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Sustainability News

View Source | June 5, 2014

William McDonoughWilliam McDonough, a pioneer in the field of sustainable architecture and a member of ASU's Board of Directors for Sustainability, discusses the conscience behind his design with Dutch developer and colleague Coert Zachariasse in a June 2014 Newsweek article.

In the article "Building for a Better World and Making People Smile," McDunough and Zachariasse - who collaborated on the construction of a sustainable business complex outside of Amsterdam called Park 20|20 - discuss the importance of the Cradle to Cradle framework. This concept, created by McDonough, puts principles and values at the forefront of design. It posits that doing "less bad" is insufficient and that the aim should, instead, be to achieve "more good."

McDonough explains, "Instead of looking at a world of limits, and simply asking the question of modern commerce—How much can we get for as little as we give?—we propose a shift in thinking toward a world of abundance and generosity. Then, instead, we can ask a different question: How much can we give for all that we get?"