Building for Life

Fortune recently asked William McDonough & Partners, which specializes in green architecture, to conceptualize the building of the future. They took the task seriously, writing, "Buildings consume 40 percent of our energy and can have life spans longer than humans. Because we live, work and associate with others in buildings, they form part of the fabric of human life - and thus have an enormous effect not only on the quality of individual lives but also on the state of the earth." But rather than "guess about the future," they "looked at the possibilities that exist now" and came up with some fascinating innovations, like an aerodynamic shape that diffuses the impact of the wind, a "treetop" (ground cover on the building's roof to reduce the "urban head island effect"), and an advanced heat and power plant which "circulates heat-absorbing liquid through underground wells" and operates "at up to 90 percent efficiency." Check out the slides illustrating how today's technology can make for a greener tomorrow.