I'd like to tell you a story about death and architecture...hospital architecture has earned its reputation...if we want better buildings for dying then we have to talk about it....where we die is a key part of how we die. — Alison Killing @ TED Talks

The particular danger of TEDification to the design disciplines, I think, is its core message that the chief obstacle to our discovering grand solutions to global problems — to achieving the grand design, to "making a comprehensive entity," as that reviewer of Big History applauded — is our lack of sufficient connection. What we need, we're told, is a seamless web of ideas, capital, products and data. — Places Journal

In our culture, talking about the future is sometimes a polite way of saying things about the present that would otherwise be rude or risky.

But have you ever wondered why so little of the future promised in TED talks actually happens? So much potential and enthusiasm, and so little actual change. Are the ideas wrong? Or is the idea about what ideas can do all by themselves wrong? — Benjamin Bratton, theguardian.com

Creativity was now the most valuable quality of all, ran Florida’s argument, “the decisive source of competitive advantage.” This made creative people into society’s “dominant class” — and companies that wished to harness their power would need to follow them wherever they went...

Every element of Florida’s argument infuriated our future correspondent. Was he suggesting planned bohemias? Built by governments? To attract businesses? — salon.com

As his career grew, David Byrne went from playing CBGB to Carnegie Hall. He asks: Does the venue make the music? From outdoor drumming to Wagnerian operas to arena rock, he explores how context has pushed musical innovation.

The winner of the 2012 TED Prize has just been announced, and being awarded is not a single person, but - for the first time in the history of the prize - a collaborative idea: the City 2.0.

TED Prize Director Amy Novogratz: "This year, we’re challenging everyone in the TED Community to embrace radical collaboration on one of the most pressing issues we face: how to build sustainable, vibrant, working cities." — bustler.net

What we are finding is that what we want is access to things...Our cities I would put to you are stockpiles of surplus capacities...What we probably will find is that turning these products into services that we have access to when we want them is a far smarter way to go. In fact even space itself is turning into a service. — TED

Chicago is a city marked by waves of experimentation and a history of innovation, the genesis of architectural movements and the inspiration for such icons as Wright, Burnham, and van der Rohe. It is not just a city of historical landmarks in search of preservation, but a hub for daring thinkers looking to enter the discussion of today's built environment. This event is one foray into that conversation. — tedx25thward.com