Summer Islam, ARB AADipl (hons) is a doctoral fellow at the RIOT lab, EPFL ENAC-IA, where her research project ‘Ground Work’ explores the potential for a decarbonised built environment which prioritises ecosystems over industry. Her work investigates the political ecology of construction materials, with a particular focus on the environmental implications of scaling the use of regenerative materials in housing retrofit. She is also an architect and director of Material Cultures, an interdisciplinary not-for-profit design, action and research studio working towards climate and social justice within the built environment. Summer has previously taught on the MArch course at UAL, as a Guest Lecturer at the ETH in Zurich, at the London Metropolitan University and the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.