Meet Change Maker Michael Pawlyn of Exploration Architecture

Over ten years ago Michael Pawlyn joined the celebrated British architecture firm Grimshaw specifically to work on the now eco-iconic Eden Project in Cornwall. The experience of developing such an innovative structure inspired by nature made a considerable impact on the architect. In 2007, Pawlyn left Grimshaw to focus on using Biomimicry—design that imitates life?in sustainable architecture. So he set up Exploration and within the practice's first year he created waves with the incredible Sahara Forest Project.

Using Biomimicry in design is fast becoming a hot sustainability topic and Pawlyn has lectured widely on the subject. TreeHugger even reported from his course in Biomimicry at Schumacher College in October last year. And in June of this year Pawlyn will be returning to Schumacher to teach a [url='http://www.schumachercollege.org.uk/courses/biomimicry-nature-as-mentor-model-measure']second course in the subject with help from fellow Change Maker Andy Middleton of TYF and Dayna Baumeister from the Biomimicry Institute.

How did you get into this line of work?

When I joined Grimshaw to work on the Eden Project, I saw the potential to bring the three strands of architecture, biology and the environment together. This in turn led to me setting up my own company in 2007 called Exploration—with a focus exclusively on creating architecture based on biomimicry.

What was your "a-ha" moment?

As a young teenager I became politicised about environmental issues when a relative of mine gave me a copy of the Club of Rome's book 'Blueprint for Survival'. At the time I was considering studying either biology or architecture at University and eventually chose the latter because it seemed to offer greater creative potential.

Who is your green hero?

I was very fortunate to participate in a course at Schumacher College taught by Amory Lovins and Janine Benyus and learned more in that week than in the previous ten years of going to conferences. I'm also a fan of McDonough and Braungart's Cradle to Cradle model and the inspiring example set by Ray Anderson in the way that he transformed Interface.

What is your ultimate green goal?

To create projects that are genuinely paradigm-shifting.

What is your motivation?

I suppose I have always had a feeling that I want to 'do well by doing good' and now that I have young children I feel a great sense of responsibility to achieve the greatest possible positive influence on the environment.

What is most important to you, ecologically speaking?

Using ingenuity rather than high technology. Many, if not all, of the solutions we will need in the sustainability revolution already exist in the remarkable adaptations that natural organisms have made to surviving in resource-constrained environments. Humans are an incredibly inventive species, but in many ways the carbon age has been a huge diversion from ingenuity because it has been so easy to burn fossil fuels to meet many of our needs. We need to reawaken that ingenuity and rethink the way we do things using nature as our primary source of inspiration.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

The most challenging part is getting an idea through to fruition—it really does involve one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration!

What is the most rewarding?

Showing people that there are positive alternatives to some of the more established ways of doing things.

Of the people you have worked with, who impresses you most?

It would be hard to pick a single individual as I have had the privilege of working alongside lots of great people. The list would certainly include the following: David Kirkland, the architect who conceived architectural ideas for the Eden Biomes, Charlie Paton, inventor of the Seawater Greenhouse and Tim Smit, CEO and initiator of The Eden Project. His idea of "telling future truths" was an important and immensely positive lesson.

What green thing do you do everyday?

I cycle on my Brompton—the quickest and least stressful way to get around London.

What do you wish you could do?

Bring about positive change more quickly.

What is your biggest eco-sin?

I still enjoy long-distance travel for its mind-broadening benefits but I rarely fly these days. Last year I went to Morocco with my family and took the train (and a short ferry) all the way. The journey became part of the experience and having done it we concluded that it would have been even better if we had taken longer to get there, visiting Moorish sites within Spain and learning more on the way.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

I would abolish the private funding of political parties. It is this, I believe, more than anything else that has delayed and obstructed action on the protection of the environment, generally, and tackling climate change, specifically.

What is your best green advice?

It would be hard to beat E. F. Schumacher's advice that "We must do what we conceive to be the right thing and not bother our heads or burden our souls with whether we're going to be successful. Because if we don't do the right thing, we'll be doing the wrong thing, and we'll just be part of the disease and not a part of the cure."