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3D Printed Living Seawalls: Engineering Environmental Solutions with Anya Freeman, Founder & CEO, Kind Designs
Manage episode 491868734 series 3668830
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Reimagining coastal protection through revolutionary technology that preserves both our cities and oceans. Meet Anya Freeman, the visionary founder behind Kind Designs, who's transforming traditional seawalls into living marine habitats through cutting-edge 3D printing.
The urgency is clear: traditional concrete seawalls are destroying marine ecosystems at an alarming rate—50,000 miles of habitats will be lost by 2040. Meanwhile, coastal communities face increasingly severe flooding and prohibitive costs for protection. Anya's solution? The world's fastest concrete 3D printer creating biomimetic seawalls that serve dual purposes: safeguarding shorelines while fostering thriving underwater ecosystems.
What makes this story particularly compelling is Anya's unlikely journey. A Ukrainian immigrant and former lawyer with no background in science, construction, or oceanography, she built a diverse team largely through Craigslist—proving that innovation often comes from unexpected places. Her leadership philosophy prioritizes grit and hands-on skills over traditional credentials, resulting in a tight-knit team unified by their mission to transform coastal infrastructure.
The impact extends beyond environmental benefits. With 30% of the global population living directly on water, Kind Designs is making coastal protection more affordable and accessible. Their second-generation seawalls eliminate rebar entirely, further increasing cost efficiency, while extending lifespan from 30-40 years to over 100 years.
Discover how this groundbreaking approach to climate resilience is attracting major investment and changing how we think about infrastructure's relationship with nature. Also, I believe this thinking has the ability to inspire more breakthrough solutions and to be a catalyst for game-changing ideas in manufacturing, in total.
Follow Anya's mission to protect our coastlines while nurturing the ocean ecosystems we depend on.
www.kinddesigns.com
Instagram: @KindDesignsOfficial
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Chapters
1. Introduction to Anya and Kind Designs (00:00:00)
2. Revolutionary 3D Printed Living Seawalls (00:02:56)
3. Environmental Impact of Traditional Seawalls (00:06:54)
4. Anya's Journey from Ukraine to Entrepreneur (00:11:56)
5. Leadership Philosophy and Team Building (00:20:28)
6. Fundraising Strategy and Investor Relations (00:28:00)
7. Manufacturing Innovations and Future Vision (00:35:16)
71 episodes
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