‘HOME’CAST: Shaping the Built Environment through Data-Driven Innovation | Keynote Address @TheHarvardGSD
‘HOME’CAST: Shaping the Built Environment through Data-Driven Innovation | Keynote Address  @TheHarvardGSD
Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
In a constantly evolving urban landscape, the future of housing is increasingly intertwined with the complexities of a rapidly advancing technological sphere. The ‘HOME’CAST conference explores how AI, predictive analytics, and adaptive climate modeling are converging to shape housing systems that are both resilient and responsive to change. How do intermittent renewable energy sources like wind and solar complicate energy supply and building design? Can emerging technologies unravel these complexities when we can’t reliably forecast how much sun we’ll get or when the wind will blow? On the demand side, how do smart buildings, zero-energy homes, and community-scale energy systems adapt in real time to precarious energy inputs?
‘HOME’CAST brings together a curated group of experts—industry leaders, scholars, and practitioners—for a series of analytical panel discussions. These will highlight innovations in fault detection, AI-driven energy modeling, and climate-adaptive infrastructure, alongside broader conversations about urban planning, equity, design, and predictive governance.
From sustainability and climate resilience to data-driven, technology-enabled approaches and intelligent infrastructure, the conference offers multidisciplinary perspectives from design, data science, policy, and urban development—envisioning new forms of shelter in a climate-constrained world.

Keynote Address, Holly Samuelson

Holly Samuelson (DDes ’13) is an Associate Professor in the Building Technology Program in Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her work focuses on how building design impacts health and carbon emissions. At MIT, she directs the Livable Spaces Lab, an interdisciplinary research group advancing healthy, energy-efficient buildings for people and the planet. The lab combines computational and experimental methods to tackle urgent challenges, including heat vulnerability, thermal resilience, indoor air quality, carbon emissions, and the future of building design in a shifting energy landscape.
Before joining MIT, Dr. Samuelson practiced architecture, consulted for the building industry, and taught at Harvard University (2012-2025). She has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, including the Best Paper Award from Energy and Buildings. She has been featured by media outlets such as the BBC, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post, highlighting architecture’s role in promoting public health and addressing climate change.

00:00 Welcome by Lyna
03:47 Introduction by Ali Malkawi
08:53 Keynote Address by Holly Samuelson
36:50 Q+A
‘HOME’CAST: Shaping the Built Environment through Data-Driven Innovation | Keynote AddressDay in the Life of Harvard GSD Real Estate StudentAfrican Landscape Architectures: Alternative Futures for the Field | Panel 4: PedagogiesUrban Design as a Development Strategy: Roundtable and Closing RemarksAfrican Landscape Architectures: Alternative Futures for the Field | Panel 2: MaterialitiesAndy Summers Loeb Fellow 26Richard Sennett, “Stages and Streets: Where Performances Happen and Why They Happen Where They H...Harvard GSD Dean Sarah Whiting Wins Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural EducationBarozzi Veiga at the GSDSymposium in Honor of Giuliana Bruno, Panel 1: Elements of Media MatterAfrican Landscape Architectures: Alternative Futures for the Field | Panel 1: Currencies_positions XI: Neeraj Bhatia and Chris Lee
Harvard GSD |

‘HOME’CAST: Shaping the Built Environment through Data-Driven Innovation | Keynote Address

SHARE TO X SHARE TO REDDIT SHARE TO FACEBOOK WALLPAPER