New Scientist magazine covers William McDonough’s living archive–a collaboration with Stanford University Libraries

Here’s an excerpt–

You are the subject of Stanford University’s first living archive. What does that involve?

Most of my meetings and speeches are being filmed and phone conversations recorded. They are dated and archived along with tweets and emails, as well as physical drawings and records. We are trying to design the process so that my creative work is not disrupted. A guy in the office next to mine takes care of the technology, records and cataloguing.

What kind of material is being gathered?

Right now I’m designing a factory in India that is covered in greenhouses and solar collectors. It also collects water, deals with cooling and heating, and makes oxygen and food. The conversations during the design process as these ideas bubble up are incredible. Before, they were just lost. Now I look around and say, “Did we get that?” Next, we have to figure out ways of flagging interesting bits or putting material in topic lists.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21829110.300-im-recording-everything-for-the-first-living-archive.html

Read the full article here.

William McDonough + Partners is the architecture practice founded by William McDonough; he is also active with Cradle to Cradle® consulting through MBDC and provides CEO and governmental advising through McDonough Advisors.