Urban Intervention with Groundcycle

A I'm Evelyn Lee. And I'm Janine Chastain. We're collaborating on curated conversations to explore how the industry of architecture is changing.

B Together, we'll find ways to create new solutions to current challenges while elevating the value of architects. Welcome to Practice Disrupted. Hello, listeners. Hello, Janine.

C Hi, Evelyn. Hi, disruptors.

C Today's guest, Vivian Lynn, was referred to us as a member of our practice of architecture lab. The POA lab is a community of forward thinking individuals who are looking to continuously evolve their architecture careers and practice to ensure it stays relevant even as the world around us changes. You can find out more about the lab by visiting practice of architecture.com/lab. Now for our guest. Vivian Lynn left her career in architecture to take on an entirely different city system, compost. Her organization, Ground Cycle, has been featured in The New York Times, Good Morning America, Bon Appetit, and more.

A We have so much to learn from her transition out of traditional practice. Before we jump into it, we'd like to start by asking Vivian to introduce herself in her own words. Vivian, can you tell us a little bit more about where you started in your career in architecture and now where you're at with Ground Cycle?

D Yeah. Sure. So I studied architecture and got my bachelor's at RPI, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. And I'm originally from Brooklyn, so I just traveled, you know, a little bit upstate to get my degree. And I came back to the city after that and worked at Rafael Vignoli Architects for around 2 years before I started ground cycle during the pandemic when we were all living at home. And, basically, Ground Cycle is a sustainability company. And, where we started was when New York City shut down the compost program. So we were all working from home at this time.

D Because of the pandemic. And I was looking for ways to be more sustainable in my own life. So I was researching and found out about how important composting was. And once I found out I was, you know, dead set on doing it. And, the very same week, New York City canceled the program because of budget cuts. So I started researching at home and realizing that, I can connect with local farmers who are still working with a lot of organic waste all the time. And they're also growing a lot of food that they're not able to get to people's homes because they traditionally sell sell at markets or sell to restaurants, and all of those were not happening at the time. So I decided to start this thing called a bin swap where you collect your organic waste in a bin and place it outside, and I come by and replace it with a new bin with fresh vegetables inside.

D And that way you're completely closing the loop between produce and compost, and everything is staying local, and nothing is going to waste. So that's where we got started, and it was really a weekend project for me, while I was working my architecture job. I didn't even know how to drive at the time, so it was me roping in my friends, to come and help me transport everything and figure everything out, and I just decided to go for it 2 weeks after I initially had the idea. So it all happened super fast, and didn't really know what I was doing in the beginning at all, But definitely felt like I needed to do something during that time, because I had decided I'm not gonna be throwing out my organics any longer until I figure out a solution. So, that's why I really pushed forward with the idea so fast.

A Was the budget cut from New York to stop the composting program related to the pandemic or was that separate from the pandemic?

D It was related to the pandemic because the city had to cut back on a lot of programs to support COVID, to have a COVID budget. And compost was one of the first things to get cut, which is really disappointing because it's a small, small fraction of the city's overall budget, but and so important. So it was really disappointing that it was one of the first ones to go.

A So has New York City returned the composting program now that we're a little bit further along?

D Yeah. So when I started, there was no at home pickup and also no drop off sites available. And so there were really zero options. And that's why I started. And shortly after I started, I also started a drop off-site, for people to come to me instead of me going to individual homes. Drop off sites did come back earlier than the pickup program, and right now there are a lot of drop off sites, and, the at home compost pickup brown bin program is also back in certain neighborhoods where they're they have enough capacity.

A What was demand like in that early point during the pandemic when you started doing this kind of outreach? Because I would imagine you've grown quite a bit, I would assume. And I'm curious, like, how many how many clients were you working with at that point versus how many what is your reach now in terms of how many pickups and drop offs are you doing?

D When I first got started, I wrote a letter and sent it to my friends and family and told them about the issue and my my idea. And that first week that I got started, it was around 13 people who signed up. And after that, you know, their their friends and network started finding out about it and signing up, and it was slowly growing that way, just organically. And nothing was super formal. You know, I was charging $5 a pop for, you know, anything. You can create a custom order or skip your service. There was no really system with it, but, slowly as I evolved, I knew that the system had to get a little bit better because the first day, I got home after a super long day of traveling to the farm and back into all these people's homes. And, yeah, I realized, oh, I have to do this again the very next week because that's what I set up for it to be.

D So I really had to work on my feet and figure out, you know, a smarter way to do all of this. Yeah. So people started signing up, and I think around a month into it, I didn't have a website. I just had this private Instagram account where I was documenting the process, and, somehow this New York Times reporter found out about it while my partner was at a market and started asking questions, like, what are you doing? Why are you picking up so much food? And, he explained the project to her, and she immediately took an interest and started following us and reached out and said she wanted to write a story about it, because she didn't even know that the compost program was cancelled at the time. And so that obviously really propelled us forward to, you know, people worldwide read the New York Times. So it was probably 3 months into it where the article came out, and I had just launched my website maybe 2 days before that, because I knew we need to have something. And so yeah, that definitely we had 150 sign ups in a day. And my phone was just buzzing nonstop for a whole day.

D But yeah. Ever since then, we've had a really solid base of people, and a lot of those people who signed up that from that are still on our program today, and they've diverted, you know, over a £1,000 of organics just in their household over this time. We weigh everybody's compost, and we tell them how much they're diverting every week. So you really see an impact of, you know, the little steps that you're making in your life, how they translate over time.

A And how many customers do you have today?

D Yeah. So now we have in terms of BIM swap members, we have somewhere in the 300, and then we also have, you know, maybe 60 people who come to our drop off-site, week after week and that fluctuates a little bit. We also service some businesses. So that way, we're able to scale up our impact a lot more. And I'm trying to also work with offices, and just anywhere. Because we're all you know, we're all eating all the time. So this is really relevant to literally everybody.

A Let's talk about the impact that you're you're wanting to make through this work. So from the early research that you were reading, what was it that you identified in the process of composting that was sustainable and the impact that you envisioned for yourself through creating this outreach?

D It's really funny when I tell people I didn't actually compost before I started this composting company because, you know, it it kind of sounds funny, but, the idea is very simple. Right? Anything that grows from the earth can return back to the earth and not produce, you know, these harmful greenhouse gases that would otherwise you know, when organics end up in landfill, they're super harmful to the environment. And so that is a really simple idea that even kids can understand, and once I understand when I once I explain it to kids, they totally get it. And so once I found out about composting and how important it was, I knew that it wasn't something that I could just, you know, ignore. And yeah. I think it's, you know, the everyday steps that we can take against this huge problem of climate change that can really be good on our own mental health, as well as the health of the planet.

A Yeah. I, you know, I feel like composting is one of those things where it's a small behavior that can add up and make a bigger impact and it's a micro habit that you can do to participate in a sustainable lifestyle and not feel like you have to, completely radically change your your behavior. And I think it like you said, like, it adds up in such a meaningful way, but I'm sure some of our listeners are kind of scratching their head wondering how does compost relate to architecture. So maybe we should go back and and try to tell this story about how you you began your career in architecture, and then you have ultimately moved over into becoming an entrepreneur in this, social impact space. So can you talk to us a little bit about your your initial interest in architecture and what made you pursue a b arc?

D I would say I was heavily influenced by my dad, who is a really handy guy. And growing up, he was always fixing things around the house and building. And, I mean, he just completed a complete renovation of our upstairs and laid down entirely new flooring. So growing up, I was always watching him as a kid and just fascinated with building and, yeah, just the world around me. And in high school, I actually went to a very competitive math and science school and had a huge kind of testing background where, you know, you're you're learning all these things and taking tests. But during that time, I took a drafting class, which is required of everybody, and really enjoyed that and then started taking an architecture course in my last year of high school and even did 2 internships at architecture firms while I was in high school. So I think everything was kind of leading me towards architecture school, and when it was time to decide what to study in college, I wasn't super sure, but I said, you know, everything's looking like I'm going to architecture school, so let me just give this a shot. Even though it's totally different than where I come from, where it's, like, a bunch of these rigorous tests, and then I'm going into this pretty creative field where you're doing presentations and talking about ideas.

D So that's what really got me into architecture school, and I really loved it. And I think it really taught me how to think and how to creatively problem solve and think big. And so that's what really, you know, I don't think I could have came up with the idea for Brown Cycle or any of this if I had not gone to architecture school. I think also my interest in sustainability really started in architecture school where it's really emphasized, and I even took a building ecology class and did all these kind of projects related to sustainability. And, I think in the real world, I was kind of lacking that, you know, emphasis on sustainability and looking to do it in my personal life. So that's where the composting came in.

C So when you talk about the ecology class, was that built into the core curriculum of your program, or was that, like, a elective that in a path that you kind of chose to go down?

D It was technically a study abroad program, but it was located in New York City. And it was called Center For Architecture, Science and Ecology, where you're learning about all these green building technologies in this office setting and, doing a bunch of projects circled around green building technology.

A The architectural education helped you think about problem solving in a new way, and you were really inspired by the program in terms of what you were learning about sustainability. Walk us through how you landed in practice and that initial experience of working out in, like, a firm and and in architecture?

D So I was working on a lot of large scale institutional projects. And it's actually not where I originally wanted to go into. I wanted to work on small projects and really get hands on and minute with the details. But I ended up, you know, working on large construction, new courthouse building, and, athletic facilities, and stadiums, and all of these big projects. So I think what was lacking to me is, like, seeing the actual physical change that my work is helping to create. Because I know obviously we all know that architecture projects last a very long time and take a long time to actually for for you to see the results. Composting, on the other hand, is, you know, very you can see everything very clearly. You can feel the weight of the compost and, like, everything is very tangible.

D I think that's also a little bit of why I transitioned into something that has a little bit more of, like, instant gratification.

C I think Janine and I can both relate. We've said that at one point or another. I think, you know, out of my entire time that I spent in practice, I only saw one building from, like, complete conception through to occupancy. And then I definitely had an impatience of wanting to kind of see the results, the tangible results I was making right away. So obviously you decided to make, I mean, it's so inspiring to hear that you kind of came up with an idea and 2 weeks later, you're executing against that. I think a lot of people have not resistance, but they just have a hesitancy to kind of completely jump in hands and feet first. So when you tell me that you are interested in working on all of these small projects and kind of getting into it, it it's really interesting how this translates to your work at ground cycle. When was things at ground cycle getting so busy that you just decided this is something that I wanna do full time?

D After the 1st week of doing it and a few weeks of doing it, it was so cool to me that people were naturally just finding out about us and signing up and reaching out. How how do how do I get involved? How do I sign up? And there was just a lot of traction with it. And I knew that I hit an idea that was resonating with people a lot, while they were stuck at home. They wanted to do something that helps the community, that helps the environment. That they're also able to get this fresh local food delivered. You know, it's all positive. So I think that was what really helped me, you know, make the decision to transition into full time. Also I knew that this New York Times reporter found out about us, and that I really needed to start getting to work on creating a really good system that could hold a lot more people than I was originally starting with.

D And so that was just, yeah, it was a big push to get it all out there, and work with software engineers to make a website and design our entire thing from scratch. And, even doing, like, a delivery routing part of the, technology that we have now, Where in the beginning, I just had a spreadsheet on my phone and, like, calculating numbers, and then drafting up emails the night before. I really want our members to experience a really smooth bin swap. And so a lot of technology was needed to make that happen. And I'm still evolving that.

A A lot of people are looking at transitioning out of architecture, and some are struggling with this idea of leaving behind the identity of becoming an architect, especially after all of the education and the training that goes into it. What was that decision like for you?

D I think for me, it was not as hard because I saw a real need. And, you know, everyday buildings are getting built, and I think for me, just having this idea and knowing that nobody else is doing this, I knew that I needed to go forward with that instead of, staying in the architecture field.

C We always talk about our journey, and I think yours is an interesting one. I I some what wonder that if you ended up at a different firm, if, like, ground cycle would have like, doing a lot more smaller projects, ground cycle would be where it is today. I think it's kind of like a happenstance of where you ended up the world, obviously, and, like, this need that that ground cycle came to be. I mean, what is really interesting is just the notion that a lot of technology did go into this. So how did you go about finding, you know, the programmers and the people to support you on the technology side? Was this was it friends doing this? Or, you know, how when you realized you needed to begin building out this a more sophisticated system, where did you go to find the resources that you needed?

D Very early on, I was connected to a student group at NYU, called Social Impact Scholars, and their whole mission is to help social impact start ups with any problems that they were having. And before I even had a website, I I had this group of students who were working with me. And I was just telling them, oh, you know, I am so bad at technology stuff, and I, even these plug and play website builders, I'm having difficulty with. And one of them said, hey, like, my childhood best friend is actually a software engineering student, and she's really dedicated in sustainability. And so we got connected, and her and I worked together night and day to put everything out. And I would say that, in general, I found that because people understand our mission so much, so many people do reach out and say, how do I help? I have these skills. And can I help in any way? Because it's such a big issue. And yeah.

D I think our mission really resonates with people.

A You're doing this in a pretty intense and urban environment. I'm curious what that experience is like in trying to navigate these deliveries and drop offs. You've talked about a little bit of the technology in in terms of finding the efficiencies. I'm so curious, and I'm and I'm sure your architecture experience plays a role in some of that in terms of navigating a city and trying to, design processes around how this operates?

D Yeah. So first of all, you have the bin, and when you store the scraps in the bin, nothing smells, and that's a huge deterrent for people when they hear the word compost is, oh, it smells. It's growth. Or people who live in small buildings where, you know, you have the small space of a freezer. People who do compost like to freeze it so it doesn't get icky and gross. But, you know, yeah, it's the it's the small space and having to think of a program that works for everybody. And the spin doesn't take up too much space and can actually hold a lot of scraps. So that's the first part.

D And now we service all types of buildings. It's actually been really fun for me too because growing up in New York City, I think a lot of my social life was centered in Manhattan. I went to high school in Manhattan. I would have internships and jobs in Manhattan. So I would, a lot of the time, skip over all of Brooklyn and just end up in the city. But through this project, I knew that I wanted to service my local neighborhood first. And so in the beginning, it was just Brooklyn. And, it's been really fun for me to travel into all these different neighborhoods and get to know people and what the city is like in, you know, everywhere.

D And that's that's also the beauty of New York City, is every neighborhood is so different. So, yeah, it it's been super cool to navigate all of these different buildings and seeing what works, what doesn't, and figuring out something for everybody.

A And, obviously, you're not doing this by yourself anymore. You have employees now is what I heard.

D Yeah. So I have a small team of drivers who work with me. Like I said, I didn't know how to drive when I started this, company, so I really had to rely on other people to do the last leg of, everything. But I actually got my license just in January, a few months ago. And now I am able to go out there and do everything myself as well. But yeah. We have that and we have a great volunteer base who kind of consult with me and help me on various things. But, yeah, we're we're a pretty small team, and, it's working out.

C You talked about how your architecture education led you into your interest in sustainability In in designing ground cycle, and I I think you even alluded it to it already. Right? Like, you really wanted the experience from the the client side to be pretty seamless. But what other ideas do you think, be it marketing, be it process, have you really taken your architecture education and put it to use in ground cycle?

D Early on, it was thinking about the user experience and, you know, the notifications that people need. How do people order? What time are we gonna arrive, like, all of these logistical things and figure out systems for that. But also in terms of graphics, and, telling people about the problems, diagramming, and, doing all of these things to bring awareness to the larger issue and our problem solving abilities. Yeah. I I think it's been really cool to even do UX work and work with specific UX designers and learning about that aspect of design. Yeah. I think design skills are so universal in that sense, that you can apply it to so many different things. And that's what business is, is like solving it solving a problem.

D So instead of just solving a problem with building and the environment, you're also solving like yeah. Just everyday problem that people have and connecting the dots. I also tell people that my position right now is pretty similar to architecture in in the sense that when you're working on a building project, the architect is often the person who is connecting all these different dots, and architects don't always know everything about everything, but they know a little bit about everything. And so they're able to put the pieces together and connect the engineer with the lighting consultant, with the structural yeah. All of those things. But right now, what I'm doing is connecting all of these people who are creating a lot of solutions and the people who need it and yeah. Just creating a whole world around sustainable solutions. What I didn't mention yet is that now we do a lot more than just pick up produce and deliver farmed vegetables.

D We also collect a lot of hard to recycle items, like soft plastic bags and snack wrappers and beauty packaging. All of these things that would traditionally go into landfill, We're actually finding people who are working with those materials and, yeah, invest in utilizing those materials so that they're not wasted. And we also work with sustainable businesses to deliver their goods, like plastic free pantry products and, you know, bamboo toothbrushes, soap refills, all types of things that you can use in your daily life to be more sustainable rather than the, you know, traditional you buy and throw out so much. Everything we deliver, we collect back, and we also collect back more than we deliver. So seeing all of these solutions that people are creating, and then just connecting people with it. We also do something fun like deliver out member made goods. So we're really building community around what ground cycle is. Somebody bakes and donates the money to charity, and we now deliver their goods to everybody.

D Somebody makes kombucha. Somebody has their family has a maple farm. Somebody makes jams and curds. It's so cool to be inspired by our community, and I I learned so much from them.

A I was curious, you know, I wanted to go further into the, where the waste goes. I'm glad you brought that up. And also the farmers that you're engaging with, where does your compost go? And then who are the farmers that you're working with to get the produce?

D We work with this farm called McEnroe Organic Farm, and they actually have a pretty large scale composting operation on their site, and that's why I actually initially worked with them is because I knew some of these smaller farms don't have the capacity to take so much outside waste, and I wanted to find somebody who was already doing it at a pretty large scale and could accept a lot more because I didn't wanna limit our growth. And then the farm that we work with our produce is called Garden of Eve, and they're out in Long Island. They're an organic farm, and basically, the owner, Eve, she was willing to work with me on this project. And yeah, she it's been great. We have, like, farm tours, and, we also offer our members an option where you can customize your produce order, which is not really common with local farm boxes. It's usually like a CSA style where you just pay for a quantity and get whatever the farmer decides to give you. But to limit on the waste of that, we also have an option where you can customize your order. And so a lot of those things, she was willing to work with me on.

D And they also grow so many different veggies, so we have a lot of variety too.

C I see a lot of people in the younger generation really being more entrepreneurial about and and socially driven about where they are headed with their careers. Did you always know, like, was the entrepreneurial spirit, like, this a part of who you are, or was it just, you know, you you stumbled across this need, you saw their reaction, and then that kind of turned you into the entrepreneur. You know, so many people, myself included, have such a hard time making that leap to to starting something. And so I'm I'm just curious as to what what drove you, what continues to drive you, and and how you continue to like, what is your source of inspiration now that you're kind of out of architecture to continue to grow what you're doing?

D I don't think that I always thought I was an entrepreneur, but it does make sense that I started my own business. Because, actually, both of my parents are entrepreneurs. I'm first generation American. And when they arrived in the US, they started their own restaurants. And I can't I can't believe that, just, like, starting a new business in a country where you don't really even know the language of, like, how they did that. So I think it's really funny because my parents tell me, hey we did the hard the hard stuff of, you know, starting our own business and making a whole making a living in this country so that you could, you know, live an easier life and, you know, work an office job where you don't need to do any manual labor. But then I naturally gravitated towards doing this outdoor thing where we're lifting a bunch of stuff and dealing with other people's waste. So they're not too happy about it.

D But I also I also tell them that their hard work also rewarded me the ability to start something like this, that really comes from my heart, you know? Because if I was worrying about if I was able to survive or not, you know, then maybe I wouldn't have the creative ability to think of something like this and start something like this. But yeah. Right now, I'm also you using their house, using the backyard, using the basement, using a lot of this space. And it's it's cool to draw inspiration from my parents because I know how hard yeah, just in general, the community that really cares about stuff like this. It's been really fun to meet so many people who have the same interests, and we all, you know, have a special bond with each other.

C Is there anything that you miss at all about being in that office, about being amongst maybe more of your architectural peers on a more regular basis?

D I do definitely miss the people, and being in an office environment where you have all these people to bounce around ideas. But I still do stay in close communication with a lot of my coworkers, and we often still get together and catch up on, you know, where everybody else is at with their lives and, design careers and all that. And I still have so many friends in the architecture world, so I don't think I'm completely removed from it. And, actually, right after this, later in the evening, I'm gonna be giving a talk at one of the first places I interned at, Perkins Eastman. I'm doing, like, a lunch and learn there. So, yeah, I'm very much still involved in the architecture community and very interested, and I think that there's a lot to learn from the design profession.

A Definitely. I mean, I think you are thinking about this from a viewpoint of having been trained as a designer, and you will continue to be an advocate for design and architecture through this work. It's it's an intervention. It's a city scaled intervention to, make a social impact. So I I see the overlap. I'm not sure if everyone does, but I think certainly Evelyn and I appreciate it and understand it. You know, you're only 2 years old as a business, which is still pretty early, so I'm curious. And you've grown quite a lot, which is really impressive.

A Where do you see the future for Ground Cycle and for yourself as an entrepreneur? Where where are things heading?

D I would love to work with all buildings. You know? I would love to work with offices and businesses and, get entire buildings to be on our, you know, circular living plan. And we're creating so many different solutions, so I think it really applies to everybody. And I think that's the bigger idea is just getting more people on this, because we're trying to figure it out so you don't have to. Sustainable living is oftentimes really hard right now because you're digging into, like, a bunch of research and finding out what you should do with this and this. And I think we should just share the knowledge once we find something, and that's what I'm really doing with Ground Cycle. It's it's kind of like my personal journey of sustainability. I didn't start with composting, until I started the company.

D And now that I found all of these other sustainable solutions, I'm integrating it into the program so that all of our members could get can get in on it. So, yeah, just continuing to build up our network of sustainable solutions and growing also the people who are using all of these solutions. Because we can all, you know, we we can't do as much when we're on our own, but altogether, we can do a lot. And that really shows for me. Even though, you know, in the grand scheme of things in New York City, we're pretty small. You know, a couple 100 people versus, like, 1,000 or, I don't know, even 1,000,000. But, yeah, just growing the community.

C What service area are you servicing right now? And if I'm in or around that service area area at all and I'm on the building owner side. What's the best way to reach out and get in touch with you so we can help you grow this?

D Yeah. So we have a website, groundcycle.org, and you can reach out to us there. Email. I'm checking all of the emails. And right now, we're in all of Brooklyn and Manhattan. We started with just Brooklyn, but now we've expanded.

C I I have a feeling and hopefully hopefully an architecture firm will respond. But I do think that there are some architecture firms that are focused on, like, you know, health and wellness. So maybe there's a there's a way for you to get them involved too as they bring back people to the office, providing fresh produce for the employees. So just a thought that I'm going to throw out there for architecture firms or anyone else listening.

A And obviously, you've talked a lot about your values and your hopes for changing climate. And I'm curious what your one idea or lesson on change is for the practice of architecture that you'd like to pass forward to our listeners, and that includes architects, emerging professionals, and industry disruptors.

D Yeah. I think that it's important to take a step back and also realize that you have the ability to create change, in something that you see that isn't working, realizing that you have the ability to make change. Because oftentimes, I think we're stuck in systems that aren't working, and we just kind of stay complacent or just follow the everyday. But I think when I came up with the idea for ground cycle, it was a really reflective time for everybody, and through that reflection process, I came up with an idea and it yeah, I think just taking the time to yeah, I think just taking the time to reflect and make steps in your own life that you feel drawn to. And, yeah, just following your gut.

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