Our guest on this episode, Ramune Bartuskaite, is a WELL Accredited Professional,Healthy Building Advocate and an architect at FIFTEEN Architecture + Design in Philadelphia—a practice driven by the desire to affect positive change. She's also the Founder and CEO of Spec Matters, whose opening line on their website says: 'Empowering the building industry to write healthier specifications and make better material selections—because these decisions matter'.
We couldn’t agree more! Last December, Quiet Mark announced a brand new partnership with NBS, a leading construction data and specification platform, to empower architects and interior designers to specify ‘acoustics first’, by providing a short-cut for responsible product sourcing. The aim of the partnership being to elevate the aural design of buildings, optimising the overall level of acoustic comfort for occupants.
Throughout her career, Ramune has worked closely with material manufacturers to stay on top of trends and the latest products in the industry. While pursuing her license, she learned about the challenges and health concerns of the building industry. After losing her mother to cancer in 2020 and learning about the carcinogens that are often used in building materials, she created Spec Matters in hopes of spurring change and raising awareness in the movement towards healthier buildings and environments.
“Architects, interior designers, and developers are making material selections every day without knowing the impact on human health and the environment”, says Ramune. Spec Matters is a free website and newsletter solving this problem by providing a hub of accessible healthy building information.
Ramune is a Lithuanian immigrant and a first-generation graduate. She holds a Masters of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture with a Marketing Minor from Miami University, and a Certificate in Healthier Materials and Sustainable Building from Parsons School of Design. She’s a recipient of the Alpha Rho Chi Medal for leadership, willing service, and promise of professional merit and a co-editor of a book titled Women [Re]Build: Stories, Polemics, Futures. The book highlights female architects, designers, scholars, and educators who are pushing the boundaries of architecture and design.
Episode 26: THE ART OF FIELD RECORDING - Bernie Krause - Wild Sanctuary and Melissa Pons - Melissapons.com
Episode 25 - FREEDOM DAY SPECIAL - Acoustics in large public spaces - Richard King - Sandy Brown and Martin Rawlins - BASWA acoustic
Episode 24: TUNING THE SOUND OF TECHNOLOGY - Matthew Bennett - Composer + Sound Artist | Principal at Acoustic Ecology Design Partners | Former Director of Sound + Sensory Design at Microsoft
Episode 23: FROM SYNTHS TO SOUNDSCAPES - Adventures in Acoustic Ecology with Martyn Ware
Episode 22: THE ART OF ACOUSTIC DESIGN - Axel Enthoven - Yellow Window Design and Richard Ellerbeck - BuzziSpace
Episode 21: COOKING WITH SOUND - Ping Coombes - BBC MasterChef Winner and Henk Huisseune - Novy
Episode 20: THE SOUND OF THE STARS - Paul Gregory & Nick Dunn - The International Dark-Sky Association
Episode 19: DON'T BE ALARMED! - Dr. Elif Özcan (Vieira) - TU Delft & Critical Alarms Lab
Episode 18: THE SOUND OF SLEEP - John Lopos - The National Sleep Foundation
Episode 17: THE NOISE ABATEMENT SOCIETY - Lisa Lavia
Episode 16: SOUND OF THE YEAR AWARDS - Matthew Herbert - BBC New Radiophonic Workshop & Cheryl Tipp - Curator of Wildlife & Environmental Sounds - British Museum
Episode 15: REDUCING NOISE IN HOSPITALS - Yoko Sen - Sen Sound
Episode 14: SOUND WALKING INTO 2021 - Renate Zentschnig and Michiel Huijsman - Soundtrackcity & Grant Waters - Tranquil City
Episode 13: THE ACOUSTICS OF STONE WOOL INSULATION - Jessica Smith & James Mills - ROCKWOOL & Claudio Passavanti aka Doctor Mix
Episode 12: ACOUSTICS IN ARCHITECTURE - Jack Richardson - Hilson Moran & Spencer Drake - Armourcoat
Episode 11: SOUND AND NOISE - Marcia Jenneth Epstein - The University of Calgary
Episode 10: FOOD, SLEEP & ENERGY - Mahmoud Alamir of Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia
Episode 9: FROM ADS TO ARCHITECTURE - Steve Keller - Studio Resonate at Pandora
Episode 8: TRANSFORMING CONSTRUCTION WITH SOUND DESIGN - Mike Jacob - Kiss House
Episode 7/ Pt3: IMPROVING ACOUSTICS FOR A NEW NORMAL - Oliver Brookes - BB&C Architects Ltd
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