Lisa Sundahl Platt, Ph.D., NCIDQ, LEED AP BD+C, EDAC, spent more than 25 years in practice before joining the University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning (DCP). As a certified and licensed interior designer, she worked on designing settings such as those in healthcare, education, and government that demanded close attention to health, safety, performance, and environmental responsibility. That experience continues to shape her teaching and research, which are grounded in the belief that design should solve real problems and improve how people live.
Platt joined DCP’s Department of Interior Design six years ago as a full-time faculty member and researcher. Her background in practice, combined with doctoral training in Systems Science and Engineering, has informed her approach to sustainability, resilience, and design education. On July 1, 2026, she became director of the sustainability and the built environment (SBE) program, a role that reflects her long-standing investment in connecting technical knowledge, applied research, and student learning.
Her work in the SBE program is centered on preparing students for the realities of professional practice. She sees strong demand for graduates who can work across disciplines, understand building performance and make informed decisions about sustainability in complex settings. Her plans for the program include clearer areas of specialization, stronger connections between undergraduate and graduate study, and more opportunities for students to develop skills that are useful in both industry and research.
A key part of that effort is expanding hands-on learning through partnerships with industry and community collaborators. These relationships give students access to real projects, real data and the kinds of questions they will face in practice. Through living laboratory models and applied coursework, students can test ideas, evaluate building systems and connect classroom learning to measurable outcomes.
Platt’s scholarship directly shapes the curriculum she develops. She created the Sustainable Adaptive Material Performance Level (SAMPL) framework to help students evaluate building materials in terms of resilience, health, environmental stress and long‑term performance. In 2026, she received the International Interior Design Association Educator of the Year award, recognition tied in part to SAMPL’s contribution to design education and its focus on evidence‑based material decision‑making. In the courses she has redesigned, students use these tools to think more critically about material choices and to understand the tradeoffs involved in real‑world design work.
She is also involved in broader resilience research through DCP’s Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience (FIBER), where she serves as technology lead. That role creates additional opportunities for students to participate in externally funded work on issues such as housing, community resilience, and building performance. Across teaching, research, and leadership, her focus remains consistent: preparing students to enter the field with practical skills, analytical confidence and a strong sense of responsibility to the people and places their work will affect.