0:00:00.603,0:00:03.153
Do you remember[br]these glow-in-the-dark little stars

0:00:03.177,0:00:06.067
which you had on the ceiling[br]when you were a boy or a girl?

0:00:06.091,0:00:07.301
Yes?

0:00:07.325,0:00:08.521
It is light.

0:00:08.545,0:00:09.729
It is pure light.

0:00:09.753,0:00:11.655
I think I stared at them way too long

0:00:11.679,0:00:13.452
when I was a five-year-old, you know?

0:00:13.476,0:00:14.700
It's so beautiful:

0:00:14.724,0:00:17.481
no energy bill, no maintenance.

0:00:17.505,0:00:18.709
It is there.

0:00:18.733,0:00:20.790
So two years ago, we went back to the lab,

0:00:20.814,0:00:23.112
making it more durable,[br]more light-emitting,

0:00:23.136,0:00:24.516
with the experts.

0:00:24.540,0:00:28.221
And at the same time,[br]we got a request from this guy --

0:00:28.245,0:00:30.823
Van Gogh, the famous[br]Van Gogh Foundation --

0:00:30.847,0:00:34.823
who wanted to celebrate[br]his 125th anniversary in the Netherlands.

0:00:35.232,0:00:37.097
And they came to me and asked,

0:00:37.121,0:00:40.922
"Can you make a place[br]where he feels more alive again

0:00:40.946,0:00:42.152
in the Netherlands?"

0:00:42.176,0:00:43.730
And I liked that question a lot,

0:00:43.754,0:00:44.908
so in way,

0:00:44.932,0:00:47.981
we sort of started to connect[br]these two different worlds.

0:00:49.027,0:00:50.324
This is how my brain works,

0:00:50.348,0:00:51.498
by the way.

0:00:51.522,0:00:52.573
(Laughter)

0:00:52.597,0:00:54.808
I would love to keep on[br]doing this for an hour,

0:00:54.832,0:00:55.983
but OK --

0:00:56.007,0:00:57.015
(Laughter)

0:00:57.039,0:00:58.817
And this is the result that we made:

0:00:58.841,0:01:01.563
a bicycle path which charges[br]at daytime via the sun

0:01:01.587,0:01:03.709
and glows at night, up to eight hours.

0:01:03.733,0:01:04.961
(Applause)

0:01:04.985,0:01:06.311
Thank you.

0:01:06.335,0:01:10.702
... hinting towards a future[br]which should be energy friendly

0:01:10.726,0:01:12.422
and linking up the local grounds

0:01:12.446,0:01:15.873
as Van Gogh literally walked[br]and lived there in 1883.

0:01:15.897,0:01:19.204
And you can go there every night[br]for free, no ticket needed.

0:01:19.228,0:01:22.434
People experience the beauty[br]of cycling through the starry night,

0:01:22.458,0:01:24.483
thinking about green energy and safety.

0:01:24.507,0:01:28.222
I want to create places[br]where people feel connected again.

0:01:28.766,0:01:31.854
And it was somehow great[br]to make these projects happen

0:01:31.878,0:01:34.724
with the industry,[br]with the infrastructure companies.

0:01:34.748,0:01:37.037
So when these sheikhs of Qatar[br]started to call:

0:01:37.061,0:01:38.562
"How much for 10 kilometers?"

0:01:38.586,0:01:39.601
(Laughter)

0:01:39.625,0:01:42.337
Yeah, really, that's a weird call[br]you're going to get.

0:01:42.361,0:01:43.521
But it's fascinating

0:01:43.545,0:01:46.953
that this is not just a sort[br]of one-off, nice-to-have special.

0:01:46.977,0:01:50.400
I think this kind of creative thinking,[br]these kinds of connections --

0:01:50.424,0:01:51.608
it's the new economy.

0:01:51.632,0:01:54.379
The World Economic Forum,[br]the think tank in Geneva,

0:01:54.403,0:01:56.802
did an interview[br]with a lot of smart people

0:01:56.826,0:01:57.982
all around the world,

0:01:58.006,0:02:02.828
asking, "What are the top 10 skills[br]you and I need to become successful?"

0:02:02.852,0:02:05.172
And what is interesting,[br]what you see here:

0:02:05.196,0:02:07.735
it's not about money

0:02:07.759,0:02:10.660
or being really good in C++,

0:02:10.684,0:02:13.701
although these are great skills[br]to have, I have to admit.

0:02:13.725,0:02:16.081
But look at number three, creativity;

0:02:16.105,0:02:18.317
number two, critical thinking;

0:02:18.341,0:02:21.441
number one, complex problem-solving --

0:02:21.465,0:02:25.986
all the things a robot or a computer[br]is really bad at.

0:02:26.662,0:02:30.315
And this makes me very optimistic,[br]very hopeful for the new world,

0:02:30.339,0:02:33.215
that as we will live[br]in this hyper-technological world,

0:02:33.239,0:02:34.681
our human skills --

0:02:34.705,0:02:36.049
our desire for empathy,

0:02:36.073,0:02:38.339
our desire for curiosity,

0:02:38.363,0:02:40.078
our desire for beauty --

0:02:40.102,0:02:41.836
will be more appreciated again,

0:02:41.860,0:02:45.676
and we will live in a world[br]where creativity is our true capital.

0:02:46.784,0:02:49.243
And a creative process like that --

0:02:49.267,0:02:50.966
I don't know how it works for you,

0:02:50.990,0:02:53.681
but in my brain, it always starts[br]with a question:

0:02:53.705,0:02:54.859
Why?

0:02:55.884,0:02:58.407
Why does a jellyfish emit light?

0:02:58.431,0:02:59.786
Or a firefly?

0:02:59.810,0:03:02.056
Or why do be accept pollution?

0:03:02.080,0:03:04.329
This is from my room[br]in Beijing three years ago.

0:03:04.353,0:03:06.497
Left image is a good day -- Saturday.

0:03:06.521,0:03:08.742
I can see the cars[br]and the people, the birds;

0:03:08.766,0:03:11.358
life is OK in a dense urban city.

0:03:11.382,0:03:13.214
And on the right image --

0:03:13.238,0:03:15.038
holy moly.

0:03:15.062,0:03:17.075
Pollution -- complete layers.

0:03:17.099,0:03:19.807
I couldn't even see[br]the other side of the city.

0:03:19.831,0:03:21.667
And this image made me really sad.

0:03:21.691,0:03:24.740
This is not the bright future[br]we envision here at TED --

0:03:24.764,0:03:25.937
this is the horror.

0:03:25.961,0:03:27.712
We live five to six years shorter;

0:03:27.736,0:03:30.425
children have lung cancer[br]when they're six years old.

0:03:30.828,0:03:33.314
And so in a weird, beautiful way,

0:03:33.338,0:03:37.492
I, at that moment, became inspired[br]by Beijing smog.

0:03:37.849,0:03:41.332
And the governments all around the world[br]are fighting their war on smog,

0:03:41.356,0:03:43.994
but I wanted to make something[br]within the now.

0:03:44.018,0:03:47.816
So we decided to build[br]the largest smog vacuum cleaner

0:03:47.840,0:03:49.251
in the world.

0:03:49.275,0:03:51.224
It sucks up polluted air, cleans it

0:03:51.248,0:03:52.672
and then releases it.

0:03:52.696,0:03:54.386
And we built the first one.

0:03:54.865,0:03:57.502
So it sucks up 30,000[br]cubic meters per hour,

0:03:57.526,0:04:01.313
cleans it on the nano level --[br]the PM2.5, PM10 particles --

0:04:01.337,0:04:03.312
using very little electricity,

0:04:03.336,0:04:05.803
and then releases the clean air,

0:04:05.827,0:04:11.280
so we have parks, playgrounds,[br]which are 55 to 75 percent more clean

0:04:11.304,0:04:12.871
than the rest of the city.

0:04:12.895,0:04:14.564
(Applause)

0:04:14.588,0:04:16.016
Yes!

0:04:16.040,0:04:17.557
(Applause)

0:04:17.581,0:04:20.478
And every month or so,

0:04:20.502,0:04:24.393
it opens like a spaceship --

0:04:24.417,0:04:27.076
like a Marilyn Monroe with the --[br]well, you know what.

0:04:27.100,0:04:28.290
Anyway.

0:04:28.314,0:04:29.390
(Laughter)

0:04:29.414,0:04:30.864
So this ...

0:04:30.888,0:04:32.835
this is the stuff we are capturing.

0:04:33.310,0:04:35.057
This is Beijing smog.

0:04:35.760,0:04:37.378
This is in our lungs right now.

0:04:37.402,0:04:40.824
If you live next to a highway,[br]it's the same as 17 cigarettes per day.

0:04:40.848,0:04:41.998
Are we insane?

0:04:42.022,0:04:43.605
When did we say yes to that?

0:04:44.028,0:04:47.271
And we had buckets[br]of this disgusting material

0:04:47.295,0:04:48.839
in our studio,

0:04:48.863,0:04:51.672
and on a Monday morning,[br]we were discussing, we were like,

0:04:51.696,0:04:54.546
"Shit, what should we do with it?[br]Should we throw it away?"

0:04:54.570,0:04:55.725
Like, "Help!"

0:04:55.749,0:04:57.910
And then we realized:[br]no, no, no, no, no --

0:04:57.934,0:04:59.126
waste should not exist.

0:04:59.150,0:05:01.578
Waste for the one should be[br]food for the other.

0:05:02.350,0:05:04.502
So, here, maybe show it around.

0:05:04.870,0:05:06.433
Do not put this in your coffee.

0:05:06.457,0:05:07.468
(Laughter)

0:05:07.492,0:05:10.503
And we realized that 42 percent[br]is made out of carbon,

0:05:10.527,0:05:12.695
and carbon, of course,[br]under high pressure,

0:05:12.719,0:05:13.990
you get ...

0:05:14.871,0:05:16.275
diamonds.

0:05:16.299,0:05:20.430
So, inspired by that,[br]we compress it for 30 minutes --

0:05:20.454,0:05:21.541
(Cracking sound)

0:05:21.565,0:05:23.645
and make smog-free rings.

0:05:23.669,0:05:24.692
(Laughter)

0:05:24.716,0:05:26.692
And so by sharing -- yeah, really!

0:05:26.716,0:05:28.354
And so by sharing a ring,

0:05:28.378,0:05:30.984
you donate 1,000 cubic meters of clean air

0:05:31.008,0:05:32.673
to the city the tower is in.

0:05:32.697,0:05:33.709
(Applause)

0:05:33.733,0:05:34.963
I have one here --

0:05:34.987,0:05:36.167
(Applause)

0:05:36.191,0:05:39.058
A little floating cube.

0:05:40.163,0:05:41.313
I will give one to you.

0:05:41.337,0:05:43.567
I'm not going to propose, don't worry.

0:05:43.591,0:05:44.879
(Laughter)

0:05:44.903,0:05:46.068
Are we good?

0:05:46.092,0:05:47.334
You can show it around.

0:05:47.358,0:05:50.768
And we put this online --[br]Kickstarter campaign, crowdfunding.

0:05:50.792,0:05:52.581
And people started to preorder it,

0:05:52.605,0:05:55.435
but more importantly,[br]they started to prepay it.

0:05:55.459,0:05:58.828
So the finance we made with the jewelry[br]helped us to realize,

0:05:58.852,0:06:00.477
to build the first tower.

0:06:00.873,0:06:02.023
And that's powerful.

0:06:02.047,0:06:04.684
So the waste the activator,[br]it was the enabler.

0:06:04.708,0:06:06.718
Also, the feedback from the community --

0:06:06.742,0:06:08.558
this is a wedding couple from India,

0:06:08.582,0:06:11.043
where he proposed to her[br]with the smog-free ring

0:06:11.067,0:06:12.340
as a sign of true beauty,

0:06:12.364,0:06:14.233
as a sign of hope.

0:06:14.257,0:06:16.095
And she said yes.

0:06:16.119,0:06:17.834
(Laughter)

0:06:17.858,0:06:21.341
I love this image so much[br]for a lot of different reasons.

0:06:21.365,0:06:22.592
(Laughter)

0:06:22.616,0:06:25.311
And right now, the project[br]is touring through China,

0:06:25.335,0:06:28.207
actually with the support[br]of China's central government.

0:06:28.231,0:06:31.324
So the first goal is to create[br]local clean-air parks,

0:06:31.348,0:06:33.348
and that works already quite well --

0:06:33.372,0:06:35.632
55, 75 percent more clean.

0:06:35.656,0:06:37.005
And at the same time,

0:06:37.029,0:06:38.426
we team up with the NGOs,

0:06:38.450,0:06:39.614
with the governors,

0:06:39.638,0:06:40.838
with the students,

0:06:40.862,0:06:42.013
with the tech people,

0:06:42.037,0:06:45.392
to say, "Hey, what do we need to do[br]to make a whole city smog-free?"

0:06:45.416,0:06:47.199
It's about the dream of clean air.

0:06:47.223,0:06:49.469
We do workshops. New ideas pop up.

0:06:49.493,0:06:52.287
These are smog-free bicycles[br]which -- I'm Dutch, yes? --

0:06:52.311,0:06:54.750
I have this "bicycle DNA"[br]inside of me somewhere.

0:06:54.774,0:06:56.424
And so it sucks up polluted air,

0:06:56.448,0:06:58.007
it cleans it and releases it,

0:06:58.031,0:06:59.524
in the fight against the car,

0:06:59.548,0:07:01.429
in the celebration of the bicycle.

0:07:01.453,0:07:05.614
And so right now, we're working[br]on a sort of "package deal," so to speak,

0:07:05.638,0:07:08.892
where we say, "Smog-free towers,[br]smog-free rings."

0:07:08.916,0:07:11.412
We go to the mayors[br]or the governors of this world,

0:07:11.436,0:07:15.539
and say, "We can guarantee[br]a short-term reduction of pollution

0:07:15.563,0:07:17.646
between 20 and 40 percent.

0:07:17.670,0:07:19.567
Please sign here right now."

0:07:19.591,0:07:20.742
Yes?

0:07:20.766,0:07:22.493
(Applause)

0:07:22.517,0:07:23.667
Thank you.

0:07:23.691,0:07:25.521
(Applause)

0:07:25.545,0:07:30.472
So it's all about connecting[br]new technology with creative thinking.

0:07:30.496,0:07:32.438
And if you start thinking about that,

0:07:32.462,0:07:34.623
there is so much you can imagine,

0:07:34.647,0:07:36.170
so much more you can do.

0:07:36.194,0:07:39.505
We worked on dance floors[br]which produce electricity

0:07:39.529,0:07:40.788
when you dance on them.

0:07:40.812,0:07:43.290
We did the design for that -- 2008.

0:07:43.314,0:07:45.309
So it moves eight or nine millimeters,

0:07:45.333,0:07:47.011
produces 25 watts.

0:07:47.035,0:07:51.032
The electricity that we generate[br]is used for the lighting or the DJ booth.

0:07:51.056,0:07:53.720
So some of the sustainability[br]is about doing more,

0:07:53.744,0:07:55.407
not about doing less.

0:07:55.431,0:07:56.917
But also on a larger scale,

0:07:56.941,0:08:00.390
the Netherlands, where I'm[br]from, we live below sea level.

0:08:00.414,0:08:02.692
So because of these beauties --

0:08:02.716,0:08:08.156
the Afsluitdijk: 32 kilometers,[br]built by hand in 1932 --

0:08:08.180,0:08:09.947
we live with the water,

0:08:09.971,0:08:11.501
we fight with the water,

0:08:11.525,0:08:13.671
we try to find harmony,

0:08:13.695,0:08:15.596
but sometimes we forget.

0:08:16.163,0:08:18.106
And therefore, we made "Waterlicht,"

0:08:18.130,0:08:20.350
a combination of LEDs and lenses,

0:08:20.374,0:08:22.988
which show how high[br]the water level would be --

0:08:23.012,0:08:24.293
global change --

0:08:24.859,0:08:26.384
if we stop.

0:08:26.408,0:08:29.109
If, today, we all go home and we say,

0:08:29.133,0:08:31.554
"Oh, whatever, somebody else[br]will do it for us,"

0:08:31.578,0:08:33.598
or we'll wait or government or whomever.

0:08:33.622,0:08:35.488
You know, we're not going to do that.

0:08:35.512,0:08:36.671
It goes wrong.

0:08:36.695,0:08:39.411
And we placed this in public spaces[br]all around the world.

0:08:39.435,0:08:41.026
Thousands of people showed up.

0:08:41.050,0:08:42.298
(Applause)

0:08:42.322,0:08:43.472
Thank you.

0:08:44.117,0:08:47.678
You're too nice, you're too nice.[br]That's not good for a designer.

0:08:47.702,0:08:49.702
So thousands of people showed up,

0:08:49.726,0:08:51.496
and some, actually, were scared.

0:08:51.520,0:08:54.861
And they left; they experienced[br]the floods in 1953.

0:08:54.885,0:08:56.277
And others were mesmerized.

0:08:56.301,0:08:58.120
Can we make floating cities?

0:08:58.144,0:09:01.631
Can we generate electricity[br]from the change in tides?

0:09:02.044,0:09:04.995
So I think it's so important[br]to make experiences --

0:09:05.019,0:09:06.553
collective experiences --

0:09:06.577,0:09:10.231
where people feel connected[br]with a vision, with a future

0:09:10.255,0:09:12.025
and trigger what is possible.

0:09:12.822,0:09:14.192
At the same time,

0:09:14.216,0:09:18.710
you know, these kinds of things --[br]they're not easy, yes?

0:09:18.734,0:09:19.988
It's a struggle.

0:09:20.012,0:09:21.678
And what I experienced in my life

0:09:21.702,0:09:24.101
is that a lot of people say[br]they want innovation,

0:09:24.125,0:09:26.723
and they want the next[br]and the new, the future.

0:09:26.747,0:09:29.784
But the moment you present a new idea,

0:09:29.808,0:09:34.194
there's this weird tendency[br]to reply to every new idea

0:09:34.218,0:09:36.572
starting with two words.

0:09:37.468,0:09:38.650
Which are?

0:09:38.674,0:09:40.020
(Audience guesses)

0:09:40.044,0:09:42.226
No, not "How much?" It's more annoying.

0:09:42.250,0:09:43.258
(Laughter)

0:09:43.282,0:09:44.435
What is it, guys?

0:09:44.459,0:09:47.000
Or you're really blessed people?[br]That's really good.

0:09:47.024,0:09:48.220
"Yes, but." Very good.

0:09:48.244,0:09:51.936
"Yes, but: it's too expensive, it's too[br]cheap, it's too fast, it's too slow,

0:09:51.960,0:09:55.443
it's too beautiful, it's too ugly,[br]it cannot be done, it already exists."

0:09:55.467,0:09:57.554
I heard everything about the same project

0:09:57.578,0:09:58.738
in the same week.

0:09:58.762,0:10:00.691
And I got really, really annoyed.

0:10:00.715,0:10:04.953
I got a bit of gray hair, started to dress[br]in black like a true architect.

0:10:04.977,0:10:07.425
(Laughter)

0:10:07.449,0:10:10.907
And one morning I woke up[br]and I said, "Daan, stop.

0:10:10.931,0:10:12.282
This is dragging you down.

0:10:12.306,0:10:14.061
You have to do something with this.

0:10:14.085,0:10:16.780
You have to use it[br]as an ingredient, as a component."

0:10:16.804,0:10:18.769
And so we decided to build,

0:10:18.793,0:10:22.776
to realize the famous "Yes, but" chair.

0:10:22.800,0:10:26.437
(Laughter)

0:10:26.461,0:10:29.815
And this is an existing chair[br]by Friso Kramer, a Dutch design.

0:10:29.839,0:10:32.623
But we gave it a little "update,"

0:10:32.647,0:10:34.978
a little "hack," so to speak.

0:10:35.002,0:10:38.296
We placed a little voice-recognition[br]element right here.

0:10:39.100,0:10:41.897
So the moment you sit on that chair,

0:10:41.921,0:10:45.207
and you say those two horrible,

0:10:45.231,0:10:49.681
creative-destructive,[br]annoying little words --

0:10:49.705,0:10:50.796
(Laughter)

0:10:50.820,0:10:52.475
you get a short --

0:10:52.499,0:10:54.122
(Laughter)

0:10:54.146,0:10:55.719
but pretty intense

0:10:55.743,0:10:58.558
little shock on the back side[br]of your bottom.

0:10:58.582,0:10:59.739
(Laughter)

0:10:59.763,0:11:01.152
(Applause)

0:11:01.176,0:11:02.347
And --

0:11:02.371,0:11:03.399
(Applause)

0:11:03.423,0:11:05.221
and that works; yeah, that works.

0:11:05.245,0:11:08.020
Some clients have left us,[br]they got really mad.

0:11:08.044,0:11:10.025
Fortunately, the good ones have stayed.

0:11:10.049,0:11:12.436
And, of course, we also[br]apply it to ourselves.

0:11:12.460,0:11:15.606
But ladies and gentlemen,[br]let's not be afraid.

0:11:15.630,0:11:17.401
Let's be curious, yes?

0:11:17.425,0:11:19.943
And, you know, walking[br]through TED in these days

0:11:19.967,0:11:21.666
and hearing the other speakers

0:11:21.690,0:11:24.110
and feeling the energy of the crowd,

0:11:24.134,0:11:28.433
I was remembering this quote[br]of the Canadian author, Marshall McLuhan,

0:11:28.457,0:11:30.472
who once famously said,

0:11:30.496,0:11:32.375
"On spacecraft earth,

0:11:32.399,0:11:33.915
there are no passengers.

0:11:33.939,0:11:36.487
We are all crew."

0:11:37.026,0:11:39.244
And I think this so beautiful.

0:11:39.268,0:11:40.720
This is so beautiful!

0:11:40.744,0:11:42.990
We're not just consumers; we're makers:

0:11:43.014,0:11:44.220
we make decisions,

0:11:44.244,0:11:45.415
we make new inventions,

0:11:45.439,0:11:46.669
we make new dreams.

0:11:47.076,0:11:48.237
And I think

0:11:48.261,0:11:52.326
if we start implementing[br]that kind of thinking even more

0:11:52.350,0:11:53.892
within today,

0:11:54.551,0:11:57.199
there's still a whole new world[br]to be explored.

0:11:58.545,0:11:59.979
All right, thank you.

0:12:00.003,0:12:02.131
(Applause)

0:12:02.155,0:12:03.305
Thank you.

0:12:03.329,0:12:05.329
(Applause)