Join NUREC at the Urban Food Systems Symposium on Wednesday, September 16th
NUREC is sponsoring a panel at the UFSS on Wednesday, September 16:
Designing Living Cities – Building-Integrated Agriculture and the Future of Urban Food Systems
Urban areas are at a pivotal moment: climate change, inequitable food access, and aging infrastructure are calling for bold, integrated solutions. This panel brings together architects, planners, plant scientists, microbiome researchers, and food‑systems experts to explore how Building‑Integrated Agriculture (BIA) and regenerative urban food systems can transform the way cities function and thrive.
Panelists
Dr. Gwynne Mhuireach (Moderator) is a Research Assistant Professor in the Institute for Health in the Built Environment at the University of Oregon and Director of Knowledge Exchange for the Build Health industry consortium. With a background spanning biology and architecture, she has built a career exploring how microbial ecologies of buildings, soils, air, and food influence human health—an often-overlooked dimension of biophilic design.
August Stolba, LFA, is a Master of Architecture student at the University of Oregon whose work centers on regenerative design and the integration of ecological systems into the built environment. As a Research Assistant in the Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory, he collaborates on advancing architectural simulation tools to better model plant‑specific light responses—an emerging frontier in designing future food‑producing buildings.
Dr. Megan Horst, AICP, is a strategic climate, environmental, and urban planning professional whose work centers on climate resilience, food systems, and land use planning. She is a Senior Associate at Cascadia Consulting Group, where she leads projects on climate vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning for local, state, and tribal governments.
Dr Matt Arrington, is an assistant professor of applied plant science in the Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences and the director of the life sciences greenhouse at Bringham Young University. He has a strong desire to work on educational outreach to impoverished regions for agricultural production, particularly using new technologies to reduce production barriers.
