0:00:00.917,0:00:03.643
Do you think the things we build today

0:00:03.667,0:00:05.833
will be considered wonders in the future?

0:00:07.042,0:00:08.684
Think of Stonehenge,

0:00:08.708,0:00:10.226
the Pyramids,

0:00:10.250,0:00:12.917
Machu Picchu, and Easter Island.

0:00:14.167,0:00:17.083
Now, they're all pretty different[br]from what we're doing today,

0:00:18.333,0:00:20.768
with those massive stones,

0:00:20.792,0:00:24.917
assembled in complex[br]but seemingly illogical ways,

0:00:26.292,0:00:29.934
and all traces of their construction

0:00:29.958,0:00:31.601
erased,

0:00:31.625,0:00:33.667
shrouding them in mystery.

0:00:35.417,0:00:39.125
It seems like people could not[br]have possibly built these things,

0:00:40.583,0:00:41.875
because people didn't.

0:00:42.792,0:00:47.101
They were carefully crafted[br]by a primordial race of giants

0:00:47.125,0:00:48.393
known as Cyclops.

0:00:48.417,0:00:49.726
(Laughter)

0:00:49.750,0:00:51.976
And I've been collaborating[br]with these monsters

0:00:52.000,0:00:55.250
to learn their secrets[br]for moving those massive stones.

0:00:56.667,0:01:00.167
And as it turns out,[br]Cyclops aren't even that strong.

0:01:01.250,0:01:04.375
They're just really smart[br]about getting material to work for them.

0:01:07.042,0:01:11.476
Now, the videos you see behind me[br]of large, stone-like, wobbly creatures

0:01:11.500,0:01:13.333
are the results of this collaboration.

0:01:14.875,0:01:17.792
OK, so Cyclops might be[br]a mythical creature,

0:01:18.917,0:01:21.768
but those wonders are still real.

0:01:21.792,0:01:23.042
People made them.

0:01:23.917,0:01:26.500
But they also made the myths[br]that surround them,

0:01:27.667,0:01:31.476
and when it comes to wonders,[br]there's this thick connective tissue

0:01:31.500,0:01:33.958
between mythology and reality.

0:01:35.083,0:01:36.750
Take Easter Island, for example.

0:01:37.958,0:01:41.101
When the Dutch explorers[br]first encountered the island,

0:01:41.125,0:01:43.143
they asked the people of Rapa Nui

0:01:43.167,0:01:46.583
how their ancestors could have possibly[br]moved those massive statues.

0:01:47.833,0:01:49.809
And the Rapa Nui said,

0:01:49.833,0:01:53.476
"Our ancestors didn't move the statues,

0:01:53.500,0:01:55.625
because the statues walked themselves."

0:01:57.500,0:02:00.250
For centuries, this was dismissed,[br]but actually it's true.

0:02:01.083,0:02:06.476
The statues, known as moai,[br]were transported standing,

0:02:06.500,0:02:08.458
pivoting from side to side.

0:02:09.750,0:02:11.018
OK?

0:02:11.042,0:02:14.976
As spectacular as the moai are[br]for visitors today,

0:02:15.000,0:02:17.518
you have to imagine being there then,

0:02:17.542,0:02:20.934
with colossal moai[br]marching around the island,

0:02:20.958,0:02:26.143
because the real memorial[br]was not the objects themselves,

0:02:26.167,0:02:30.083
it was the cultural ritual[br]of bringing a stone to life.

0:02:31.708,0:02:34.292
So as an architect,[br]I've been chasing that dream.

0:02:35.458,0:02:40.000
How can we shift our idea of construction[br]to accommodate that mythical side?

0:02:41.583,0:02:43.726
So what I've been doing[br]is challenging myself

0:02:43.750,0:02:46.851
with putting on a series of performances

0:02:46.875,0:02:49.476
of the ancient but[br]pretty straightforward task

0:02:49.500,0:02:53.518
of just moving and standing[br]big heavy objects,

0:02:53.542,0:02:57.476
like this 16-foot-tall megalith[br]designed to walk across land

0:02:57.500,0:02:58.750
and stand vertically;

0:03:00.000,0:03:04.393
or this 4,000-pound behemoth[br]that springs itself to life

0:03:04.417,0:03:06.000
to dance onstage.

0:03:07.792,0:03:11.143
And what I've found is[br]that by thinking of architecture

0:03:11.167,0:03:14.726
not as an end product but as a performance

0:03:14.750,0:03:18.101
from conception to completion,

0:03:18.125,0:03:21.625
we end up rediscovering some really smart[br]ways to build things today.

0:03:23.375,0:03:26.143
You know, so much of the discussion[br]surrounding our future

0:03:26.167,0:03:30.143
focuses on technology,[br]efficiency and speed,

0:03:30.167,0:03:32.226
but if I've learned anything from Cyclops,

0:03:32.250,0:03:36.768
it's that wonders[br]can be smart, spectacular

0:03:36.792,0:03:38.476
and sustainable

0:03:38.500,0:03:40.667
because of their mass and their mystery.

0:03:42.000,0:03:45.809
And while people still want to know[br]how those ancient wonders were built,

0:03:45.833,0:03:48.643
I've been asking Cyclops[br]how to create the mystery

0:03:48.667,0:03:51.125
that compels people[br]to ask that very question.

0:03:52.375,0:03:54.434
Because in an era[br]where we design buildings

0:03:54.458,0:03:57.042
to last 30, maybe 60 years,

0:03:57.875,0:04:00.518
I would love to learn[br]how to create something

0:04:00.542,0:04:02.304
that could entertain for an eternity.

0:04:03.083,0:04:04.351
Thank you.

0:04:04.375,0:04:09.167
(Applause)