William McDonough: Designing Cradle to Cradle
May 17th, 2009
Green-minded architect and designer William McDonough asks what our buildings and products would look like if designers took into account “all children, all species, for all time.”
In Cradle to Cradle, McDonough and Braungart argue that the conflict between industry and the environment is not an indictment of commerce but an outgrowth of purely opportunistic design. The design of products and manufacturing systems growing out of the Industrial Revolution reflected the spirit of the day-and yielded a host of unintended yet tragic consequences.
“To use something as elegant as a tree. Imagine this design assignment: design something that makes oxygen, sequesters carbon, fixes nitrogen, distills water, accrues solar energy as fuel, makes complex sugars and food, creates microclimates, changes colors with the seasons, and self-replicates, then say why don’t we knock that down and write on it.”
- William McDonough – TEDtalks 2007
Today, with our growing knowledge of the living earth, design can reflect a new spirit. In fact, the authors write, when designers employ the intelligence of natural systems—the effectiveness of nutrient cycling, the abundance of the sun’s energy—they can create products, industrial systems, buildings, even regional plans that allow nature and commerce to fruitfully co-exist.
Cradle to Cradle maps the lineaments of McDonough and Braungart’s new design paradigm, offering practical steps on how to innovate within today’s economic environment. Part social history, part green business primer, part design manual, the book makes plain that the re-invention of human industry is not only within our grasp, it is our best hope for a future of sustaining prosperity.
In addition to describing the hopeful, nature-inspired design principles that are making industry both prosperous and sustainable, the book itself is a physical symbol of the changes to come. It is printed on a synthetic ‘paper,’ made from plastic resins and inorganic fillers, designed to look and feel like top quality paper while also being waterproof and rugged. And the book can be easily recycled in localities with systems to collect polypropylene, like that in yogurt containers. This ‘treeless’ book points the way toward the day when synthetic books, like many other products, can be used, recycled, and used again without losing any material quality—in cradle to cradle cycles.
Topics: Architect, Art, Building, Change, Commerce, Cradle to Cradle, Design, Design, Designer, Energy, Green-Minded, Industrial, Innovation, Prosperity, Revolution, Talk, TEDtalks, Theory, Time, Video, William McDonough, Wisdom, YouTube
Predicting the Next 5,000 Days of the Web. (2008) Kevin Kelly
October 13th, 2008
TEDtalks At the 2007 EG conference, Kevin Kelly shares a fun stat: The World Wide Web, as we know it, is only 5,000 days old. Now, Kelly asks, how can we predict what’s coming in the next 5,000 days?
Topics: Innovation, Kevin Kelly, Talk, TEDtalks, Theory, Video, YouTube
Do schools today kill creativity? (2007) Ken Robinson
October 13th, 2008
TEDtalks A must-see for every parent and teacher. Education guru Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. Sir Ken Robinson is author of “Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative,” and a leading expert on innovation in education and business. (Recorded February, 2006 in Monterey, CA.) More TEDTalks at www.TED.com
Topics: Creativity, Ken Robinson, Schools, Talk, TEDtalks, Theory, Video, YouTube
Using Biology to Make Better Animations (2008) Torsten Reil
July 10th, 2008
For years I have heard about special algorithms that were used to understand how the flow could effect blood cells through a mechanical valve using a NASA formula for analyzing air flow through a jet engine. Even the crash sequences in the pod races of Star Wars were completely based on a virtual crash formula that was 100% computer driven, and there are many other examples of this concept. It is the obvious evolution in 3d design animation. Instead of a two day creation that was the result of interpretation of what would happen in a particular case, these formula actually allow for the computer to do much of “tweaking.”
Now at TED, Torsten Reil gives a remarkable talk was given about how characters move in games, and how to make more lifelike using genetic algorithms… mimicking the human spinal cord and using evolutionary learning algorithms… it is very cool idea.
New GraphViz… Data Structure Mapper.
February 8th, 2007
Well… a VERY cool new program has the potential to revolutionize how site structures could be mapped… found an interesting paradim – a way to convert folder structures into org like charts… would be interesting to build Java App that will build a .dot file for DataViz… traversing the site and following the links all the while plotting their paths.
folder2dot.dmg – Get the script application that will make the .DOT file for either OmniGraffle or GraphViz 1.13 v16
Topics: .dot, Application, Automation, Description, Download, Theory
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