Is it possible to create luxury that doesn't cost the Earth - literally?
In this episode, we walk through a home that does exactly that - it’s designed in harmony with the jungle.
We dive into the architecture of calm: cross-ventilation, thermal mass, native materials, and a wastewater system inspired by mangroves.
But more than that, this is a tour of how deep care shows up in the tiniest details - because every choice, down to the shape of a window, has a reason to be.
If you’d like to hear more from our conversation go listen to Part 1 of this interview:
You’ll learn how to cool a home without AC, how to reuse wastewater with low-tech systems, what’s gone wrong in Tulum’s rapid development and what it can teach us about building more consciously anywhere in the world
To explore more about Armando Uribe and his work, you can follow him on Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/armando-uribe-80341354/ and on Instagram www.instagram.com/pura_homes/ or visit his website: www.weave.mx
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina @ladinaschoepf
Website: buildinggreenshow.com
Produced by: marketyourarchitecture.com
You know how some people build just houses - and others build entire worlds?
My guest today, Armando Uribe, is the kind of person who looked at the real estate game, the flashy renders, the numbers, the concrete - and said, this makes no sense. So he left it all behind, studied sustainable design in Australia, wandered through the world, and eventually landed here - in the jungle of Tulum - to completely reimagine what it means to build a home.
We’re sitting in the garden of one of those homes, deep in nature, at 35° heat, surrounded by mosquitoes - and yet, it somehow feels peaceful.
We talk about what went wrong in Tulum’s rapid development, how he’s protecting Mexico’s ancient underground rivers with low-tech water systems, and why he believes architecture should feel more like a symphony than a spreadsheet.
This episode is about care: for people, a place, and the planet.
To explore more about Armando Uribe and his work, you can follow him on Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/armando-uribe-80341354/ and on Instagram www.instagram.com/pura_homes/ or visit his website: www.weave.mx
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina @ladinaschoepf
Website: buildinggreenshow.com
Produced by: marketyourarchitecture.com
Can small architecture firms thrive without burning out?
Helen Billson spent 15 years at OMA before shifting her focus to helping smaller studios build stronger businesses. From landing projects without a big portfolio to staying profitable without overworking, she shares the mindset shifts that help firms grow with clarity and purpose.
Discover the power of listening, trust-building, and choosing the right work and why the real challenge isn’t finding projects, but learning when to say no.
To explore more about Helen Billson and her work, you can follow her on Linkedin.
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina @ladinaschoepf
Website: buildinggreenshow.com
Produced by: marketyourarchitecture.com
What if the secret to sustainable architecture isn’t technology, but beauty?
Architect Sandro Valentino reveals his “three clients” philosophy, the mistakes people make when moving into old buildings, and why Malta’s preeminent architect Richard England says “people know the price of everything, but the value of nothing.” From dismantling stone “block by block” to fighting beauty fatigue, this episode will change the way you see the buildings around you.
To explore more about Sandro Valentino and his work, you can follow Valentino Architts on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/valentinoarchitects or visit their website https://valentinoarchitects.com.
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina https://www.instagram.com/ladinaschoepf
Website: https://buildinggreenshow.com
Produced by: https://marketyourarchitecture.com
Swiss architect Jachen Schleich shares how he’s adapting Minergie - Switzerland’s leading green building standard - for Latin America, why most timber buildings in Mexico still rely on imported wood, and what it will take to create a truly local timber industry.
From ancient chinampas inspiring his Venice Biennale installation to banks unexpectedly driving sustainable construction, this episode is full of surprising insights on how we can build greener, smarter, and more locally.
To learn more about Jachen Schleich and his work, you can follow him on LinkedIn, Instagram and visit their website. To learn more about Minergie, you can follow their Instagram, LinkedIn, X accounts and visit their website.
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina @ladinaschoepf
Website: buildinggreenshow.com
Produced by: marketyourarchitecture.com
What if luxury meant living with nature, not apart from it?
If you're an architecture lover or you love traveling, and you’ve ever scrolled through one of the big architecture magazines, I’m sure you’ve seen the image of those incredible bamboo treehouses at Playa Viva in Mexico: iconic, elevated, and completely immersed in nature. Well, our guest today, David Leventhal, is one of the visionaries behind that.
David went from a career in media to co-founding one of the world’s most unique eco-hotels, and now his mission goes far beyond just one location. Through regenerative travel, he’s helping create a new model for how tourism can support communities and restore ecosystems.
In this episode, we talk about how to choose the right architect for a project like this, how to decide exactly where to build in a remote area, how to be respectful of nature when you do it, and how five-star travel is shifting from room service to real connection with the land.
To explore more about David Leventhal and his work, you can follow him on LinkedIn, visit Playa Viva’s website, Instagram, and YouTube. You can also visit Regenerative Travel, a platform and network that supports hotels working in alignment with regenerative principles.
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina @ladinaschoepf
Website: buildinggreenshow.com
Produced by: marketyourarchitecture.com
Celebrity makeup artist Liz Olivier reveals how beauty became one of the world’s most wasteful industries - and what needs to change. From seaweed packaging to circular design, she shares smart, surprising ways to clean up beauty without losing the glamour.
To explore more about Liz Olivier and her work, you can follow her on Instagram or visit her store where you can buy everything sustainable, clean and beauty.
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture, and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina @ladinaschoepf
Website: buildinggreenshow.com
Produced by: marketyourarchitecture.com
What if the most sustainable building is also the most beautiful one?
New Zealand architect Andrew Patterson shares how ancient villages, earthquake rubble, and cliffside cottages have shaped his belief that buildings should belong to the land. He explains why true sustainability starts with beauty - and how architecture can help us feel at home on the planet.
To explore more about Andrew Patterson and his work, you can follow him on Instagram, and visit their company website, Instagram and YouTube to check out their local projects.
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture, and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina @ladinaschoepf
Website: buildinggreenshow.com
Produced by: marketyourarchitecture.com
What can trees teach us about better buildings and better cities?
In this episode, structural engineer Justin Dan Herder shares why “hyper-optimized” buildings aren’t always the smartest choice, and why saving old structures can often be the most sustainable move. He explains how mass timber can add life to old buildings - but also why it’s not always the right answer.
We hear stories from Justin’s own journey, from watching his dad draft by hand to learning why trees and forests are nature’s best architects. He opens up about “structural poetics” - his idea that good engineering isn’t just about strength and cost, but also about fairness and care for the planet.
If you want to know how our cities could become more like forests and why design choices today matter for generations, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.
To explore more about Justin Den Herder and his work, visit TYLin.com, his LinkedIn and his personal website.
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture, and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina @ladinaschoepf
Website: buildinggreenshow.com
Produced by: marketyourarchitecture.com
When you think of rivers, you probably don’t think of architects. But Derek Hoeferlin has made it his life’s work to prove why you should. As an architect, chair of Landscape Architecture, and author of Way Beyond Bigness, Derek advocates for a radical shift in how we design with water—not against it.
He’s studied watersheds across the Mississippi, Mekong, and Rhine, learning how infrastructure, culture, and community intersect. Whether it’s rethinking the 20th-century concrete-heavy mindset, or collaborating with Mekong farmers growing salt-tolerant crops as a response to rising sea levels, Derek shows that every river tells a story of both conflict and connection.
To explore more about Derek Hoeferlin and his work, you can follow him on LinkedIn, visit his website, and buy a copy of his book, Way Beyond Bigness: The Need for a Watershed Architecture, through ORO Editions or Applied Research and Design Publishing.
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina @ladinaschoepf
Website: buildinggreenshow.com
Produced by: marketyourarchitecture.com
Ever wondered what makes a city truly great to live in—or why some places feel safer than others at night?
In this episode, urban designers Karina and Aiswarya unpack how cities affect our everyday lives, from safety and loneliness to mobility and community connection.
You'll hear why simply building more apartments isn't enough, how places like Mumbai, Curitiba, and Atlanta shape the way we move, and what “third places” are (hint: they’re your favorite hangouts between home and school or work!).
Plus, discover easy ways you can help improve your own neighborhood right now.
To explore more about Aishwarya & Karina and their work, you can follow them on their LinkedIn (Aishwarya / Karina) or subscribe to their podcast, Urb On The Go.
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina @ladinaschoepf
Website: buildinggreenshow.com
Produced by: marketyourarchitecture.com
What if your chair could last for generations and never end up in a landfill?
THIS MOMENT IS A HIGHLIGHT FROM EPISODE #040.John Hamilton is the kind of designer who sees beyond just the object - he sees the story, the connection, and the legacy it can create. From his work with groundbreaking materials like carbon fiber and mycelium packaging to his belief that furniture should quietly support the people using it, John has spent decades pushing the boundaries of design and sustainability.In this conversation, we discuss the surprising ways AI is giving designers time back - to think bigger, innovative ways to eliminate waste by completely avoiding packaging, and the magic of using color to bring a timeless feel to modern design. I can’t wait for you to hear his perspective on the future of sustainable design - and the stories that have shaped his journey.To explore more about John Hamilton and his work, you can follow him on Linkedin and Instagram, or visit their website ludwighamilton.com.Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.Contact: Ladina @ladinaschoepfWebsite: buildinggreenshow.comProduced by: marketyourarchitecture.com
What if the greenest building isn’t the one with the best tech - but the one people love the most?
Award-winning designer William Dodge shares the story behind a powerful $50K flood memorial that’s changing how the world sees sustainability. It’s built on the same site where his childhood friend drowned and was finished 25 years to the day after his death.
But this isn’t just a story about one powerful project. This is a conversation about:
How to do more with less
How to create beauty with constraints
And how to make people feel something in an era that too often settles for “efficient.”
William doesn’t build buildings - he creates space for reflection, resistance, and meaning.
If you care about climate, equity, storytelling, or just making your work matter — this episode is for you.
To explore more about William Dodge and his work, you can visit his websites p-u-b-l-i-c.com and agangofthree.com.
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina @ladinaschoepf
Website: buildinggreenshow.com
Produced by: marketyourarchitecture.com
If you're a parent, grandparent, or caregiver, you already know: cities were not built with you in mind. One third of all city trips are for caregiving - so why are we still designing cities around commuting?
Ankita Chachra has spent her career asking questions like this - and designing better answers. From Delhi to The Hague to Brooklyn, she’s seen how small choices in city design - like where a bench goes, what material covers a playground or how fast a car can drive - have a huge impact on how safe, connected, and livable our cities really are. Especially for children and families.
She believes that if a city isn’t built for kids, it’s probably not built for you either. And in this conversation, she explains how designing for care isn’t just good policy - it’s radical, urgent, and incredibly practical.
To explore more about Ankita Chachra and his work, you can follow her on Linkedin.
Capture, Nurture & Close Leads with GoHighLevel.
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina: @ladinaschoepf
Website: buildinggreenshow.com
Produced by: marketyourarchitecture.com
What if your home could outsmart floods, reduce energy bills, and make you healthier - all at once?
Architect Nathalie Manzano walks us through the world’s first WELL-certified house in Miami, built for 100-year floods and designed to be fully taken apart, not torn down.
This isn’t your typical Miami home… This house might just be a living blueprint for the future of sustainable living.
It’s built using a method called hypo-struction, it’s part fortress, part wellness retreat - and entirely unlike anything else on the market.
To explore more about Ted Caplow and Nathalie Manzano and their work, visit their website and follow them on their Instagram.
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina: @ladinaschoepf
Website: buildinggreenshow.com
Produced by: marketyourarchitecture.com
If you're careful about what you eat, why not care about what your house is made of?
Nathalie and Ted didn’t just build a house - they created a whole new way of thinking. Instead of following the usual short-term approach that’s common in South Florida, they decided to do the opposite.
Nathalie started in public health, researching how homes affect people’s well-being. Ted comes from an engineering background, with experience in renewable energy and food systems. Together, they built the world’s first WELL-certified home - designed to support both the planet and the people living in it.
They came up with their own method, called hypostruction, which questions everything we think we know about how homes should be built.
Their goal? To create houses that can last over 100 years. And they didn’t build it in a fancy neighborhood - they chose a regular part of Miami on purpose. Because this isn’t just about adapting to climate change. It’s about showing that healthier, longer-lasting homes can be built right now.
To explore more about Ted Caplow and Nathalie Manzano and their work, visit their website and follow them on their Instagram.
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina @ladinaschoepf
Website: https://buildinggreenshow.com/
Produced by: https://marketyourarchitecture.com/
Our future depends on how we organize society. The question is: are we getting it right?
David Auge argues that we’ve been looking at it all wrong. In his book “Man’s Search for Sustainability”, he explores how honeybees and desert locusts - two extreme insect societies - hold surprising lessons for how we build our own communities.
In this episode, David reveals:
why stress is essential for growth,
how human society mirrors both, the order of bees and the chaos of locust swarms, and
why history - not just innovation - is the key to designing a truly sustainable future.
We also unpack the biggest misconception about sustainability and the one question everyone should ask to define their own why.
This conversation will change how you think about society.
To explore more about David Augé and his work, visit davidaugebooks.com or follow him on LinkedIn.
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina @ladinaschoepf
Website: buildinggreenshow.com
Produced by: marketyourarchitecture.com
Why did six top firms get six very different answers - to be exact they varied by 34% - when measuring the same building’s carbon footprint?
Most architects want to design sustainable buildings, but the reality is - sustainability tools are often complicated, expensive, or come into the process too late to make a real impact. That’s exactly what Sheena Zhang is working to fix.
As a Sustainability Strategist at Autodesk, she helps develop tools like Forma and Insight that make it faster and easier to design greener buildings.
Sheena breaks down:
how to spot and avoid greenwashing
why AI can be both a game-changer and a sustainability risk.
how Autodesk is making sustainability insights accessible to the entire industry - not just high-budget projects.
If you want to know how technology is shaping the future of green buildings, how to make sustainability decisions backed by real data, and why the way we measure carbon today might be misleading, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.
To explore more about Sheena Zhang and her work, you can follow her on Linkedin or visit Autodesk’s sustainability section. Or read this if you want to learn more about the project Autodesk ran with WBCSD.
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
This one shift in how you talk about your business could bring in massive growth.
Karl Feldman explains how. He helps architecture, engineering, and consulting firms turn their expertise into real business growth.
As a managing partner at Hinge Marketing, he uses research - not guesswork - to show companies how to stand out, attract the right clients, and prove their value without relying on empty buzzwords.
This episode was especially interesting to me because, as some of you know, I'm also the co-founder of a marketing agency for architects and interior designers, Market Your Architecture. Karl and I discussed:
Why most firms fail at marketing (and how to fix it)
The key to making sustainability a selling point for clients who don’t care about it, and
How to tell if a company is actually eco-friendly or just greenwashing.
He also explains why small firms have an advantage over big corporations - and how they can use it to compete. If you want to learn how to market your business better, communicate your impact, or see through corporate sustainability claims, this episode is for you.
To explore more about Karl Feldman and his work, you can follow him on Linkedin or visit hingemarketing.com for resources, blogs, articles and books that you can download for research.
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina @ladinaschoepf
Website: buildinggreenshow.com
Produced by: marketyourarchitecture.com
Could AI and modular design be the future of architecture?
In this episode, we sit down with Ethnie Xu, an architect and real estate expert, to explore how technology, sustainability, and business intersect in the built world. From surviving a devastating earthquake at age 10 to designing resilient, AI-driven buildings, Ethnie shares how we can build smarter, greener, and more affordable cities. We break down the biggest myths about sustainable design, the real potential of AI in construction, and why adaptive reuse is the key to the future of our cities.
🎧 Tune in for insights that could reshape the way we live, work, and build.
To explore more about Ethnie Xu and her work, you can follow her on Instagram and LinkedIn, or visit her YouTube channel.
Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials!
Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time.
Contact:
Ladina @ladinaschoepf
Website: buildinggreenshow.com
Produced by: marketyourarchitecture.com