Championing Change
Sathya Vyagrapuri on Materials, Process & Progress
Though Senior Practice Professional Sathya Vyagrapuri’s work is designing for LS3P’s Living market, she fills another extremely important role: that of Materials Champion. Sathya is part of a team of about two dozen individuals firmwide who are responsible for “greening” the firm’s materials libraries and making it easy for designers to find products that help meet LS3P’s AIA Materials Pledge commitment. We talked with her about inspiration, education, and the day-to-day work of Materials Pledge implementation.
When LS3P began implementing the AIA Materials Pledge, you were among the first cohort of people who were tapped to become Materials Champions. What did that look like in the Raleigh office?
The purpose of this “Materials Champion” role was to empower designated people in each office to take responsibility for identifying pledgecompliant materials across our 12 materials libraries. We try to have two Champions for each office, one from the interior design side focusing on interior materials, and one from the architecture side focused on exterior materials. That distinction is important because exterior materials—concrete, brick, glass—are physically larger and harder to manage, but they’re also critical to the environmental impact of our projects.
A lot of the work is process driven: deciding which materials belong in the library, tracking what’s still in consideration during construction administration, and making sure
samples aren’t left behind without context. We’re also collaborating with Materials Champions across other LS3P offices to learn what’s working elsewhere and how to adapt those approaches, especially for smaller offices without large libraries. What does the day-to-day work of a Materials Champion actually look like, especially since this work happens alongside your full-time job designing multifamily projects?
When I first became a Materials Champion, we didn’t have a dedicated system for organizing exterior materials. One of my first efforts was working with interior designers to carve out space within the materials library to properly store and manage those samples. We now have shelving specifically for exterior materials, and we’re intentional about what stays. The goal isn’t to keep everything; it’s to keep the materials we use repeatedly and that align with the Materials Pledge.
Internally, we color-code materials to make it easy for designers to locate what they need. With our representatives and manufacturers, we work to communicate expectations clearly before they bring materials in, and we ask that products comply with at least one category of the Materials Pledge. If a material becomes outdated, it’s the manufacturer’s responsibility to remove it. That said, oversight is still necessary. Materials come in frequently, and often without a formal gatekeeper. Champions periodically check the library to make sure processes are followed. It’s very much an ongoing effort.
How would you describe the current level of compliance in the materials library?
For interior products, I’d estimate that around 75 % are compliant. That number is always in flux as new materials come in. What’s encouraging is that awareness has grown significantly, both among designers and among reps. Conversations about compliance are more common now, and that awareness is where much of my effort has been focused.
It’s not just about emails or internal posts, which can get lost in the amount of information we process every day in this industry. I make a point to sit down with project managers and teams to
explain why the AIA Materials Pledge matters, how the firm is tracking materials, and what tools are available to support better decision making . The goal is to make sustainable material selection part of the natural design process, not an added burden.
How are manufacturers responding to this shift?
Fortunately, the word is out, and manufacturers are taking the Materials Pledge seriously. Some reps now tell us up front whether their products are compliant, even before we ask. Others are still learning, and those moments become opportunities for education. At the scale of work we do at LS3P, we have a responsibility to help set the standard and clearly communicate what we expect as a Materials Pledge signatory. We very much value our relationships with manufacturers and vendors, and we’re aware that not every company has the resources for the documentation required. In those cases, our goal is education and support as they move through the process.
What materials or innovations have stood out to you recently, and is the Pledge influencing design aesthetics as well as materials options?
We’ve seen a noticeable increase in innovation! For example, I recently learned about furniture made from recycled Styrofoam, an interesting idea that raises important questions about lifecycle impacts. We may not love that Styrofoam has been produced, but if it’s out there in the world anyway, what can we do with it to give it a second life and keep it out of landfills? Products like Rockwool insulation are also gaining momentum as more resilient, less plastic dependent alternatives, even when performance tradeoffs exist. It’s encouraging to see manufacturers taking sustainability seriously and investing in new approaches .
I actually don’t see the Pledge influencing design aesthetics, and that’s a good thing! The way I see it, we’re still achieving the same design goals, but with better materials. Sustainability is embedded rather than visually obvious. As our specs teams standardize healthier, more resilient products, sustainable choices become the baseline rather than the exception, without our clients having to adapt to sustainable materials that look different from what they expect.
What materials or innovations
What aspects of the Materials Pledge remain most challenging, and what are our next big steps?
We’re finding plenty of products that comply with human health and wellness requirements. Right now, many products meet one or two categories. Things start to get more complex when we look for equity along the supply chain, as labor practices and working conditions can be harder to track at this point. There may be future opportunities through advanced manufacturing or robotics to reduce human exposure to harmful conditions at certain points in the process, but that’s still evolving.
A major step forward would be pushing toward compliance across all categories. It’s not going to happen overnight, but if designers collectively demand that level of performance, manufacturers will respond. Beyond that, continued dialogue and education across project teams is essential. Progress will be incremental, but steady improvement is exactly how lasting change happens.
About Sathya
Senior Practice Professional Sathya Vyagrapuri has been a trailblazer in solar passive architecture and an active participant in USGBC conferences. With over 17 years of experience, Sathya has designed a diverse portfolio spanning high-rise multifamily residential projects, lab renovations, mixed-use developments, retail interiors, and healthcare interiors.
Sathya holds a Master of Architecture from NC State University and a Bachelor of Architecture from Adhiyamaan College of Engineering in India. Her passion for green building and sustainability drives her to innovate resilience strategies for our shared climate challenge.