solutions and high quality built environments. It is important to him to keep environmental impacts such as CO2 emissions as low as possible in all projects. He is committed to education with the goal of helping the next generation rethink how to combat climate change and conserve the planet's limited resources.CONTACT:https://www.linkedin.com/in/architettobitossi/ https://transsolar.com/team/tommaso-bitossiwww.transsolar.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/9063475/admin/dashboard/https://www.instagram.com/transsolar_klimaengineering/?hl=en Where To Find Us:https://bbfhpod.advancedglazings.com/www.advancedglazings.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/better-buildings-for-humans-podcastwww.linkedin.com/in/advanced-glazings-ltd-848b4625https://twitter.com/bbfhpodhttps://twitter.com/Solera_Daylighthttps://www.instagram.com/bbfhpod/https://www.instagram.com/advancedglazingsltdhttps://www.facebook.com/AdvancedGlazingsltd | — | ||||||
| 9/10/25 | ![]() We Built Sick Buildings: How AI and Automation Might Just Save Us – Ep 103 with Renée Jacobs | This week on Better Buildings for Humans, Joe Menchefski sits down with Renée Jacobs, healthcare sustainability powerhouse and leader at DisTech and Atrius, for a revealing conversation on how indoor air quality (IAQ) and building automation systems are shaping the future of human-centered design. From managing hospitals to spearheading cutting-edge AI integration, Renée brings a deep well of knowledge—and a few sharp truths. They explore why proper humidification might be the most overlooked health intervention, how AI and heat mapping could one day save lives in emergency evacuations, and what really changed in building science post-COVID. Plus, Renée challenges architects and engineers to think beyond design—to future-ready buildings that respond to people, not just spreadsheets. This episode is a wake-up call for anyone still thinking IAQ is just about filters.More About Renée JacobsRenée Jacobs is a Certified Healthcare Facility Manager, Certified Healthcare Constructor and Fellow ASHE with more than 30 years and over $1 billion of experience in construction project management, healthcare facilities management and technical sales and management. Ms. Jacobs is the Business Development Manager – Healthcare for Distech Controls.Formerly as Vice President of Facilities and Construction at Saint Luke’s Health System, Ms. Jacobs had oversight of all areas of design, construction, renovation, master planning, and plant operations and maintenance for 11 Kansas City area hospitals. Jacobs led the New Saint Luke’s $330 million capital construction project, successfully completing a portion of the project as the first integrated project delivery (IPD) project for the health system.Ms. Jacobs is an active member of ASHE, serving as faculty, professional reputation committee chair and several task forces. She is active in the local ASHE chapter, the Kansas City Area Healthcare Engineers (KCAHE) and has served on the board as president, past-president and secretary. Additionally, Ms. Jacobs is a founding board member of LEAN KC, a chapter of the Lean Construction Institute, is a member of the University of Nebraska Construction Industry Advisory Committee and the Overland Park Rotary Club.CONTACT:https://www.linkedin.com/in/renee-r-jacobs/ Where To Find Us:https://bbfhpod.advancedglazings.com/www.advancedglazings.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/better-buildings-for-humans-podcastwww.linkedin.com/in/advanced-glazings-ltd-848b4625https://twitter.com/bbfhpodhttps://twitter.com/Solera_Daylighthttps://www.instagram.com/bbfhpod/https://www.instagram.com/advancedglazingsltdhttps://www.facebook.com/AdvancedGlazingsltd | — | ||||||
| 6/11/25 | ![]() Can Rice Hulls Replace Concrete and Save The Planet? – Ep 90 with Bryan Eagle | In this episode of Better Buildings for Humans, host Joe Menchefski sits down with Bryan Eagle, founder of Glanris, to explore a groundbreaking innovation: carbon-neutral concrete made from rice hulls. Bryan shares how his team transforms agricultural waste into a pozzolanic biochar that can replace Portland cement—dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of concrete. They discuss challenges in scaling this technology, how regulations are driving adoption, and where sustainable building materials might gain the most traction globally. Bryan also highlights the circular potential of decentralized kilns that generate not just materials, but power and carbon credits. An inspiring look at how tech, agriculture, and architecture intersect to build a greener future.More About Bryan Eagle: Bryan is a serial entrepreneurial team member with multiple successful exits. He co-founded Glanris in 2019 to help address climate change through the development of industrial scale biochar production. Bryan lead the development of Glanris' biochar application development, including the patents on rice hull biochar in water filtration and work done in biochar in cement, inoculated soil amendments, and tire productions. With BET, he helped design their rice hull kiln. Prior to Glanris, Bryan ran his own consulting/investment company, Memphis Ventures. His primary focus was helping telecom/IoT companies, aviation related companies and supporting companies in the non-profit incubator/foundation he created in 1999, Emerge Memphis. His experience with IoT systems began when he founded Skywire in 1993 to develop remote monitoring systems. Skywire designed, developed and patented Coca-Cola’s first intelligent vending platform that is still in use today on millions of machines worldwide. Skywire also designed systems for PepsiCo, FedEx and Total Gas among others. He sold Skywire to Marconi Online Systems in 1998. After Skywire his next start-up was Media4 which he helped sell to EchoStar in 1999. Prior to Skywire, Eagle was a member of the executive management team of Cylix Communications Corporation, a specialized provider of satellite and fiber managed data networks. Eagle was part of the team that led the management buyout of Cylix from GE. After a successful turnaround of the business, Cylix was sold to France Telecom in 1993. Prior to Cylix, Bryan was part of the launch of the Discovery Channel and one of the original shareholders. Eagle holds a BA from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Columbia University. He also serves on several corporate, educational and community Boards of Directors.CONTACT:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanmeagleiii/ https://www.glanris.com/ Where To Find Us:https://bbfhpod.advancedglazings.com/www.advancedglazings.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/better-buildings-for-humans-podcastwww.linkedin.com/in/advanced-glazings-ltd-848b4625https://twitter.com/bbfhpodhttps://twitter.com/Solera_Daylighthttps://www.instagram.com/bbfhpod/https://www.instagram.com/advancedglazingsltdhttps://www.facebook.com/AdvancedGlazingsltd | — | ||||||
| 10/20/23 | ![]() The Importance of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms - Russell Foster - Episode 10 | In this deep dive into the science of sleep, circadian rhythms and their impact on human health, Joe speaks with Dr. Russell Foster, Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. Listen to learn about the need to bring natural light into buildings to reset our internal clock and maintain the integrity and alignment of our circadian system. The conversation takes an extraordinary journey into Russell’s two main areas of research: How is environmental light detected and processed for the regulation of circadian rhythms? How are circadian rhythms generated and what happens when these systems break down in disease and under normal environmental conditions? Don’t miss this amazing episode on a critical topic that affects all of us, explained by the leading expert in the field. Thanks for joining us! | — | ||||||
| 10/14/23 | ![]() An Entrepreneur's Guide to Healthy Buildings - Chuck Morrison - Episode 9 | This episode is as much a business lesson in entrepreneurialism as it is a conversation about healthy buildings. Chuck Morrison is the Founder and CEO of INVZBL. A serial entrepreneur, Chuck’s latest venture provides disinfecting/sanitizing equipment and services for laptops and tablets – but in the wake of COVID 19, he has created systems to purify indoor air. INVZBL focuses primarily on schools with the objective of providing clean air for kids so as to minimize the transmittance of disease and to provide a comfortable learning environment. Their simple, intuitive monitoring systems will make air quality a priority for everyone. | — | ||||||
| 10/14/23 | ![]() The Healthier Buildings of the Future with Blaine Brownell - Episode 8 | In our most forward-looking episode yet, we explore the new materials and techniques that will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, reduce our dependence on materials that end up in landfills, and discover what will allow us to create healthier buildings for occupants with guest Blaine Brownell, an architect and the Director of the David R. Ravin School of Architecture at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte. Blaine studies emerging materials and sustainable building technologies. He also shares his well-informed opinions on the lack of design in “green design." | — | ||||||
| 10/14/23 | ![]() A Miracle Material and What Building Owners are Thinking - James Satterwhite & Janelle Penny - Episode 7 | In this special two-guest episode, the CEO of Advanced Glazings, James Satterwhite talks about how the miracle material, aerogel, has allowed translucent glazings to achieve insulation levels that are comparable to opaque walls. This is vitally important because architects can continue to create large glass facades that bring in lots of natural light, provide those critical views to building occupants, and still meet building energy codes. Then, Joe interviews Janelle Penny, the Editor-in-Chief of Buildings Magazine. Janelle shares the steps that building owners are taking to entice their workers to get back to the office post COVID-19. There is also an important discussion about how owners view modern building codes and how these codes could lead architects to design buildings differently. | — | ||||||
| 10/14/23 | ![]() How Green Globes Certification Promotes Sustainability and Wellness - Vicki Worden - Episode 6 | In this episode, Joe interviews Vicki Worden, CEO of The Green Building Initiative, providers of the Green Globes Building Certification program. Vicki explains GBI's mission, the objectives of Green Globes Certification, and the ways in which Green Globes is different. This conversation is valuable for anyone seeking to better understand the valuable features of this certification program, that has seen widespread adoption for its sustainable design and occupant health and wellness standards for the multi-family building sector. Learn how GBI stays connected with the latest research in building science, the importance of indoor environment quality, and the occasional trade offs between energy efficiency and occupant wellness. | — | ||||||
| 10/14/23 | ![]() Busting Myths About Visual and Thermal Comfort - Alstan Jakubiec - Episode 5 | This conversation challenges many common myths. Do you know the best way to predict glare? Do you understand non-image forming light? Do you understand how to design to account for circadian rhythms? What about the best way to counter the urban heat island effect? Alstan Jakubiec, an Assistant Professor in both the Faculty of Design and the School of Environment at the University of Toronto, answers these questions and more. Alstan studies visual and thermal human comfort, environmental performance simulation, and the interaction between the two. Join us for this insightful conversation. | — | ||||||
| 9/1/23 | ![]() Leading Edge Innovations in Occupant Comfort - Stefano Schiavon - Episode 3 | Stefano Schiavon is a world leading expert on building occupant comfort. His research is showing that so much of our conventional wisdom and current practices are just plain wrong. Joe talks with Stefano about methodologies for discovering which factors most affect comfort. Stefano also makes the case for measuring and controlling comfort factors to suit individual needs. | — | ||||||
| 9/1/23 | ![]() Consolidating Daylight, Energy Modeling and other Advancements in Daylighting Research - David Geisler-Moroder - Episode 2 | In this episode, Joe speaks with Dr. David Geisler-Moroder from University of Innsbruck about advancements in research in the field of daylighting and energy modeling and what software tools are available to architects and researchers. | — | ||||||
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