Matthew Vansweden
Director of Regenerative Design @Progressive Companies
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WORK HISTORY
Director of Regenerative Design @Progressive Companies
Grand Rapids, MI, US
I lead Progressive Companies’ transition from sustainability to regeneration—designing systems, stories, and structures that restore coherence between people, place, and purpose. My work translates institutional values into built expressions of care, turning projects into living frameworks for ecological and cultural repair.Regenerative design here isn’t a service line; it’s a way of seeing. I help teams and clients move beyond doing less harm toward creating conditions where life can thrive—embedding belonging, equity, and biophilic design into every phase of design. Through our Performance-Based Design framework, I align metrics with meaning, ensuring that carbon, comfort, and culture are not separate conversations but a single, living system.Whether guiding early visioning sessions, co-authoring narratives of impact, or building connective tools like ReCo and our Belonging Toolkit, I focus on turning values into visible infrastructure. My role is to help the practice remember that design is not neutral—it’s decision-making made visible.
EDUCATION
Ferris State University
Architecture Technology, Architecture
Kendall College of Art and Design
Collaborative Design, Minor: Architectural Design
Kuyper College
n/a, Pre-Seminary
SKILLS
ABOUT MATTHEW VANSWEDEN
I lead Progressive Companies’ transition from sustainability to regeneration—designing systems, stories, and structures that restore coherence between people, place, and purpose. My work translates institutional values into built expressions of care, turning projects into living frameworks for ecological and cultural repair.Regenerative design here isn’t a service line; it’s a way of seeing. I help teams and clients move beyond doing less harm toward creating conditions where life can thrive—embedding belonging, equity, and biophilic design into every phase of design. Through our Performance-Based Design framework, I align metrics with meaning, ensuring that carbon, comfort, and culture are not separate conversations but a single, living system.Whether guiding early visioning sessions, co-authoring narratives of impact, or building connective tools like ReCo and our Belonging Toolkit, I focus on turning values into visible infrastructure. My role is to help the practice remember that design is not neutral—it’s decision-making made visible.
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