"Architecture is not about math or zoning it's about visceral emotions," says Marc Kushner.

In
a sweeping often funny talk, he zooms through the past thirty years of architecture to
show how the public, once disconnected, have become an essential part of the design process.
With the help of social media, feedback reaches architects years before a building is even
created. The result? Architecture that will do more for us than ever before.
Marc Kushner is a practicing architect who splits his time between designing buildings atHWKN,
the architecture firm he cofounded, and amassing the worlds architecture on the website he
runs,Architizer.com. Both have the same mission: to reconnect the public with architecture.

Kushners core belief is that architecture touches everyone -- and everyone is a fan of
architecture, even if they dont know it yet. New forms of media empower people to shape the
built environment, and that means better buildings, which make better cities, which make a
better world. To that end he wrote the TED BookThe Future of Architecture in 100 Buildings,
published in March 2015, to challenge the public to help shape tomorrow's designs.
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especially as more people look to take selfies with interesting backgrounds. His book
showcases 100 buildings that capture what he sees as the future of architecture. He thinks
structures will be increasingly tailored to their locales, using new technology and materials.
When people go to Seattle, they want Seattle to look different than New York, he says.
That opens the door for architects to start experimenting and pushing the envelope. So
instead of historically having one style after the other, now were starting to experiment
wildly in different places simultaneously.

A rendering of the proposed Sky City One.

Viachinadefence.com
It may sound outlandish, but Zhang sees it as
a logical projection of the environmentally
sound modular design his firm has already
developed. When asked what the odds were of
such a gargantuan structure coming to fruition
he replied with gusto:
"One hundred percent! Some say that it's
sensationalism to construct such a tall
building. That's not so. Land shortages are
already a grave problem. There's also the very
serious transportation issue. We must bring
cities together and stretch for the sky in order
to save cities and save the Earth. We must
eliminate most traffic, traffic that has no value!
And we must reduce our dependency on roads
and transportation."
Motivational speakers often tell us to reach
for the sky, but it appears that BSB is aiming
much higher than that. Keep an eye on China
for fast-paced developments in the near
future
Yours speedily,
The Angry Architect

Alastair Parvin believes in making architecture accessible to 100 percent of the

population.
Why you should listen
"As a society weve never needed design thinking more, says Alastair Parvin, but most people
-- particularly those in cities of growing density and poverty -- cant afford it. Parvin, who was
trained in architecture but chooses to make a career looking for ideas beyond its conventional
framework, wants to change that.
He is one of a team behindWikiHouse, an open-source construction set that allows anyone to
freely share model files for structures, which can then be downloaded, "printed" via CNC
cutting machine and easily assembled. Parvin calls WikiHouse a very early experiment, the
seed of what he sees as designs great project in the 21st century: the democratization of
production.
What others say
Sounds promising? It is. This is a revolutionary way of producing architecture.Neil
Chambers,
Metropolis
POV Blog and strategic designer working with innovative London
Alastair Parvin
is an architectural
design firm 00 ('zero zero'). Although he trained in architecture, his work looks beyond the
conventional framework for architecture, looking at the economic, social, political and
technological operating systems behind it.
He is co-founder of WikiHouse, an open source construction set, whose aim is to use digital
manufacturing to make it possible for anyone to cheaply design, download, 'print' and
assemble structures without the need for conventional construction skills and tools. The
project is now being developed by a small community around the world, including a project in
the favelas of Rio, which was awarded a TED City 2.0 prize in 2012. The WikiHouse project
pursues the idea of a 21st century urban development model, where citizen and user-led
production can shape sustainable cities. He has written for numberous journals and
publications around the world, and co-edits 'Makeshift', an open fanzine about Architecture,
Society, Economics, Technology and Design

2006 TED Prize winner Cameron Sinclair is co-founder of Architecture for Humanity, a
nonprofit that seeks architecture solutions to global crises and acts as a conduit
between the design community and the world's humanitarian needs.
Why you should listen
After training as an architect, Cameron Sinclair (then age 24) joined Kate Stohr to foundArchitecture
for Humanity, a nonprofit that helps architects apply their skills to humanitarian efforts. Starting
with just $700 and a simple web site in 1999,AFHhas grown into an international hub for
humanitarian design, offeringinnovative solutions to housing problems in all corners of the
globe.
Whether rebuilding earthquake-ravaged Bam in Iran, designing a soccer field doubling as an
HIV/AIDS clinic in Africa, housing refugees on the Afghan border, or helping Katrina victims rebuild,
Architecture for Humanityworks by Sinclair's mantra: "Design like you give a damn." (Sinclair
and Stohr cowrote abookby the same name, released in 2006.)
A regular contributor to the sustainability blogWorldchanging.com, Sinclair is now working on the
Open Architecture Network, born from the wish he made when he accepted the2006 TED Prize: to
builda global, open-source network where architects, governments and NGOs can share
and implement design plansto house the world.
What others say
Cameron Sinclair is doing his best to save the world, one emergency shelter and mobile AIDS clinic
at a time.Washington Post

Founder of the influential studio Morphosis, and co-founder of the Southern California Institute of
Architecture, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne marries conceptual ideas with form,
challenging the way we perceive structure, building and the environment
Why you should listen
Widely regarded as one of the world's most provocative architects, Thom Mayne is only interested
in exploring the new, the present and the now. For him, architecture is not a matter of producing a
readily imaginable building, but is instead a starting point for a larger discussion. The output of his
Santa Monica-based studio,Morphosis, shows the results of thenegotiations between concept
and reality.
As Mayne describes things, the only constant in his professional career has been people telling him
something can't be done. But he and his studio continue to produce astonishing work for clients
worldwide, including government offices, hospitals, restaurants, residences and
schools.Redefining how buildings work both within themselves and within their
environment, Mayne and Morphosis are forging dramatic new landscapes for a startlingly modern
world.
What others say
Thom Mayne has never been a shy architect. His designs mix technological bravura with the kind
of urban grit that you associate with [LA]'s sprawling freeways and giant billboards. Yet underneath
the tough veneer lies a strong current of social optimism.New York Times