Time Magazine called him a "Hero of the
Planet" in
1999.
In 1977, William McDonough designed and built the first-solar
heated house in Ireland. In 1985 he designed the first "green" office
in the US, commissioned by the US Environmental Defense Fund.
McDonough views the conflict between environment and industry
as a design problem that can be solved in the next industrial
revolution. His "cradle to cradle" design philosophy
is based on the premise that everything we design needs
to be reusable at every phase of the production process.
McDonough's vision: To create "multiple life" products
out of biodegradable materials, ensuring the products we
create will never find their grave in a landfill. He co-wrote "Cradle
to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things" with German
chemist Dr. Michael Braungart in 2002. The two colleagues
were also subjects of the 2001 documentary "The Next
Industrial Revolution."
As a leader in sustainable design and development, McDonough’s
expertise on large-scale projects is sought world-wide. China
has recently asked him to develop a "cradle to cradle" model
for new cities currently in the phases of planning and production.
China plans to move 400 million people, half the rural population,
into urban centers in the next 12 years and have asked McDonough
to work on planning templates that developers can take and
use for their own projects. It will be the largest migration
of humans in history.
To do this he is studying the landscape in its smallest
details. This includes wind patterns and sun angles, rainwater
runoff, animal migration patters and where specific plants
grow. Energy efficiency will happen through new types of
building materials (which he has begun to develop with chemical
company BASF) and a solar-powered energy grid. McDonough’s
vision is to see China's cities powered by solar panels. "We're
not talking about dinky solar collectors on roofs," he
told Newsweek. "Think of square miles of marginal land
covered with them. This could drop the cost of solar energy
an order of magnitude. And for every job making solar panels,
there are four jobs putting them in place and maintaining
them."
McDonough is the founder of two design firms: William McDonough
+ Partners, Architecture and Community Design in 1981 and,
more recently, McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC).
William McDonough + Partners designs homes, offices, campuses,
warehouses, communities and cities. MBDC applies McDonough
and Braungart's "cradle to cradle" design principles
to the production, textiles, and manufacturing industries.
For more information on McDonough’s work:
http://www.mcdonoughpartners.com/
http://www.mbdc.com/
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