BIO
William McDonough is an American architect who has helped develop the concepts of sustainability and the circular economy. Founder of William McDonough+Partners, Architecture and Community Design, an architectural firm specializing in the design of sustainable buildings, from 1994 to 1999 he was Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia. Together with chemist Michael Braungart, in 2002 he published the book Cradle to Cradle and the two created McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry with the aim of helping companies implement a sustainable design protocol. In 1996, he won the President’s Sustainable Development Award, considered the highest environmental honor in the United States. He has also received such distinctions as the Smithsonian National Design Award in 2004 and the Fortune Award for Circular Economy Leadership at the 2017 Davos World Economic Forum.