The experience of being a TEDX speaker last week in Hong Kong was a thrill. I've been a longtime TEDster, attending TED for years. But attending TED and speaking at TED are clearly two different levels of experience. As an attendee, I had not fully appreciated the pressure that a TED speaker feels when facing that 18 minute countdown clock. Wow! Gets your attention as you're madly trying to keep track of your comments while keeping part of your brain aware of the seconds ticking away...one after another...click...click...click.
It's gratifying to get notes from people who attended TEDx last week (officially called TEDx Pearl River. Pearl Riveris the name given to Hong Kong and its environs) telling me they found my talk valuable, asking for more information on how they can initiate more valuable conversations (my subject was Conversation in the Digital Age).
I found the speakers in general all riveting. I'll do a few blogs describing some of those that stood out as truly special. One of them is James Law, the architect who practices what he calls "Cybertecture". He describes cybertecture as a revolutionary concept that "provides a symbolic relationship between the urban fabric and technology. It forges the hardware of a built environment with software systems and technologies, from micro to macro scales of development." If that sounds confusing, do not fear. It's more a matter of words not doing justice to what Law is up to. You have to see the pictures of the structures he conceives in order to understand it. And then you're still taxed to get your brain around the enormity of his vision.
He shared pictures of some of his current projects and, while all extraordinary, his planned projects for the cities of Mumbai and of Dubai blew me away.
The first, which he refers to as the "Cybertecture Egg" for Mumbai, is scheduled for completion at the end of this year and will provide both residential and office environments that are totally eco-friendly, futuristic and well, amazing. The other, designed for Dubai, appears to be awaiting final word regarding funding and I imagine in this economy that may be tough to come by, especially for Dubai which has been rocked by financial challenges. I hope they find a way to accommodate this project, though. It makes the Dubai "world" projects (you may have heard of them; they are man made islands on which people like David Beckham have built out-of-this-world homes) pale in comparison.
James Law's Dubai project: The Technosphere
Law's Dubai project has been referred to as a "sustainable version of the DeathStar." Basically, it provides a sustainable eco-system that would be a carbon neutral tourist attraction as well as a place to live and work.
The Death Star (George Luca's Star Wars movie)
Fact is, James Law is a genius. And I loved his TED talk which made me newly excited about the way architecture intersects with every other discipline, from law to mathematics to the arts to politics...a great architect has to be good at all of them. I'm crossing my fingers that Dubai comes up with the cash to make this project a reality. I promise I would go to Dubai just to see it.
Author of I is for Intercourse: The ABC's of Conversation, Susan Bird is the visionary behind Wf360, and a sought-after speaker around the world for her views on leadership, the strategic importance of conversation, entrepreneurship, and the role of women business leaders.
Great post! These are really useful thoughts that can be used by everyone. Thank you.
Posted by: John Halter | November 06, 2010 at 08:15 PM