Care More Be Better: A Podcast For Sustainable Social Impact and Regeneration

Designing For Humanity: Regenerative Architecture In The Age Of AI With Kevin Kennon

Kevin Kennon · January 7, 2026

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Interview with Kevin Kennon

Designing For Humanity: Regenerative Architecture In The Age Of AI With Kevin Kennon

Podcast: Care More Be Better: A Podcast For Sustainable Social Impact and Regeneration

January 7, 2026 · 1 hr 6 min

Listen to Kevin Kennon on Care More Be Better: A Podcast For Sustainable Social Impact and Regeneration.

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Designing For Humanity: Regenerative Architecture In The Age Of AI With Kevin Kennon

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Care More Be Better: A Podcast For Sustainable Social Impact and Regeneration

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Key topicsGood Bones — Why the Best Return Is in the Building Already StandingKevin Kennon has spent 40 years putting buildings up and taking old ones apart, including the conversion of the American Express Building in Tribeca and the rebuild of Macy's Herald Square. Most developers price a site as if the structure on it were a cost to clear, when the frame, floors and shell are often the most valuable thing in the deal. He walks through how he reads an existing building for what it can carry, where reuse beats new construction on cost and timeline, and where it does not. Listeners leave able to look at an older property and tell whether the return sits in the land or in what is already standing.Own Worst Client — Why the Best Projects Start When You Stop Taking CommissionsAfter 40 years taking commissions from other people, Kevin Kennon founded Beyond Zero DDC and became the client he used to work for. He argues that the work practitioners are proudest of only happens when they carry the risk themselves, and that waiting to be hired quietly caps what a firm can ever build. He covers what changed once he was raising the money, picking the sites and answering to investors: slower decisions, harder trade-offs, and far fewer compromises written into someone else's brief. Listeners leave with a clear view of what a practice gives up by staying on the commission model, and what it takes to fund a first project of their own.How to Build Zero-Carbon Where There Is No Power GridKevin Kennon builds at zero carbon on sites with no power line, no water main and no road, as founder of Beyond Zero DDC and after 40 years on projects as large as the 1.5 million square foot Barclays North American headquarters. A remote site removes the usual escape route: there is no grid to buy clean power from, so the building has to make and store its own. He explains what that forces, from off-grid generation and local materials to the trade-offs between what gets shipped in and what gets built on site. Listeners leave knowing which of those choices transfer to ordinary projects on the grid, and which only work when there is nowhere to plug in.View all topics →

About Kevin Kennon

Award-Winning Architect and Sustainable Design Visionary

40+ Years of architectural practice40+ Design awards20+ Iconic buildings1.5M sq ft Barclays North American Headquarters

Kevin Kennon is an internationally renowned architect with more than 40 years of experience designing landmark cultural, commercial, and hospitality projects around the world. Known for combining design ambition with deep human insight, he brings a humanity-first philosophy to architecture — creating spaces that do more than impress visually; they shape how people feel, connect, recover, and remember an experience.

As Founder and CEO of Beyond Zero DDC Inc., Kevin is leading the development of a new model of luxury hospitality: zero-carbon wilderness resorts designed around intimacy, wellbeing, adventure, and safety. Rather than treating sustainability as a marketing layer, Kevin approaches it as a natural consequence of building responsibly in remote environments — while placing the guest experience at the center of every design decision.

His portfolio includes the 1.5 million square foot Barclays North American Headquarters, the Rodin Museum in Seoul, multiple award-winning Bloomingdale’s stores, and leadership of United Architects, a finalist in the World Trade Center design competition. His work has been featured in the permanent collection of MoMA, New York, and he has received more than 40 international design awards.

Kevin’s expertise spans architecture, adaptive reuse, urban development, hospitality design, and high-level real estate advisory.

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About this episode

Cities are often built as uncomfortable concrete jungles completely disconnected from nature, and most of them rapidly deplete in just a few years. Our urban areas do not have to be designed this way, and they can be completely transformed through regenerative architecture. Corinna Bellizzi sits down withKevin Kennon, CEO of Beyond Zero, who shares how his zero-carbon luxury eco-resorts help heal humanity’s relationship with nature while providing sustainable living systems for everyone. He explains how reconciling high-end development with ecological stewardship can give birth to sustainable cities with a circular economy and cultural continuity. Kevin also explores the role of architects in shaping forth a new era of sustainable design and the right way to use AI tools in making this dream a reality.

COMPLETE BLOG & TRANSCRIPT:

https://caremorebebetter.com/designing-for-humanity-regenerative-architecture-in-the-age-of-ai-with-kevin-kennon/

About Guest: Kevin Kennon is an internationally acclaimed architect with over 40 years of experience driving innovation in sustainable and human-centered design. As founder and CEO of Beyond Zero DDC Inc., he pioneers zero-carbon luxury eco-resorts that blend architectural excellence with environmental responsibility. His journey includes leading landmark projects such as Barclays North American Headquarters, the Rodin Museum in Seoul, and multiple award-winning Bloomingdale’s stores. A finalist in the World Trade Center design competition, Kevin has consistently pushed boundaries in adaptive reuse, urban planning, and large-scale development. With over 40 international design awards and works featured in MoMA’s permanent collection, he continues to shape the future of architecture through thought leadership, expert consultation, and lectures at Yale and Columbia.

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinkennonarchitect/

Guest Website: https://www.kdcaia.com/and https://bz-ddc.com

Guest Social: https://www.instagram.com/pkk2418

Show Notes:

02:12 - Working At The Intersection Of Innovation, Sustainability, And Human Experience

05:32 - How Beyond Zero Is Going Beyond Net Zero

12:05 - How AI Can Help Elevate Regenerative Architecture

24:52 - Reconciling High-End Development With Ecological Stewardship

29:40 - Metrics To Monitor To Ensure Regenerative Architecture Works

32:26 - Insights About Adaptive Reuse And Cultural Continuity

49:07 - How Architects Can Leverage Climate Paradox In Urban Designing

53:48 - How Climate Change Is Affecting Architectural Design

58:49 - How Architects Can Succeed In The New Era Of Sustainable Design

01:05:52 - How Kevin Designed Ground Zero’s Temporary Viewing Platform

01:13:13 - Episode Wrap-up And Closing Words

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Guest: Kevin Kennon