Architect Michael McDonough to Discuss Architecture’s Intersection with Technology, Ecology

November 16, 2006

 

Michael McDonough, award-winning architect and industrial designer and founder of Michael McDonough Architect in New York City, will give a public lecture, “Eco-Lab and Pre-Fab: e-House and Beyond,” at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 29, in 101 Stuckeman Family Building on the Penn State University Park campus. In his lecture, sponsored by the Penn State Department of Architecture, McDonough will address the serious philosophical and technological underpinnings of his work, focusing on the building facets he believes point the way to a richer, more rewarding architecture for the future.

McDonough is designer of the e-House, lauded in the international architectural press as “… what may be the most ecologically aware structure in the world.” In addition, Builder Magazine dubbed it “the perfect house.” The experimental home, built in New York State’s Mid-Hudson Valley, was conceived as a laboratory for the “best of the best” in all categories of construction. Its ultimate goal is to propose a new set of standards for how we build and how we live by challenging conventional “green building” thinking and advocating new ways of living with technology.

McDonough consults worldwide on corporate futurism, personal environments and product development. His design philosophy is rooted in systems convergence theory, synthesizing traditional and modern design, emphasizing new materials, and sustainable technologies. McDonough, who founded his architectural firm in 1984, has designed commercial, residential and urban planning projects, as well as objects and furniture, many of which have been exhibited at museums and galleries internationally. He co-founded a bamboo design research institute at Rhode Island School of Design and has taught and lectured internationally for more than 30 years.

A recipient of honors from the American Institute of Architects and the Industrial Design Society of America, McDonough is author of Malaparte: A House Like Me (1999) and co-author of The Smart House (2002, with James Grayson Trulove), in addition to more than 70 articles on architecture, design and art. He was featured in the groundbreaking PBS-TV series design:e2 (the economies of being environmentally conscious) in 2006.

Contact: Lisa Iulo, ldi1@psu.edu