artistsopf.blogg.se - Cradle to cradle michael braungart and william mcdonough

The most famous implementation of Cradle to Cradle is the Climatex fabric.

It also has the interesting spin off benefit that you can read it in the bath. “Cradle to Cradle” as a physical book follows these principles, being made out of compatible plastics so the whole thing could be melted down and recycled en masse ie it is a technical nutrient. In the same way as biological nutrients can be cycled endlessly in the environment, technical nutrients are non-toxic man made materials which can be recycled endlessly into the same grade of material, unlike many materials which are ‘downcycled’ into lower grade material. Using less toxic material is a bit like saying “I’m not murdering as many people as I used to”, whereas the ecological model says “Thou shalt not kill”.Īnother key concept of Cradle to Cradle is the ‘technical nutrient’. Eco-efficiency doesn’t encourage us to substitute materials, merely minimise them. This is a key difference between Cradle to Cradle and standard eco-efficiency approaches. “Take the filters out of the pipes and put them where they belong - in the designers’ heads.”

Toxic materials should not be tolerated in designs, summed up in the classic soundbite:

Respect Diversity: be compatible with the natural world.

Waste = Food: nothing goes to waste, all material flows should be useful to the rest of the economy or the environment, or designed out.

Use Solar Income: as opposed to fossil fuels which are stored solar energy.

It should be noted that the origin of the term “cradle to cradle” is much debated with some attributing it to the German architect Walter Stahel.Ĭradle to Cradle has three key principles: They shunned the eco-efficiency (less stuff) approach taken by the mainstream of environmental thinking and adopted an ecological model (better stuff) where the economy simply becomes one of the earth’s natural cycles. McDonough and Braungart’s big idea was the Cradle to Cradle concept outlined in their eponymous 2002 book. Together McDonough and Braungart developed the Cradle to Cradle concept, set up the company McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) as an implementation/certification company and wrote the book “Cradle to Cradle: Remaking The Way We Make Things”.

He runs his own business and is a Professor at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam. A chemist by training, his career has taken in the private sector, academia and a substantial amount of work as a Greenpeace activist. Michael Braungart was born in Germany in 1958. As well as his company with Michael Braungart, he runs an architecture firm, a consultancy and a clean tech venture capital firm. He was Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia between 19. He trained in architecture in the US and quickly found a niche designing environmentally friendly buildings. William McDonough was born in Tokyo in 1951, the son of an American executive.