At TEDSummit in June, we featured a talk by a young Syrian architect, Marwa Al-Sabouni. In it, she shares an important and original insight about how the roots of conflict can be traced, among other better-studied reasons, to misdirected and divisive urbanism. She offers the example of her own country, where violent conflict has been […]
In today’s talk, Teddy Cruz looks at San Diego-Tijuana border, where some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the United States are just a short drive from some of the poorest communities in Mexico. As used materials flow from San Diego to Tijuana, transforming the kinds of structures created there, people move from Tijuana to San Diego, retrofitting […]
Diébédo Francis Kéré grew up in a small village in Gando, Burkina Faso, before heading to Germany to study architecture. And as a student there, he came up with a very ambitious project. “I wanted to open up better opportunities to other kids in Gando. I wanted to use my skills to build a school. […]
“I was disappointed in my profession,” says architect Shigeru Ban in today’s talk, which he gave at TEDxTokyo in May. As far as he’s concerned, architecture has lost its way. “We are working for privileged people, for rich people, for government and developers. They have money and power, and those are invisible, so they hire […]
“Like snowflakes, no two pieces of wood can be the same anywhere on earth,” says architect Michael Green in today’s lyrical TED talk, “Why we should build wooden skyscrapers,” in which he lays out his thesis for designing and engineering the world’s tallest buildings from one of its oldest materials. “Mother Nature has fingerprints in […]
Artist Kiel Johnson, who led the amazing workshop “Everyone’s An Architect” last year at TEDActive, was featured today on both the Huffington Post and Sinbadesign for his intricate cardboard city creations, which TEDActive attendees helped build in Palm Springs last spring. Since then, Kiel’s been involved in a couple of TEDx events around the world, […]
Last week, TED’s curator, Chris Anderson, addressed the 2011 graduating class of architects from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. His advice to them? Don’t pursue your passion directly. At least not yet. Instead … pursue the things that will empower you. Pursue knowledge. Be relentlessly curious. Listen, learn. Read the text of Chris’ commencement […]
A future more beautiful? Architect Thomas Heatherwick shows five recent projects featuring ingenious bio-inspired designs. Some are remakes of the ordinary: a bus, a bridge, a power station … And one is an extraordinary pavilion, the Seed Cathedral, a celebration of growth and light. (Recorded at TED2011, March 2011, in Long Beach, CA. Duration: 16:52) […]
Lighting architect Rogier van der Heide offers a beautiful new way to look at the world — by paying attention to light (and to darkness). Examples from classic buildings illustrate a deeply thought-out vision of the play of light around us. (Recorded at TEDxAmsterdam, October 2010, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Duration: 16:52) [ted id=1098] Watch […]
How can architects build a new world of sustainable beauty? By learning from nature. At TEDSalon in London, Michael Pawlyn describes three habits of nature that could transform architecture and society: radical resource efficiency, closed loops, and drawing energy from the sun. (Recorded at TEDSalon, November 2010, in London, UK. Duration: 13:47) [ted id=1072] Watch […]
TED Fellow and urban designer Mitchell Joachim presents his vision for sustainable, organic architecture: eco-friendly abodes grown from plants and — wait for it — meat. (Recorded at TED2010, February 2010 in Long Beach, CA. Duration: 02:57) Watch Mitchell Joachim’s talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find […]
Architecture student Magnus Larsson details his bold plan to transform the harsh Sahara desert using bacteria and a surprising construction material: the sand itself.(Recorded at TEDGlobal 2009, July 2009, Oxford, UK. Duration: 11:44) Twitter URL: http://on.ted.com/126Y Watch Magnus Larsson’s talk on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find […]
At TEDGlobal U, Cameron Sinclair shows the unreported cost of real estate megaprojects gone bust: thousands of migrant construction laborers left stranded and penniless. To his fellow architects, he says there is only one ethical response. (Recorded at TEDGlobal University 2009, July 2009, Oxford, UK. Duration: 3:06) Watch Cameron Sinclair’s talk on TED.com, where you […]
The TED Blog caught up with Bjarke Ingels several weeks after he gave his TEDTalk at TEDGlobal 2009. How have the reactions been to your talk? Well, in the comments on the website, there’s been a lot of meticulous debate about whether or not you can actually see the Great Wall of China from the […]
Venice, Italy is sinking. To save it, TED Fellow Rachel Armstrong says we need to outgrow architecture made of inert materials and, well, make architecture that grows itself. She proposes a not-quite-alive material that does its own repairs and sequesters carbon, too. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2009, July 2009, Oxford, UK. Duration: 07:32) Twitter URL: http://on.ted.com/4R […]
Author Sam Martin shares photos of a quirky world hobby that’s trending with the XY set: the “manspace.” (They’re custom-built hangouts where a man can claim a bit of his own territory to work, relax, be himself.) Grab a cold one and enjoy. (Recorded at TEDGlobal, July 2009, Oxford, UK. Duration: 4:27) Twitter URL: http://on.ted.com/3o […]