Foundation 23 - Re-materializing Construction

30 Keynote speech “If I were some kind of alien I would think that cities were designed to create waste,” said Mitchell Joachim, Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning at New York University, in his keynote speech. Cities are in fact giant garbage machines: In New York alone, 36,000 tons of waste is produced every day. “This has to stop,” demanded Joachim. “Our planet is facing enormous environmental challeng- es, including climate change with rising sea levels, overpopulation, and food shortages. The global population is projected to grow to 11 billion by 2100. Design against extinction The New Yorker architect Mitchell Joachim is a pioneer of environmental design. He is convinced: If we don’t want to die out, we must redesign our cities. The facade of a New York building becomes a vertical garden where endangered monarch butterflies can find refuge.