The paparazzi should have been hiding in the hedges that evening. Cindy Crawford, Goldie Hawn, John Mayer, and some 50 other Hollywood and media types were gathered in the Malibu home of one of L.A.'s biggest power brokers, Universal Studios president Ron Meyer, and his wife, Kelly. The guest of honor at this 2005 dinner party: William McDonough. "He is," Kelly Meyer tells me later, "the environmental architect of our time." Fast Company
Wow - that's an excellent and enlightening article.
"[McDonough once said] 'I want to be the Bill Gates of sustainability,' and I want to make a royalty off of every green standard and every green product out there."
"I was with a group at MIT [in May] with influential billionaires in the room. One person said, 'Why aren't we working with Bill [McDonough]?' Three people out of the eight had had dealings with Bill, and they were not favorable," says Picard. "They were adamant that they did not want to work with him."
A true Greek tragedy. I wonder how many other 'celebrity' architects (are they different from starchitects?) have similar problems.
On a larger point, designers do need some space to experiment new ideas, and afforded the possibility of failure. But then again, you need to be able to be truthful about such failures, if you cannot own up you cannot learn. The cover up is always worse than the sin.
This article is not an example of good journalism or good judgement. Danielle Sacks lacks a basic understanding of the facts of her article and the subject matter in general. It smears together loose accounts and anecdotal recollections in a dishonest fashion.
To be clear William McDonough is an architect. He and his firm have done some outstanding work. The people from his office are very proud of the work they have done.
LEED is an abject failure in its current adolescent stage. It has awarded unsustainable buildings for following a cryptic recipe. That being stated, it is motivating a generation to think about and invest in the future and I hope it is able to make a positive impact in the future.
This is a very tough field to be in. I hope to see more people risking more and pushing the career without fear of amateur journalist inspired by reporter Heather Holloway from the movie "Thank you for Smoking" by David O. Sacks.
7 Comments
Wow - that's an excellent and enlightening article.
"[McDonough once said] 'I want to be the Bill Gates of sustainability,' and I want to make a royalty off of every green standard and every green product out there."
"I was with a group at MIT [in May] with influential billionaires in the room. One person said, 'Why aren't we working with Bill [McDonough]?' Three people out of the eight had had dealings with Bill, and they were not favorable," says Picard. "They were adamant that they did not want to work with him."
ouch!!!
A true Greek tragedy. I wonder how many other 'celebrity' architects (are they different from starchitects?) have similar problems.
On a larger point, designers do need some space to experiment new ideas, and afforded the possibility of failure. But then again, you need to be able to be truthful about such failures, if you cannot own up you cannot learn. The cover up is always worse than the sin.
that stings...
phenomenal article. now can we continue with the green revolution sans prima donnas?
i still like a quote, from years ago in another article about mcdonough, from one of his former directors:
(paraphrasing)- bill is like a seagull: he swoops in, squawks a lot, shits on everything, and then leaves.
This article is not an example of good journalism or good judgement. Danielle Sacks lacks a basic understanding of the facts of her article and the subject matter in general. It smears together loose accounts and anecdotal recollections in a dishonest fashion.
To be clear William McDonough is an architect. He and his firm have done some outstanding work. The people from his office are very proud of the work they have done.
LEED is an abject failure in its current adolescent stage. It has awarded unsustainable buildings for following a cryptic recipe. That being stated, it is motivating a generation to think about and invest in the future and I hope it is able to make a positive impact in the future.
This is a very tough field to be in. I hope to see more people risking more and pushing the career without fear of amateur journalist inspired by reporter Heather Holloway from the movie "Thank you for Smoking" by David O. Sacks.
when i moved to london i had many choice to make regarding books - what to take across -
cradle to cradle was easy pickens for the bin!
he is such a fraud!
hope the maggets at the tip enjoyed the quality paper and bio-ink! MMMMMMMM>>>>good!
He was my green dean at school. His heart is in the right place - his gigantic ego is just tripping him up.
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