Designing for Equity in the Built Environment with Victoria Lanteigne

Buildings and Beyond - Steven Winter Associates, Inc.

There is a lot of work ahead of us to advance equity in the built environment. As more project teams aim to impact equity, there are overarching questions that need to be answered: What design strategies will advance equity in the built environment? And how do we make equity part of building performance?

In this episode, Alex chats with Victoria Lanteigne, Principal of Research at Steven Winter Associates (SWA), about her expertise in equity, health, and inclusive design. Victoria shares how, through her research, she hopes to build on the way we measure building performance—from outcomes focused on energy and resource efficiency to those that include aspects of human experiences, such as the health, wellbeing, and sense of belonging of all building occupants.

Episode Guest

Victoria Lanteigne

Victoria Lanteigne has over 15 years of experience in improving the built environment through equity, inclusive design, and health and wellness.

Earlier in her career, Victoria joined SWA as a Senior Accessibility Consultant, collaborating with architects, developers, and other practitioners to improve the accessibility of buildings, and launched SWA’s inclusive design services. In 2020, Victoria joined the PhD in Design program at North Carolina State University, where she conducted extensive research to understand how design impacts the physical, mental, and emotional health of building occupants. Her doctoral research aims to develop a new industry framework for embedding equity in the design of the built environment.

This year, as Victoria nears the end of her PhD program, she rejoins SWA’s accessibility team as Principal of Research to lead a new equity research initiative—which will include the introduction of a new industry framework for embedding equity in building design and exploring outcomes.

Episode Information & Resources

Equity resources:

• LEED v4 social equity pilot credits
• Design Justice Principles
• SEED Certification and The SEED Evaluator
• WELL Equity Rating

Publications:

• Inclusive Building Performance Guidelines: A Pathway for Advancing Equity in the Built Environment (PDF)
• Advancing Health Equity Through Inclusive Design (PDF)
• Exploring Health Equity and the Built Environment through the Social Determinants of Health (PDF)
• Evolving Design Pedagogies: Broadening Universal Design for Social Justice (PDF)

Additional resources:

• WELL Innovations Proposal: Universal Design

Interested in a career on Steven Winter Associates’ accessibility team? View our open positions here.

Episode Transcript

Click here to download the episode transcript (PDF)

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About Buildings and Beyond

Buildings and Beyond is a production of Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building, and accessibility consulting services to improve the built environment. For more information, visit swinter.com.

Hosts: Robb Aldrich | Kelly Westby

Production Team: Heather Breslin | Alex Mirabile | Dylan Martello | Ian Slakas

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