Shows
Passive House PodcastTRE 08: Reimagining Design, Construction, and MaterialsIn this eighth episode of The Reimagine Edit (TRE) series of the Passive House Podcast, host Zack Semke shares selected clips of insights from Ed May (bldgtyp), Nakita Reed (Quinn Evans), Tessa Bradley (Artisans Group), Bev Craig (MassCEC), Mike Steffen (Walsh Construction), Lisa White (Co-Executive Director of Phius), and Jonsara Ruth and Allison Mears (leaders of Healthy Materials Lab).Quotes:Jonsara Ruth: "If everybody knows a little bit more, we actually have the ability to steer things in the right direction."Alison Mears:"We have to be hopeful. We have to b...2025-06-0740 min
Design the FutureAlison Mears and Jonsara Ruth on collaboration and healthy materialsJonsara Ruth is co-founder and Design Director of Healthy Materials Lab (HML) at Parsons School of Design, where she is an Associate Professor and Founding Director of the MFA Interior Design program. Alison Mears is Associate Professor of Architecture, Director and Co-Founder of HML and Director/Co-Founder of HML EU. Alison and Jonsara published “Material Health:Design Frontiers” exploring the intersectional and complex nature of material health. They also co-authored a chapter of The Regenerative Materials Movement (Living Future/Ecotone, 2024). This year is the Healthy Materials Lab’s tenth in operation. Alison and Jonsara’s close coll...2025-02-1347 min
The Design Of Business | The Business of DesignS11E3: The Healthy Materials Lab is Making Housing Healthier for Everyone In 2015, interior designer Jonsara Ruth and architect Alison Mears received a grant to study the use of building materials in affordable housing. This grant led to the creation of the Healthy Materials Lab, a design-led research lab based out of the Parsons School of Design that raises awareness about toxins in building materials and draws attention to healthier alternatives. Almost a decade later, they’re still asking big and necessary questions: What if we could make building materials a little more slowly with an eye towards health and sustainability? And what if these materials were accessible by everyone? What wou...2024-05-1557 min
Business of Home PodcastJonsara Ruth: "Designers have a huge role to play"Jonsara’s career took an unexpected turn following a business trip to China. There to oversee the production of a new furniture collection, she witnessed firsthand the environmental impact of the manufacturing process and it changed forever her outlook on how products are made. Today through her work at the Healthy Materials Lab, she hopes to steer designers and the industry in the direction of making choices that are better for people’s health and the environment. On this episode of the podcast, she speaks with host Dennis Scully about the experiences that led to her current pursuit, what ques...2023-07-2455 min
PRISMSustainability by Design - A Materials Wake-Up Call with Jonsara Ruth and Rico RuffinoHow does design relate to the current state of climate change? Dan Harden, Jonsara Ruth, and Rico Ruffino evaluate the environmental impacts of design and how designers can play a role in creating a more sustainable world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2022-05-1255 min
InhabitIn the Room with Alison Mears and Jonsara RuthHear the full interview with our expert guests from Episode 02, Alison Mears and Jonsara Ruth, founders of the Healthy Materials Lab at Parsons School of Design. Learn about who holds the power to make our built environment healthier and a special case study featuring America’s largest landlord, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). Plus, hear a warm introduction from Kimberly Seigel, a research knowledge manager and co-director of our Material Performance Lab.Click here to read the show notes.
Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.2022-03-0236 min
InhabitLove in the Time of PFASHosts Erika and Monica seek out some tough love on one of our most intimate relationships: the one between buildings and our bodies. Learn what happens when chemical manufacturers withhold health information from consumers, specifically about a class of synthetic chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). You’ll hear from environmental-health and design experts as well as Healthy Materials Lab founders Alison Mears and Jonsara Ruth.Click here to read the show notes.
Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.2022-02-1732 min
Green Healthy PlacesHealthy Materials LabGUEST / JONSARA RUTH / HEALTHY MATERIALS LABhttps://healthymaterialslab.org/https://healthymaterialslab.org/learning-hub/e-learning-online-certificate-programhttps://healthymaterialslab.org/learning-hub/the-affordable-housing-guide-programhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/healthy-materials-lab/https://www.facebook.com/healthymaterialslab/https://www.instagram.com/healthymaterialslab/https://www.saltylabs.us/The New Coal - Plastics & Climate Change, by Beyond PlasticsHOST / MATT MORLEY / WELLBEING CHAMPIONhttps://biofilico.com/https://biofit.io/ https://www.mattmorley.net/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattmorleylux/
2021-12-2238 min
ClearstoryHealthy HomesAs building technologies have improved and new building materials have found their way into construction sites, our homes have certainly become healthier than before... right? Host Kevin O'Connor speaks with professors Jonsara Ruth and Alison Mears, co-founders of the Healthy Materials Lab, a design research lab at Parsons School of Design, about the history of toxic building materials, what we use today that could be harmful to our health, and how we can create healthier built environments.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices2021-06-1739 min
Build A Healthier LifeJonsara Ruth on how integrating health into design is essential for the future.Jonsara Ruth is an artist, designer, educator and an agitator for healthier futures. She is the Co-Founder and Design Director at Healthy Materials Lab, an Associate Professor and the Founding Director of the progressive MFA Interior Design program at Parsons School of Design. Charged with provoking change in the design field, she shares her vision for the future of design. Jonsara describes how a trip to a factory inspired her to consider more than just the aesthetic of a material but to also consider if they are harmful to you and the environment. She also speaks about the history o...2021-01-071h 03
Trace MaterialTalking Shop with Cameron McIntoshThis week we’re Talking Shop with Cameron McIntosh, the owner of hemp/lime construction company Americhanvre. Cameron is a leader in the emerging US HempLime landscape and in this episode, he chats with HML co-director Jonsara Ruth about how his past work with ceramics and working at a plant nursery led him to hemp. 2020-08-1932 min
Trace MaterialBuild LocalIn this episode we’ll drop in on a HempLime construction workshop that we at Healthy Materials Lab hosted alongside CoExist Building, a HempLime company from Pennsylvania. HML Directors Alison Mears and Jonsara Ruth will take us through the basics of building with hemp and we’ll pay a visit to CoExist’s farm in Blandon, Pennsylvania to hear about their hemp house on wheels. 2020-07-0820 min
Trace MaterialIntroducing Trace MaterialWelcome to Trace Material, a new podcast from Parsons Healthy Materials Lab. HML Co-directors Alison Mears and Jonsara Ruth make the case for digging into the materials we surround ourselves with every day and introduce you to your hosts for season one.2020-04-0802 min