Sustainability is trending now in all aspects of life and fields of design. As an architect and a designer, you should consider sooner than later adopting the trend, which does not simply aim to satisfy taste or aesthetic pleasure but aims to salvage wasted resources and save the planet. Designing for humanity is the noble duty of an architect – and to fulfill this duty, we have to expand our fields of learning. You can opt for extensive Free Online Sustainable Design Courses, or these TED Talks presented by worldwide designers and architects that will introduce you to this concept. They will further your understanding and conviction for Sustainability as a lifestyle and design trend.
18 TED Talks on Sustainable Architecture and Design
Courtesy of Ted
1.Sustainability by Design
This is a playlist of talks by architects and researchers who explore the past and present sustainable design approaches and cover several methods of managing waste.
2.Hedonistic Sustainability by Bjarke Ingels
In this TED talk, Bejarke Ingels takes you on a tour through some of his playful and innovative architectural designs where he always considers sustainability as a main pillar.
3.Why we should build wooden skyscrapers by Michael Green
Famous for his writings on mass timber construction, Michael Green elaborates in this TED talk on how to substitute concrete and steel with wood in skyscrapers, and why it is even necessary to do so.
4.Magical houses made of bamboo by Elora Hardy
“We have had to invent our own rules,” said Elora Hardy as she explains how to build extremely unique and creative buildings using Bamboo for its enigmatic and sustainable features.
5.How to build with clay … and community by Diébédo Francis Kéré
After getting his degree in architecture, Diébédo Francis Kéré went back to his hometown in Burkina Faso and helped his people build some beautiful structures with clay, including an award-winning primary school built by the community.
6.Buildings that blend nature and city by Jeanne Gang
“Through architecture, we can do much more than create buildings (…) We can help steady this planet we all share.” Said Jeanne Gang as she takes us on a tour through her engaging architecture.
7.Emergency shelters made from paper by Shigeru Ban
The architect Shigeru Ban uses ecological building materials like cardboard tubes to build temporary structures in response to crises in countries that are disaster-prone such as Haiti, Rwanda, and Japan.
8.Architecture that repairs itself? by Rachel Armstrong
To save sinking Venice, Rachel Armstrong suggests we innovate building materials that are more organically responsive to its surroundings: a not-quite-alive material that does its own repairs and sequesters carbon.
9.The tradeoffs of building green by Catherine Mohr
The green geek Catherine Mohr explains the decision-making process when building her new greenhouse – she believes that the decisions that matter the most aren’t what we think they are.
10.Using nature’s genius in architecture by Michael Pawlyn
In this TED talk, Michael Pawlyn explains to us how to inspire sustainable architecture from three habits of nature: radical resource efficiency, closed loops, and drawing energy from the sun.
11.Don’t build your home, grow it! by Mitchell Joachim
The urban designer Mitchell Joachim explains his own vision of sustainable and organic architecture: eco-friendly habitats that grow from, weirdly, plants and meat!
12.Creative houses from reclaimed stuff by Dan Phillips
In a funny and inspiring manner, Dan Phillips explains to us his approach of making more using less, on a tour through the several homes he built in Texas using recycled and reclaimed materials.
13.We’re covered in germs. Let’s design for that by Jessica Green
Jessica Green asks: “Can we design buildings that encourage happy, healthy microbial environments?” in response to the fact that our bodies and surroundings are covered in germs and microbes.
14.Design at the intersection of technology and biology by Neri Oxman
The architect Neri Oxman explains the innovative results we can gain from layering digital fabrication technologies with the biological world. She is a leading researcher in computational design, additive manufacturing, and materials engineering.
15.How to grow fresh air by Kamal Meattle
In this TED talk, the researcher Kamal Meattle explains to us how three common plants can be placed in specific spots in our spaces to produce cleaner indoor air.
16.The ancient ingenuity of water harvesting by Anupam Mishra
Anupam Mishra explains, with wisdom, the engineering features of structures built centuries ago by the people of India’s Golden Desert to harvest water.
17.How to air-condition outdoor spaces by Wolfgang Kessling
The physician Wolfgang Kessling reveals sustainable designs of innovative techniques that can cool outdoor spaces and even collect solar energy for later use.
18.Are mushrooms the new plastic? by Eben Bayer
The product designer Eben Bayer elaborates on his innovation for a new, fungus-based packaging material specifically made for fragile stuff like furniture, plasma screens, and most importantly, the environment.
Bonus Podcast
How 2 Build Green: The Sustainability Podcast
“The How 2 Build Green Podcast is a sustainable lifestyle podcast. Focusing on how we live in not only our homes and buildings but how we interact with the planet.”
For more on sustainability and sustainable projects, check the Sustainability projects and news on Arch2O.
