Architect Favors Environmental Design

William McDonough, a pioneer in the "green" architecture movement, argued that companies can operate in harmony with the environment in a lecture last night at the Kennedy School of Government.

McDonough creates what he calls sustainable designs, which do not create waste. All byproducts of his designs can either be reused or are biodegradable.

"Designers must take responsibility," he said. "We can't say, 'That tragedy wasn't part of my plan.' You have to plan against the tragedy."

McDonough said he realized he wanted to design responsibly after a visit to Auschwitz.

"Someone designed that camp as a giant, efficient killing machine," he said. "I saw that, at some point, a designer has to look at the consequences of what he is creating. And if it's wrong, he has to fight it."

Since that time, McDonough has worked on designing safe textiles--"so untoxic, you could eat them"-- solar-powered buildings for Nike and the Gap and completely recyclable cars, among other products.

But he said that recycling by itself is less valuable than designing to eliminate waste in the first place.

"If you want to get to Canada, and you're driving towards Mexico, you don't slow down!" he said. "You turn around."

When working for firms, McDonough said his first goal is to go beyond the legal requirements for environmental protection.

"Regulation is a signal of failure," he said.

As an example, he cited a factory he designed a factory in which the water flowing out is purer than the water flowing in.

Members of the audience of 200 said they were enthusiastic about McDonough's arguments.

"What he's saying is incredibly exciting," said Emily Goldblatt, a city planner in the audience. "I despair when I look at the buildings around us. Look at the beautiful Blodgett Pool. Not a single ray of natural light!"

Michael R. Labosky, who works on behalf of environmental health and safety at Harvard, said the talk gave him new ideas about the environment.

"He makes me feel very optimistic about how we can safeguard future, Labosky said.

McDonough reflected a similar optimism in his speech.

He started his discussion with the question, "How do we love all the children of all species for all time?"

He said he was satisfied with humans' ability to answer that dilemma, provided that they re-examine their priorities.

"The filters of the future are in our heads, not on the mouths of pipes," he said. "We should be able to celebrate the abundance of our great resources, not squander and ration them. We must get back to a feeling of kinship with nature."