Printable Biography of William McDonough

William McDonough's Key Accomplishments Include . . .

William McDonough is an internationally renowned designer and one of the primary proponents and shapers of what he and his partners call "The Next Industrial Revolution." 

Mr. McDonough is the founding principal of William McDonough + Partners, Architecture and Community Design, an internationally recognized design firm practicing ecologically, socially, and economically intelligent architecture and planning in the U.S. and abroad. William McDonough + Partners has been a leader in the sustainable development movement since 1977. The design of the Environmental Defense Fund offices, completed in 1985, helped launch the 'green building' movement. Recent award-winning projects for Gap Inc., Nike, Herman Miller, and Oberlin College have set new standards for design quality, environmental sensitivity, and functional effectiveness. WM+P is the only firm to win Business Week/Architectural Record "Good Design is Good Business" awards for large commercial projects the first two years of the new awards program (1997 and 1998).
He is also the cofounder and principal, with German chemist Michael Braungart, of McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, LLC, a product and systems development firm assisting client companies in implementing their unique sustaining design protocol.  McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry works with client companies whose annual revenues exceed a trillion dollars. The firm assists clients in profitably implementing its scientifically-based design protocols, the McDonough Braungart Index of Sustainability. Current MBDC projects include designing shoes with Nike, furniture with Herman Miller, fabrics with Milliken, and transportation-related products with Ford Motor Company.

In addition to this, Mr. McDonough stepped down in 1999 as the Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia, where he was also the Edward E. Elson Professor of Architecture. Mr. McDonough currently serves as the A. D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University, Alumni Research Professor at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, and professor of Architecture at the University of Virginia.

Time magazine recognized him as a 'Hero for the Planet' (2/22/99). His ideas and efforts were also honored when, in 1996, he became the only individual to receive the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development, the nation's highest environmental honor, presented by President Clinton in a White House ceremony.

More About William McDonough . . .

William McDonough is acclaimed for his creative and effective building designs; he is also recognized as the world leader in the field of ecologically intelligent architecture. Mr. McDonough believes firmly in minimizing human impact on the environment by modeling design on the elegance and efficiency of natural systems. Through this approach, he has produced numerous environmentally friendly, economically responsible buildings for corporate, commercial, institutional, and residential clients.

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