0:00:00.635,0:00:03.607
My mom has always reminded me

0:00:03.631,0:00:06.928
that I have the same[br]proportions as a LEGO man.

0:00:06.952,0:00:08.365
(Laughter)

0:00:08.389,0:00:10.563
And she does actually have a point.

0:00:11.333,0:00:13.910
LEGO is a company that has succeeded

0:00:13.934,0:00:18.823
in making everybody believe[br]that LEGO is from their home country.

0:00:19.411,0:00:21.595
But it's not, it's from my home country.

0:00:21.990,0:00:25.269
So you can imagine my excitement[br]when the LEGO family called me

0:00:25.293,0:00:28.262
and asked us to work with them[br]to design the Home of the Brick.

0:00:28.988,0:00:32.470
This is the architectural model --[br]we built it out of LEGO, obviously.

0:00:32.494,0:00:33.979
This is the final result.

0:00:34.003,0:00:36.211
And what we tried to do was to design

0:00:36.235,0:00:40.822
a building that would be as interactive[br]and as engaging and as playful

0:00:40.846,0:00:42.346
as LEGO is itself,

0:00:42.370,0:00:45.406
with these kind of interconnected[br]playgrounds on the roofscape.

0:00:45.430,0:00:47.275
You can enter a square on the ground

0:00:47.299,0:00:51.320
where the citizens of Billund[br]can roam around freely without a ticket.

0:00:52.027,0:00:54.718
And it's probably one of the only[br]museums in the world

0:00:54.742,0:00:57.765
where you're allowed[br]to touch all the artifacts.

0:00:58.948,0:01:04.849
But the Danish word for design[br]is "formgivning," which literally means

0:01:04.873,0:01:09.033
to give form to that[br]which has not yet been given form.

0:01:09.057,0:01:12.381
In other words,[br]to give form to the future.

0:01:12.933,0:01:16.724
And what I love about LEGO[br]is that LEGO is not a toy.

0:01:16.748,0:01:22.192
It's a tool that empowers the child[br]to build his or her own world,

0:01:22.216,0:01:24.327
and then to inhabit[br]that world through play

0:01:24.351,0:01:28.833
and to invite her friends to join her[br]in cohabiting and cocreating that world.

0:01:29.151,0:01:31.992
And that is exactly what formgivning is.

0:01:32.016,0:01:37.722
As human beings, we have the power[br]to give form to our future.

0:01:38.722,0:01:39.937
Inspired by LEGO,

0:01:39.961,0:01:43.785
we've built a social housing[br]project in Copenhagen,

0:01:43.809,0:01:47.388
where we stacked blocks[br]of wood next to each other.

0:01:47.412,0:01:52.041
Between them, they leave spaces[br]with extra ceiling heights and balconies.

0:01:52.065,0:01:54.636
And by gently wiggling the blocks,

0:01:54.660,0:01:57.271
we can actually create curves[br]or any organic form,

0:01:57.295,0:02:00.355
adapting to any urban context.

0:02:00.918,0:02:05.767
Because adaptability is probably one[br]of the strongest drivers of architecture.

0:02:06.165,0:02:08.145
Another example is here in Vancouver.

0:02:08.460,0:02:12.577
We were asked to look at the site[br]where Granville bridge triforks

0:02:12.601,0:02:14.134
as it touches downtown.

0:02:14.561,0:02:17.228
And we started, like,[br]mapping the different constraints.

0:02:17.252,0:02:19.855
There's like a 100-foot[br]setback from the bridge

0:02:19.879,0:02:21.575
because the city want to make sure

0:02:21.599,0:02:24.640
that no one looks[br]into the traffic on the bridge.

0:02:25.085,0:02:28.196
There's a park where[br]we can't cast any shadows.

0:02:28.220,0:02:31.545
So finally, we're left with a tiny[br]triangular footprint,

0:02:31.569,0:02:33.303
almost too small to build.

0:02:33.743,0:02:34.982
But then we thought, like,

0:02:35.006,0:02:39.241
what if the 100-foot minimum distance[br]is really about minimum distance --

0:02:39.265,0:02:43.313
once we get 100 feet up in the air,[br]we can grow the building back out.

0:02:43.820,0:02:44.986
And so we did.

0:02:45.010,0:02:46.494
When you drive over the bridge,

0:02:46.518,0:02:49.185
it's as if someone is pulling[br]a curtain aback,

0:02:49.209,0:02:51.212
welcoming you to Vancouver.

0:02:51.990,0:02:54.943
Or a like a weed growing[br]through the cracks in the pavement

0:02:54.967,0:02:57.529
and blossoming as it gets light and air.

0:02:57.553,0:03:00.855
Underneath the bridge,[br]we've worked with Rodney Graham

0:03:00.879,0:03:03.315
and a handful of Vancouver artists,

0:03:03.339,0:03:07.506
to create what we called[br]the Sistine Chapel of street art,

0:03:07.530,0:03:09.474
an art gallery turned upside down,

0:03:09.498,0:03:13.776
that tries to turn the negative[br]impact of the bridge into a positive.

0:03:13.800,0:03:16.799
So even if it looks like[br]this kind of surreal architecture,

0:03:16.823,0:03:19.728
it's highly adapted to its surroundings.

0:03:20.966,0:03:25.322
So if a bridge can become a museum,[br]a museum can also serve as a bridge.

0:03:25.346,0:03:29.752
In Norway, we are building a museum[br]that spans across a river

0:03:29.776,0:03:33.045
and allows people to sort of journey[br]through the exhibitions

0:03:33.069,0:03:36.278
as they cross from one side[br]of a sculpture park to the other.

0:03:36.981,0:03:40.381
An architecture sort of[br]adapted to its landscape.

0:03:41.290,0:03:45.029
In China, we built a headquarters[br]for an energy company

0:03:45.053,0:03:48.617
and we designed the facade[br]like an Issey Miyake fabric.

0:03:48.641,0:03:52.379
It's rippled, so that facing[br]the predominant direction of the sun,

0:03:52.403,0:03:53.863
it's all opaque;

0:03:53.887,0:03:56.577
facing away from the sun, it's all glass.

0:03:56.601,0:04:00.292
On average, it sort of transitions[br]from solid to clear.

0:04:00.704,0:04:03.443
And this very simple idea[br]without any moving parts

0:04:03.467,0:04:05.014
or any sort of technology,

0:04:05.038,0:04:07.743
purely because[br]of the geometry of the facade,

0:04:07.767,0:04:11.401
reduces the energy consumption[br]on cooling by 30 percent.

0:04:12.672,0:04:15.433
So you can say what makes[br]the building look elegant

0:04:15.457,0:04:17.942
is also what makes it perform elegantly.

0:04:17.966,0:04:20.990
It's an architecture[br]that is adapted to its climate.

0:04:21.014,0:04:24.482
You can also adapt one culture to another,

0:04:24.506,0:04:28.677
like in Manhattan, we took[br]the Copenhagen courtyard building

0:04:28.701,0:04:30.950
with a social space[br]where people can hang out

0:04:30.974,0:04:33.117
in this kind of oasis[br]in the middle of a city,

0:04:33.141,0:04:35.735
and we combined it with the density[br]and the verticality

0:04:35.759,0:04:37.172
of an American skyscraper,

0:04:37.196,0:04:40.187
creating what we've called[br]a "courtscraper."

0:04:40.752,0:04:43.316
From New York to Copenhagen.

0:04:43.340,0:04:45.037
On the waterfront of Copenhagen,

0:04:45.061,0:04:49.613
we are right now finishing this[br]waste-to-energy power plant.

0:04:50.093,0:04:53.428
It's going to be the cleanest[br]waste-to-energy power plant in the world,

0:04:53.452,0:04:55.626
there are no toxins[br]coming out of the chimney.

0:04:55.650,0:04:58.685
An amazing marvel of engineering[br]that is completely invisible.

0:04:58.709,0:05:01.309
So we thought, how can we express this?

0:05:02.082,0:05:04.963
And in Copenhagen[br]we have snow, as you can see,

0:05:04.987,0:05:07.550
but we have absolutely no mountains.

0:05:08.217,0:05:11.011
We have to go six hours by bus[br]to get to Sweden,

0:05:11.035,0:05:12.376
to get alpine skiing.

0:05:12.400,0:05:15.130
So we thought,[br]let's put an alpine ski slope

0:05:15.154,0:05:17.107
on the roof of the power plant.

0:05:17.131,0:05:20.600
So this is the first test run[br]we did a few months ago.

0:05:21.260,0:05:22.537
And what I like about this

0:05:22.561,0:05:27.751
is that it also show you the sort of[br]world-changing power of formgivning.

0:05:28.149,0:05:30.037
I have a five-month-old son,

0:05:30.061,0:05:32.418
and he's going to grow up in a world

0:05:32.442,0:05:34.420
not knowing that there was ever a time

0:05:34.444,0:05:37.371
when you couldn't ski[br]on the roof of the power plant.

0:05:37.395,0:05:39.474
(Laughter)

0:05:39.498,0:05:43.363
(Applause)

0:05:43.387,0:05:46.982
So imagine for him and his generation,[br]that's their baseline.

0:05:47.006,0:05:48.910
Imagine how far they can leap,

0:05:48.934,0:05:52.572
what kind of wild ideas[br]they can put forward for their future.

0:05:53.453,0:05:57.238
So right in front of it,[br]we're building our smallest project.

0:05:57.598,0:06:00.556
It's basically nine containers

0:06:00.580,0:06:03.357
that we have stacked[br]in a shipyard in Poland,

0:06:03.381,0:06:05.738
then we've schlepped it[br]across the Baltic sea

0:06:05.762,0:06:07.944
and docked it in the port of Copenhagen,

0:06:07.968,0:06:11.071
where it is now the home of 12 students.

0:06:11.095,0:06:13.394
Each student has a view to the water,

0:06:13.418,0:06:16.831
they can jump out the window[br]into the clean port of Copenhagen,

0:06:16.855,0:06:18.156
and they can get back in.

0:06:18.768,0:06:21.926
All of the heat comes[br]from the thermal mass of the sea,

0:06:21.950,0:06:23.966
all the power comes from the sun.

0:06:23.990,0:06:25.990
This is the first 12 units in Copenhagen,

0:06:26.014,0:06:27.928
another 60 on their way,

0:06:27.952,0:06:30.347
another 200 are going to Gothenburg,

0:06:30.371,0:06:32.446
and we're speaking with the Paris Olympics

0:06:32.470,0:06:35.067
to put a small floating[br]village on the Seine.

0:06:35.633,0:06:40.037
So very much this kind of, almost like[br]nomadic, impermanent architecture.

0:06:40.061,0:06:43.910
And the waterfronts of our cities[br]are experiencing a lot of change.

0:06:44.289,0:06:47.728
Economic change, industrial change[br]and climate change.

0:06:47.752,0:06:51.395
This is Manhattan before Hurricane Sandy,

0:06:51.419,0:06:53.685
and this is Manhattan after Sandy.

0:06:54.101,0:06:56.054
We got invited by the city of New York

0:06:56.078,0:07:00.339
to look if we could make the necessary[br]flood protection for Manhattan

0:07:00.363,0:07:02.212
without building a seawall

0:07:02.236,0:07:05.503
that would segregate the life[br]of the city from the water around it.

0:07:05.527,0:07:07.535
And we got inspired by the High Line.

0:07:07.559,0:07:11.471
You probably know the High Line --[br]it's this amazing new park in New York.

0:07:11.495,0:07:14.728
It's basically decommissioned train tracks

0:07:14.752,0:07:18.299
that now have become one of the most[br]popular promenades in the city.

0:07:18.323,0:07:19.474
So we thought,

0:07:19.498,0:07:22.879
could we design the necessary[br]flood protection for Manhattan

0:07:22.903,0:07:27.223
so we don't have to wait[br]until we shut it down before it gets nice?

0:07:27.919,0:07:34.392
So we sat down with the citizens[br]living along the waterfront of New York,

0:07:34.416,0:07:38.360
and we worked with them to try[br]to design the necessary flood protection

0:07:38.384,0:07:41.462
in such a way that it only[br]makes their waterfront

0:07:41.486,0:07:43.714
more accessible and more enjoyable.

0:07:43.738,0:07:46.783
Underneath the FDR,[br]we are putting, like, pavilions

0:07:46.807,0:07:49.809
with pocket walls that can slide out[br]and protect from the water.

0:07:49.833,0:07:51.752
We are creating little stepped terraces

0:07:51.776,0:07:54.206
that are going to make[br]the underside more enjoyable,

0:07:54.230,0:07:56.249
but also protect from flooding.

0:07:57.498,0:08:00.672
Further north in the East River Park,

0:08:00.696,0:08:03.553
we are creating rolling hills

0:08:03.577,0:08:07.625
that protect the park[br]from the noise of the highway,

0:08:07.649,0:08:11.064
but in turn also become[br]the necessary flood protection

0:08:11.088,0:08:14.895
that can stop the waves during[br]an incoming storm surge.

0:08:16.001,0:08:20.498
So in a way, this project[br]that we have called the Dryline,

0:08:20.522,0:08:22.097
it's essentially the High Line --

0:08:22.121,0:08:23.672
(Laughter)

0:08:23.696,0:08:26.061
The High Line that's[br]going to keep Manhattan dry.

0:08:26.085,0:08:28.340
(Applause)

0:08:28.364,0:08:31.993
It's scheduled to break ground[br]on the first East River portion

0:08:32.017,0:08:33.275
at the end of this year.

0:08:33.299,0:08:35.823
But it has essentially been codesigned

0:08:35.847,0:08:38.437
with the citizens of Lower Manhattan

0:08:38.461,0:08:41.991
to take all of the necessary[br]infrastructure for resilience

0:08:42.015,0:08:45.976
and give it positive social[br]and environmental side effects.

0:08:46.762,0:08:52.285
So, New York is not alone[br]in facing this situation.

0:08:52.309,0:08:55.285
In fact, by 2050,

0:08:55.848,0:08:58.807
90 percent of the major[br]cities in the world

0:08:58.831,0:09:01.426
are going to be dealing with rising seas.

0:09:01.450,0:09:02.990
In Hamburg,

0:09:03.014,0:09:04.752
they've created a whole neighborhood

0:09:04.776,0:09:08.446
where the bottom floors are designed[br]to withstand the inevitable flood.

0:09:08.756,0:09:15.224
In Sweden, they've designed a city[br]where all of the parks are wet gardens,

0:09:15.248,0:09:18.779
designed to deal with storm water[br]and waste water.

0:09:19.927,0:09:22.022
So we thought, could we perhaps --

0:09:22.046,0:09:23.550
Actually, today,

0:09:24.292,0:09:29.308
three million people are already[br]permanently living on the sea.

0:09:29.800,0:09:33.250
So we thought, could we actually[br]imagine a floating city

0:09:33.274,0:09:37.252
designed to incorporate all[br]of the Sustainable Development Goals

0:09:37.276,0:09:38.815
of the United Nations

0:09:38.839,0:09:43.363
into a whole new human-made ecosystem.

0:09:43.387,0:09:47.760
And of course, we have to design it[br]so it can produce its own power,

0:09:47.784,0:09:50.363
harvesting the thermal mass of the oceans,

0:09:50.387,0:09:53.561
the force of the tides,[br]of the currents, of the waves,

0:09:53.585,0:09:55.323
the power of the wind,

0:09:55.347,0:09:57.462
the heat and the energy of the sun.

0:09:58.091,0:10:01.468
Also, we are going to collect[br]all of the rain water that drops

0:10:01.492,0:10:03.607
on this man-made archipelago

0:10:03.631,0:10:06.679
and deal with it organically[br]and mechanically

0:10:06.703,0:10:08.436
and store it and clean it.

0:10:08.911,0:10:11.934
We have to grow all of our food locally,

0:10:11.958,0:10:14.482
it has to be fish- and plant-based,

0:10:14.506,0:10:18.920
because you won't have the space[br]or the resources for a dairy diet.

0:10:19.661,0:10:22.264
And finally,

0:10:22.288,0:10:25.105
we are going to deal[br]with all the waste locally,

0:10:25.129,0:10:29.671
with compost, recycling,[br]and turning the waste into energy.

0:10:29.695,0:10:33.521
So imagine where a traditional[br]urban master plan,

0:10:33.545,0:10:36.846
you typically draw the street grid[br]where the cars can drive

0:10:36.870,0:10:39.521
and the building plots[br]where you can put some buildings.

0:10:39.545,0:10:43.259
This master plan, we sat down[br]with a handful of scientists

0:10:43.283,0:10:45.644
and basically started[br]with all of the renewable,

0:10:45.668,0:10:47.600
available natural resources,

0:10:47.624,0:10:50.403
and then we started channeling[br]the flow of resources

0:10:50.427,0:10:55.474
through this kind of human-made ecosystem[br]or this kind of urban metabolism.

0:10:56.466,0:10:59.037
So it's going to be modular,

0:10:59.511,0:11:00.905
it's going to be buoyant,

0:11:00.929,0:11:04.418
it's going to be designed[br]to resist a tropical storm.

0:11:04.442,0:11:06.712
You can prefabricate it at scale,

0:11:06.736,0:11:11.395
and tow it to dock with others,[br]to form a small community.

0:11:11.419,0:11:14.063
We're designing these[br]kind of coastal additions,

0:11:14.087,0:11:16.490
so that even if it's modular and rational,

0:11:16.514,0:11:19.762
each island can be unique[br]with its own coastal landscape.

0:11:20.376,0:11:23.225
The architecture[br]has to remain relatively low

0:11:23.249,0:11:26.147
to keep the center of gravity buoyant.

0:11:26.171,0:11:29.353
We're going to take all of the agriculture

0:11:29.726,0:11:31.792
and use it to also create social space

0:11:31.816,0:11:34.849
so you can actually enjoy[br]the permaculture gardens.

0:11:34.873,0:11:38.323
We're designing it for the tropics,[br]so all of the roofs are maximized

0:11:38.347,0:11:41.492
to harvest solar power[br]and to shade from the sun.

0:11:42.212,0:11:44.776
All the materials are going to be[br]light and renewable,

0:11:44.800,0:11:46.403
like bamboo and wood,

0:11:46.427,0:11:50.387
which is also going to create[br]this charming, warm environment.

0:11:50.411,0:11:55.381
And any architecture is supposed[br]to be able to fit on this platform.

0:11:55.990,0:11:59.681
Underneath we have all the storage[br]inside the pontoon,

0:11:59.705,0:12:02.688
almost like a mega version[br]of the student housings

0:12:02.712,0:12:04.426
that we've already worked with.

0:12:04.450,0:12:07.292
We have all the storage[br]for the energy that's produced,

0:12:07.316,0:12:09.983
all of the water storage and remediation.

0:12:10.392,0:12:14.820
We are sort of dealing[br]with all of the waste and the composting.

0:12:15.376,0:12:17.741
And we also have some backup farming

0:12:17.765,0:12:21.389
with aeroponics and hydroponics.

0:12:21.413,0:12:25.294
So imagine almost like a vertical section[br]through this landscape

0:12:25.318,0:12:29.016
that goes from the air above,[br]where we have vertical farms;

0:12:29.040,0:12:32.771
below, we have the aeroponics[br]and the aquaponics.

0:12:33.260,0:12:36.236
Even further below,[br]we have the ocean farms

0:12:36.260,0:12:38.903
and where we tie the island to the ground,

0:12:38.927,0:12:43.856
we're using biorock to create new reefs[br]to regenerate habitat.

0:12:44.348,0:12:47.967
So think of this[br]small island for 300 people.

0:12:47.991,0:12:51.125
It can then group together[br]to form a cluster or a neighborhood

0:12:51.692,0:12:55.902
that then can sort of group together[br]to form an entire city for 10,000 people.

0:12:56.318,0:12:59.080
And you can imagine[br]if this floating city flourishes,

0:12:59.532,0:13:03.400
it can sort of grow[br]like a culture in a petri dish.

0:13:04.659,0:13:08.119
So one of the first places[br]we are looking at placing this,

0:13:08.143,0:13:09.760
or anchoring this floating city,

0:13:09.784,0:13:11.641
is in the Pearl River delta.

0:13:11.665,0:13:14.848
So imagine this kind of canopy[br]of photovoltaics

0:13:14.872,0:13:17.601
on this archipelago floating in the sea.

0:13:17.625,0:13:21.442
As you sail towards the island,[br]you will see the maritime residents

0:13:21.466,0:13:25.783
moving around on alternative forms[br]of aquatic transportation.

0:13:25.807,0:13:28.765
You come into this kind of community port.

0:13:28.789,0:13:31.704
You can roam around[br]in the permaculture gardens

0:13:31.728,0:13:34.789
that are productive landscapes,[br]but also social landscapes.

0:13:35.363,0:13:40.051
The greenhouses also become orangeries[br]for the cultural life of the city,

0:13:40.490,0:13:42.680
and below, under the sea,

0:13:42.704,0:13:46.974
it's teeming with life[br]of farming and science

0:13:46.998,0:13:48.728
and social spaces.

0:13:48.752,0:13:51.823
So in a way, you can imagine[br]this community port

0:13:51.847,0:13:54.934
is where people gather,[br]both by day and by night.

0:13:55.284,0:13:58.291
And even if the first one[br]is designed for the tropics,

0:13:58.315,0:14:01.535
we also imagine that the architecture[br]can adapt to any culture,

0:14:01.559,0:14:04.464
so imagine, like,[br]a Middle Eastern floating city

0:14:04.488,0:14:07.307
or Southeast Asian floating city

0:14:07.331,0:14:11.408
or maybe a Scandinavian[br]floating city one day.

0:14:12.412,0:14:14.840
So maybe just to conclude.

0:14:16.142,0:14:19.570
The human body is 70 percent water.

0:14:20.134,0:14:23.610
And the surface of our planet[br]is 70 percent water.

0:14:24.623,0:14:25.773
And it's rising.

0:14:26.148,0:14:28.727
And even if the whole world[br]woke up tomorrow

0:14:28.751,0:14:31.036
and became carbon-neutral over night,

0:14:31.060,0:14:35.222
there are still island nations[br]that are destined to sink in the seas,

0:14:35.246,0:14:40.032
unless we also develop alternate forms[br]of floating human habitats.

0:14:41.977,0:14:45.109
And the only constant[br]in the universe is change.

0:14:45.133,0:14:49.259
Our world is always changing,[br]and right now, our climate is changing.

0:14:50.014,0:14:53.337
No matter how critical[br]the crisis is, and it is,

0:14:53.361,0:14:57.868
this is also our collective[br]human superpower.

0:14:58.345,0:15:01.484
That we have the power to adapt to change

0:15:01.508,0:15:04.841
and we have the power[br]to give form to our future.

0:15:06.040,0:15:11.642
(Applause)