The New Regenerative Architect: Net-Zero Data Centers, Smart Cities & Eco-Resorts | Joe MacDonald

Planet VIP with Regenerative Architect Joe MacDonald

In this new podcast episode of Planet VIP (formerly Shades of Life), we sit down with New-York-based and visionary architect Joe MacDonald, founder of Urban A&O — an award-winning global boutique architecture firm built on the conviction that architecture can and must regenerate the planet.

Formerly a professor at Harvard Graduate School of Design, and once mentored under Zaha Hadid, Joe is a leading voice of the “Regenerative Architect”, embedding sustainability into every project from the ground up.

Some of his most groundbreaking work includes the world’s first net-zero hybrid data centre in Helsinki, which doubles as a vertical farm, turning waste heat from servers into energy for food production, water recycling, and public space.

In our conversation we cover:

1. The massive challenge of the built environment, responsible for ~40 % of global emissions.

2. Innovations in low-carbon materials, including alternatives to traditional Portland cement (incl. hemp-infused concrete)

3. The urgency of accommodating 2 billion more people by 2050: retrofitting existing buildings vs. building new.

4. How data centres must reinvent themselves to serve a world driven by AI

5. How they approach the design of smart cities and eco-resorts (from Europe to the U.S. and Southeast Asia)

6. How Urban A&O weaves the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into every single contract.

For Joe, it all comes back to one big question: “What world do we want to live in by 2050 — and what role are we going to play in building it?”

His work is deeply inspiring. In one of the planet’s highest-emitting industries, it shows that transformative change isn’t just possible — it’s already happening — with new materials, smarter systems, circular design, rising sea-level resilience, and more.

If you're passionate about architecture, sustainability, or design innovation, you'll want to hear this.

Learn more about Urban A&O: https://urbanao.com