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Amanda Sturgeon
Amanda Sturgeon is an Australian Architect who practices sustainable architecture through the use of regenerative and biophilic design. She graduated from the University of Sydney in 1994 with a Bachelor's in Science with a focus on Architecture. In 1998, Sturgeon graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Master of Architecture. To begin her journey to become who she is today, Amanda Sturgeon was an architect in Seattle and worked for a company called Mithun from 1999 to 2002, where she was the project architect and green building lead on an award-winning and LEED-certified Islandwood that is an environmental education center. From 2002 to 2005, Sturgeon worked for the city of Seattle where she oversaw the implementation of the Green Building Policy that helped streamline the way for green building practices. From 2005 to 2010, Sturgeon worked for Perkins+Will where she became a global co-leader for the Sustainable Design Initiative across 21 worldwide offices. In 2010, Sturgeon became the Vice President of the International Living Future Institute to which she progressed to Executive Director in 2013, and then only 2 years later, in 2015, became the CEO of the International Living Future Institute. Sturgeon stepped down from that role, in 2020, to find a new opportunity working with Mott MacDonald where she is currently the Regenerative Design Lead for the Asia Pacific Region.

Regenerative design is ensuring the built environment has a net positive impact on natural systems. Most would confuse regenerative design with sustainable design, however, the difference between the two is that sustainable design enables the industry to work towards achieving net-zero carbon, water, and waste within the built environment, while regenerative design realizes the net positive benefits and factors of those different areas and looks to move towards long-term preservation. Biophilic design is the practice of connecting people with nature within the built environment and communities. Some examples of biophilic design that are incorporated into our daily lives include skylights, green walls or "living" walls, and the presence of water like fountains or ponds. Biophilic design is something that has always been around, however, it is resurfacing into a larger impact in the design world due to its ability to repurpose an entire building, and Amanda Sturgeon wants to teach younger generations of designers her methods and findings on the topic so they can implement it into their future work.

From 1999 to 2002, Sturgeon worked for a company in Seattle called Mithun where she worked on an award-winning project called Islandwood. Islandwood is an environmental education center located in Bainbridge, Washington. Their mission is to provide exceptional learning experiences and inspire lifelong environmental and community stewardship. Islandwood offers immersive programs that help communities understand the world around them, explore important environmental issues, and make positive impacts on the planet. During Sturgeon's time working for the city of Seattle from 2002 to 2005, she implemented the Green Building Policy. That policy comes from the EPA, and it is the practice of designing, constructing, operating, maintaining, and removing buildings in ways that conserve natural resources and reduce pollution. Amanda Sturgeon was able to implement the Sustainable Design Initiative while working at Perkins+Will from 2005 to 2010, where she was able to help 21 worldwide offices seek to reduce negative impacts on the environment and the health and comfort of building concepts that helped improve building performance. From 2010 to 2020, Sturgeon worked for the International Living Future Institute where she was able to create educational programs. Sturgeon became the Regenerative Design Lead for Mott MacDonald in 2020, and she is currently creating solutions for net zero buildings and precincts, and infrastructure to address climate change and biodiversity loss in the Asia Pacific Region.

Amanda Sturgeon is the inaugural CEO of Built by Nature, which is a network and grant-making fund with a mission to accelerate the timber building transformation in Europe and the UK. This organization aims to change perceptions around timber construction and reshape the built environment system. She is also the CEO of the International Living Future Institute, and this organization created regenerative frameworks like the Living Building, Living Product, and Community Challenge programs. Through this organization, specifically, Amanda Sturgeon created a global movement around biophilic design. The Living Building Challenge creates buildings that generate more energy than they use, and capture and treat water on site. The Living Product Challenge creates beautiful and functional products that are informed by nature, improve quality of life, and are made from renewable sources of energy and materials. The Living Community Challenge builds nurturing communities that create positive impacts on human and natural systems that interact with them. Amanda Sturgeon connects people and nature. Her vision is the belief that climate change and biodiversity loss are the main critical issues today. Once the relationship between people and the natural world is repaired, society can begin to regenerate. After building and creating these programs, Amanda Sturgeon wrote a book in 2017 called "Creating Biophilic Buildings". This book provides readers insight into exploring how to create places where people and nature can thrive together, contains historical examples of biophilic design, and provides case studies and ways to pursue and obtain a living building certificate. Throughout Amanda Sturgeon's career, she has won various awards for her contribution to the design world. In 2002, she won the AIA Committee on the Environment Top Ten Award. This award is given to those recognized for the integration of design excellence with environmental performance. In 2007, she won the IIDA/Metropolis, Smart Environments Award, and this award is given to recognize interiors that are in tune with 21st-century needs and desires, meaning they are beautiful, sustainable, and accessible. In 2014, Sturgeon became a member of the U.S Green Building Council and the American Institute of Architects. In 2016, she won the Top Ten Women in Sustainability Award, specifically for Green Building and Design. This award is given to recognize powerful female leaders leading in sustainable business initiatives at startups, nonprofits, and industry associations.

After writing her book, "Creating Biophilic Buildings" in 2017, Sturgeon decided to offer her services to individuals or groups on implementing biophilic design into their projects. Amanda Sturgeon offers a six-week master class that is composed of in-depth sessions that explore regenerative and biophilic design principles, how to build strategies and goals on a project, and integrate them successfully. Along with her master class series, she offers individual or group workshops that focus on regenerative design, biophilic design, climate, and water-positive approaches, and nature-based solutions. Amanda Sturgeon has focused her career on saving the environment and finding solutions to make the world a healthier place. As a keynote speaker, Sturgeon presents inspirational talks on regenerative design, biophilic design or climate change, and net-zero buildings and communities. Individual and group workshops consist of facilitation through the process needed to shift the current approach to projects toward an approach based on whole systems thinking and creating new potential for positive outcomes.

Amanda Sturgeon has been one of the top women in the design industry, due to her extensive work in regenerative and biophilic design. She has been able to help and improve communities through her implementation of immersive educational programs, the Green Building Policy, and the Sustainable Design Initiative. She wants to help newer generations of designers and architects to understand the world around them by offering presentations and classes on how to achieve sustainability in the modern world. Her book, "Creating Biophilic Buildings", allows the readers to understand the importance of biophilic design and provides different methods and approaches that designers can take into integrating biophilic design into their own designs. Sturgeon's mission is to give back to people and the planet by restoring and recovering what the built environment has done to nature. With every award she has won, they are described as being recognized designers and their work that integrates design excellence with environmental performance, having sustainable designs that work with 21st-century trends that are still beautiful and functional, and being active in sustainability initiatives. All of Sturgeon's accomplishments have given her the opportunity to educate designers by speaking on biophilic design and teaching a semester-long course at the University of Washington, in 2010, that allowed graduate students, earning their Masters in Architecture, to design a Living Building that corresponded with the new programs she introduced at the International Living Future Institute. Amanda Sturgeon teaches young designers to appreciate nature, and to do that, they should aim to incorporate nature within their designs. Biophilic design is the practice of connecting people with nature within the built environment and communities. Some examples of biophilic design that are incorporated into our daily lives include skylights, green walls or "living" walls, and the presence of water like fountains or ponds. By connecting humans to nature through the use of biophilic design, it can help improve mental and physical health, and Sturgeon's main goal with her designs is to form this connection between humans and nature so they can each understand one another by creating nurturing communities, generating energy, and creating functional products that improve the overall quality of life.