2018 40 Under 40: Stet Sanborn, AIA, CPHC; 37

By Jack Smith, Content Manager; Amara Rozgus, Editor-in-Chief May 14, 2018

Associate Principal, Integral Group, Oakland, Calif.

BS mechanical engineering, Kettering University, Flint, Mich.
M.Arch, University of California, Berkeley

As an associate principal with Integral Group in Oakland, Calif., Sanborn is primarily responsible for highly innovative mechanical system design. He also leads the firm’s efforts in integrating high-performance building enclosures and passive design strategies into a wide range of building types in pursuit of net zero and net positive energy. As a designer with a background in both engineering and architecture, he is able to bridge the communication gap that commonly occurs between disciplines. He serves as a visiting faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design, where he has taught the flagship building science course for the Department of Architecture and advised the UC Berkeley Solar Decathlon team. Sanborn also served as an adjunct professor of architecture at the California College of the Arts, teaching courses in building systems, sustainable design, and integrated building design. Sanborn has increased his firm’s focus on designing low-cost, high-efficiency systems for affordable housing projects, increasing awareness of energy equity and the importance of indoor air quality for at-risk residents. Sanborn also has served on volunteer committees with a local religious center to help reduce its energy use through energy retrofits and solar analysis and assessments, which has allowed the facility to install a 21.5-kW photovoltaic system. He helped oversee the design and procurement of the PV system and power-purchase agreement. Outside of his work life, Sanborn spends as much time as he possibly can enjoying the outdoors by hiking, camping, skiing, and snowshoeing with his husband and rat terrier in the Sierras. He is an active marathon runner, having completed six marathons and three half-marathons throughout California. If he has any spare time after that, he spends it restoring his 1971 Volkswagen Squareback automobile. He is currently rebuilding the vehicle’s engine.

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