Bucknum is the founder of an ecology-minded engineering firm called Hyphae Design Lab. He’s been examining how the already-with-us effects of climate change—from hotter and more polluted city air to a wider geographic distribution of pathogens—have the severest cumulative health impacts on communities of color and the least affluent. In his projects, he’s prioritized solutions that draw on natural processes, like installing green walls with a diversity of plants that can filter polluted air, while also adding a sense of community to neighborhoods.

“We have to take a philosophical approach to public health, looking at people as part of ecosystems,” says Bucknum. “Everything is connected and HVAC itself is an ecosystem.”

Bucknum’s proposals for evolving HVAC include more experimentation with a “probiotic approach” rather than the typical antiseptic, kill-all-germs methods. He points to research on biofilters, already used in the poultry and paint industries, that rely on fungi and bacteria (similar to what you’d find in healthy soil) to break down harmful volatile air compounds.