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Can you recap 30 years of architecture? Submit a proposal to speak at TED2014

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TED2013

Could this be you on the TED stage? Photo: Michael Brands

30-y-o global ideas conference seeks hot architecture talk.

Are you an architect, architecture critic, historian of architecture or otherwise involved with architecture and design? Have you always wanted to give a TED Talk?

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of TED, our 2014 conference will include several talks that look back on three decades of advances in a handful of fields. Until June 30, 2013, we are seeking proposals for an 18-minute, multimedia presentation that will take the TED audience through the most important developments in the past 30 years of architecture and suggest where the field is going — or needs to go — in the future.

Presentations may be developed and submitted by individuals or teams, though only one presenter will take the stage. The ideal presentation will:

  • be highly visual
  • be geared toward an audience of interested generalists
  • help non-architects grasp the most important changes in the field, including technological advances, changing materials, and shifting ideas about the relationship between the built environment, human beings, and the natural world
  • show the audience what the built world looked like in 1984, what it looks like now, how we got from there to here, and where we are (or should be) heading

We are not looking for an Architecture 101-style lecture. What we are looking for: a creative strategy for conveying, with intelligence and gusto, the recent architectural developments that matter most.

Interested parties should submit a short description (no more than 300 words) of the proposed presentation. Please include a synopsis of the architectural developments you regard as crucial, as well as your vision for how best to take an audience on a thrilling tour of recent architectural history.

Proposals should be submitted to architecture@ted.com by June 30, 2013.