Raphael Kay is turning to nature to tackle one of the world’s most urgent sustainability challenges: the colossal amount of energy required to light, heat, and cool modern buildings. Trained as an architect, he is a PhD student in materials science and mechanical engineering at Harvard, working at the intersection of design, biology, and engineering to reimagine buildings as adaptive, living systems. Moving beyond human-centric design, Raphael draws inspiration from the natural world, particularly sea creatures and mammals that have evolved ways to regulate light and heat through mechanisms like color change and sweating. By translating these biological strategies into adaptive “building skins,” his research aims to dramatically reduce energy use and, ultimately, greenhouse gas emissions.
