CTA partners with BSU to bring Sustainability Pioneer William McDonough to Boise
William McDonough has a refreshing perspective on how to address the current environmental crisis: make it a design assignment.
The world-renowned "green" architect and designer came to Boise State University on April 17, 2008 as a featured speaker for BSU's Distinguished Lecture Series. His talk, "The Next Industrial Revolution" was underwritten by CTA Architects Engineers and delivered to a packed house at the Morrison Center auditorium mere days before Earth Day.
CTA formed a partnership with the University Foundation in January to further the advancement of sustainable building practices, education and community involvement. And William McDonough, as the recipient of numerous environmental and design awards and the co-author of "Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things" is the expert in sustainable design.
"He has committed his career to making a built environment that is in tune with the natural environment," said CTA's Scott Roberts, a LEED accredited architect.
McDonough's ecological theory of design is built on the idea that "waste equals food."The point is not to reduce the amount of waste our systems produce, but instead to eliminate the concept of waste by designing better systems, from buildings to cars to household cleaners. It means a change of direction and a change in the way we think.
McDonough described a utopian yet practical vision of buildings that produce more energy than they consume, powered by solar panels and covered with rooftop gardens, crops, and even orchards.
And this vision is not just a pipe dream; McDonough has realized it in projects like the innovative Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies in Oberlin, Ohio and the remarkably rehabilitated Ford River Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan.
CTA hosted a pre-event reception for McDonough to celebrate the occasion and, in keeping with the spirit of McDonough's message, the reception featured the wares and fares of green-minded local vendors and supporters.
But the high point of the reception came when the women of the Boise Peace Quilt Project presented McDonough with a hand-stitched quilt to honor him for "practicing and preaching economically and socially intelligent architecture."The quilt - made with all organic fibers and natural dyes - took the group almost three years to complete, and CTA was thrilled to help provide the right occasion for delivering it.
The overarching spirit of both the reception and lecture was one of hope and possibility, aptly summarized by CTA principal Dave Turner. "McDonough brings a vision that transforms the relationship between commerce and nature,"Turner said. "This is not a vision of 'growth versus no growth.' Rather, it's a vision of what 'good growth' looks like."
William McDonough has a refreshing perspective on how to address the current environmental crisis: make it a design assignment.
The world-renowned "green" architect and designer came to Boise State University on April 17, 2008 as a featured speaker for BSU's Distinguished Lecture Series. His talk, "The Next Industrial Revolution" was underwritten by CTA Architects Engineers and delivered to a packed house at the Morrison Center auditorium mere days before Earth Day.
CTA formed a partnership with the University Foundation in January to further the advancement of sustainable building practices, education and community involvement. And William McDonough, as the recipient of numerous environmental and design awards and the co-author of "Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things" is the expert in sustainable design.
"He has committed his career to making a built environment that is in tune with the natural environment," said CTA's Scott Roberts, a LEED accredited architect.
McDonough's ecological theory of design is built on the idea that "waste equals food."The point is not to reduce the amount of waste our systems produce, but instead to eliminate the concept of waste by designing better systems, from buildings to cars to household cleaners. It means a change of direction and a change in the way we think.
McDonough described a utopian yet practical vision of buildings that produce more energy than they consume, powered by solar panels and covered with rooftop gardens, crops, and even orchards.
And this vision is not just a pipe dream; McDonough has realized it in projects like the innovative Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies in Oberlin, Ohio and the remarkably rehabilitated Ford River Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan.
CTA hosted a pre-event reception for McDonough to celebrate the occasion and, in keeping with the spirit of McDonough's message, the reception featured the wares and fares of green-minded local vendors and supporters.
But the high point of the reception came when the women of the Boise Peace Quilt Project presented McDonough with a hand-stitched quilt to honor him for "practicing and preaching economically and socially intelligent architecture."The quilt - made with all organic fibers and natural dyes - took the group almost three years to complete, and CTA was thrilled to help provide the right occasion for delivering it.
The overarching spirit of both the reception and lecture was one of hope and possibility, aptly summarized by CTA principal Dave Turner. "McDonough brings a vision that transforms the relationship between commerce and nature,"Turner said. "This is not a vision of 'growth versus no growth.' Rather, it's a vision of what 'good growth' looks like."
