Interesting TED Talk By William McDonough

The link below will take you to a "TED" talk given by the well known architect and thinker, William McDonough. He is the author of the well known and often referenced book, Cradle to Cradle and is an outspoken proponent for a different approach to resource use, architectural design, and other development strategies that incorporate a more comprehensive notion of what "production" and human existence should be about. Early in my architectural career I made a half hearted effort to gain employment by Mr. McDonough long before he became well known and I became rooted in my home city of St. Louis.

View from Oculus Offices looking toward Granite City IL.

In the past few weeks, I have found myself following links back to various "TED" talks when I have come across them in various websites I have visited. I was recently reminded of TED when a neighbor, colleague and fellow Arc board member, Andy Kanefield mentioned that he was headed to the 2013 TED Conference. I must admit that I was a bit envious as I think attending a TED conference would be a great way to recharge.  Following our conversation one evening, I found my self clicking on links. This morning I listened to a TED talk given by William McDonough and referenced on Architect magazines web site. This talk is interesting for me since outside my window on this sunny day I can see Granite City Steel one of the shrinking number of heavy industrial plants in the Unitied States. In the TED talk, McDonough shows his transformational design for Ford Motors River Rouge location. River Rouge was one of Henry Ford's crowning industrial achievements but marks a different era in environmental awareness. As I look out my window, I see a landscape that still contains so much of the old school remnants of our heavy industrial past and wonder what our built environment will be like for our kids and future generations. Watch the talk and think about it. We would love to here from you. Please make comments.

TED Talk By William McDonough

William McDonough Bio

TED's Web Page