William McDonough foresees turning the roofs of Ford Motor Co.’s massive River Rouge complex in Dearborn into habitats for wildlife. And the world-renowned eco-designer and architect has caught the attention of university officials.
“If we could grow things the way nature wants to grow things, we’d be good. And that’s where design comes in,” McDonough said. “We should be celebrating abundance instead of bemoaning our limits.”
McDonough spoke Tuesday night to help launch MSU’s Office of Campus Sustainability, an initiative to begin MSU’s transformation to an environmentally supportive place.
The designer’s efforts and principles, often called “the next industrial revolution,” focus on finding solutions for environmental problems through new structural designs. His projects stray from “eco-efficiency,” or doing more with less, and center on changing the human-nature relationship to be beneficial for both.
“He has one of the larger views of what sustainability is and he is a practitioner,” said Terry Link, director of the Office of Campus Sustainability. “He’s out there applying it in the workplace.”
McDonough has won several awards for his designs, such as the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development and Interior. Some of his recent works, including new structures for Nike, Gap and Oberlin College, can generate more energy than they need and purify water.
Link said one of the new university office’s objectives is to bring attention to issues McDonough deals with. The lecture was the first of several planned to bring environmental leaders to campus this year.
Cynthia Fridgen, project director for urban ecology, said action can be taken once people become more aware of environmental issues.
“If people know what the problem is, they will change their behavior,” said Fridgen, who helped start MSU’s recycling program in the 1980s. “The next step we have is to create the opportunity for people to act in an environmentally responsible way.”
Link said the action will depend on collaboration among university officials and students and will be coordinated with university planning through the 2020 Vision project.
“I suspect any number of sustainable principles will be adopted and employed,” he said. “There’s a million issues and my hope is to get people who are interested in these issues to think of how we can do things differently.”
Funding for the office was made possible through efforts by the University Committee for a Sustainable Campus and a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. MSU was one of 35 applicants to receive the subsidy.
“One of the reasons we were chosen is because of the size and scope of our university,” Link said. “I think we have more responsibility and we have potentially more impact.”
McDonough views universities as a crucial part in making the planet sustainable for the future.
“It’s most critical, and that’s why I’m here,” he said. “We need to train the next generation of professionals in this language.”
And although preserving the planet is a serious issue, McDonough encourages people to enjoy it.
“It’s important to realize that you’re joining something that’s going to win,” he said. “Do you want to go out and destroy the world or do this?”
