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.' In 1999 Time magazine recognized him as a 'Hero for the Planet' (2/22/99), stating that "his utopianism is grounded in a unified philosophy that-in demonstrable and practical ways-is changing the design of the world." His ideas and efforts were also honored when, in 1996, he was given the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development, the nation's highest environmental honor, presented by President Clinton in a White House ceremony.

Mr. McDonough is 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. He is also 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.
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.

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.

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 both years of the new awards program (1997 and 1998).

Mr. McDonough's leadership in sustainable development is recognized widely, both in the U.S. and internationally, and he has written and lectured extensively on his design philosophy and practice. He was commissioned in 1991 to write The Hannover Principles: Design for Sustainability as guidelines for the City of Hannover's EXPO 2000, and in 1993 to give the Centennial Sermon at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. Mr. McDonough's prominence in the field of sustainability and in laying the foundation of the Next Industrial Revolution have been growing steadily ever since.