William McDonough + Partners Team Up For Sweden Workshop

After the success of Bornholm Island Science Park and Green Solution House Conference Center, William McDonough + Partners and 3XN teamed up again for a three-day workshop event in March. Held in Ronneby, Sweden the teams were invited to collectively brainstorm ideas for the new centrally located urban area, known as the Kilen project.  The other participating teams were Liag, Bureau B + B, Except from Holland and ALoCo Arkitektbyrå, Torsten Sack-Nielsen/Aarhus Arkitektskole, Heidi Merrild, Tyréns Malmö from Sweden and Denmark.

By utilizing the latest materials and technologies, one of the goals of the workshop was to develop a strategy that incorporated the Cradle to Cradle® principles, which were co-founded by William McDonough.  Steven Beckers, founding partner of the Lateral Thinking Factory, who led the workshop, explained the benefits of teams working together, as opposed to competing against one another:

“The C2C attitude is an attitude that encourages co-operation instead of competition. Competition often produces good results but limits the client who cannot use all the good ideas that usually turn up. That is why we have tested three teams with a varied array of skills and got them to co-operate in the process”.

William McDonough has authored several books based on the Cradle to Cradle design framework.  In Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, both William McDonough and Michael Braungart challenge the traditional-dated views of environmentalists, making a feasible case for change.  In 2013, Braungart and McDonough wrote a follow up, The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability—Designing for Abundance.

Starting in May, the designs from all the teams will be put on exhibition in the Cefur showroom in Ronneby.

Resources:
William McDonough + Partners | Founder William McDonough FAIA, Int.FRIBA
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