Christian R. Pongratz is the director of the Health and Design Master’s program at the School of Architecture and Design at the New York Institute of Technology. In his academic program, he teaches future architects how design can influence health, rethinking the concept of healthcare as a complex ecosystem. Pongratz brings this vision to life through regenerative strategies and inclusive design, but above all by exploring the creative use of local, renewable biological materials with the goal of reducing carbon emissions and toxic impact in the most vulnerable communities. These materials range from agricultural waste to bio-geopolymers (used for architectural-scale 3D printing of buildings in the university’s 3DPXL lab, that he’s currently developing), as well as natural stone, as he will highlight during the seminar TOUCH STONE: A Lexicon for Designing with Natural Stone. The presentation, in collaboration with Maria Perbellini—his colleague at the New York Institute of Technology and co-founder of the firm Pongratz Perbellini Architects—will take place at 4:30 p.m. on June 12 as part of the Bulding Sites: CO2 Check-Up section of the PNA International Forum.
