Design e2
Encyclopedia
e2 is an eighteen part documentary-style PBS television series investigating sustainable living
and green design from New York City
to rural Mexico
. It was narrated by Brad Pitt
and Morgan Freeman
. It was produced by Kontentreal for PBS
and underwritten by Autodesk
.
The series e2 is about the innovators and pioneers who envision a better quality of life
on Earth
: socially, culturally, economically and ecologically. Comprising eighteen half-hour episodes, the series covers topics including design, energy, water, food, transportation and places & people.
Shot in high definition, e2 features the thought leaders, innovators and inventors who act as catalysts for positive change in the relationship between humans and the environment.
Season two
Energy
Transport
Season three
Sustainable living
Sustainable living is a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual's or society's use of the Earth's natural resources and his/her own resources. Practitioners of sustainable living often attempt to reduce their carbon footprint by altering methods of transportation, energy consumption and diet...
and green design from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to rural Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. It was narrated by Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
and Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...
. It was produced by Kontentreal for PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
and underwritten by Autodesk
Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that focuses on 3D design software for use in the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media and entertainment industries. The company was founded in 1982 by John Walker, a coauthor of the first versions of the company's...
.
The series e2 is about the innovators and pioneers who envision a better quality of life
Quality of life
The term quality of life is used to evaluate the general well-being of individuals and societies. The term is used in a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, and politics. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of standard of...
on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
: socially, culturally, economically and ecologically. Comprising eighteen half-hour episodes, the series covers topics including design, energy, water, food, transportation and places & people.
Shot in high definition, e2 features the thought leaders, innovators and inventors who act as catalysts for positive change in the relationship between humans and the environment.
Episodes
Season one- "The Green Apple": sustainable designSustainable designSustainable design is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability.-Intentions:The intention of sustainable design is to "eliminate negative environmental...
options for skyscrapers in New York city. - "Green for All": incorporating cultural values into sustainable design for impoverished communities such as rural Mexico.
- "The Green Machine": the benefits of authoritarian leadership are demonstrated in the green projects of Chicago mayor Richard M. DaleyRichard M. DaleyRichard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...
- "Gray to Green": residential reuse of structural components from Boston's Big DigBig DigThe Central Artery/Tunnel Project , known unofficially as the Big Dig and as the Big Dug since completion, was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the Central Artery , the chief highway through the heart of the city, into a 3.5-mile tunnel...
- "China: From Red to Green": sustainable design in new construction in China
- "Deeper Shades of Green": profiles three thinkers in sustainable design: Ken YeangKen YeangDr. Ken Yeang [Chinese]: 杨经文/楊經文; [pinyin]: Yáng Jīngwén; born 1948) is a prolific Malaysian architect and writer best known for advancing green design and planning, differentiated from other green architects by his comprehensive ecological approach....
, Werner SobekWerner SobekWerner Sobek is a German architect and structural engineer.- Life :Werner Sobek was born 1953 in Aalen, Germany. From 1974 to 1980, he studied structural engineering and architecture at the University of Stuttgart...
, and William McDonoughWilliam McDonoughWilliam Andrews McDonough is an American architect, founding principal of , co-founder of with German chemist Michael Braungart as well as co-author of also with Braungart...
.
Season two
- "The Druk White Lotus SchoolThe Druk White Lotus SchoolThe Druk White Lotus School is located in Shey, Ladakh, in northern India.The school was started at the request of the people of Ladakh who wanted a school that would help maintain their rich cultural traditions, based on Tibetan Buddhism, while equipping their children for a life in the 21st...
— Ladakh": The school features sustainable technologies that suit the altitude and landscape, as well as LadakhLadakhLadakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
's cultural climate. - "Greening the Federal Government": The U.S. General Services Administration's Design Excellence program commissioned Pritzker PrizePritzker PrizeThe Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually by the Hyatt Foundation to honour "a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built...
-winning Architect Thom MayneThom MayneThom Mayne is a Los Angeles-based architect. Educated at University of Southern California and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 1978, Mayne helped found the Southern California Institute of Architecture in 1972, where he is a trustee...
to design the San Francisco Federal BuildingSan Francisco Federal BuildingThe San Francisco Federal Building is a building designed by the architectural firm Morphosis. It is located at 90 7th Street on the corner of Mission and 7th Streets in South of Market, San Francisco, as a replacement for the previous building at 450 Golden Gate Avenue...
, a structure that aims to be the prototype for tomorrow's workplace. - "BogotáBogotáBogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
: Building a Sustainable City": Enrique PeñalosaEnrique PeñalosaEnrique Peñalosa Londoño is a Colombian politician and New Urbanist. He was mayor of Bogotá, from 1998 until 2001, and was runner-up in 2007. He is running in 2011 for mayor as the Green Party candidate. He has also worked as a journalist and consultant on urban and transportation policy...
transformed one of the world's most chaotic cities into a model of civic-minded and sustainable urban planning, for example by public transportation modeled on CuritibaCuritibaCuritiba is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is the largest city with the biggest economy of both Paraná and southern Brazil. The population of Curitiba numbers approximately 1.75 million people and the latest GDP figures for the city surpass US$61 billion according to...
's, with greenwaysGreenway (landscape)A greenway is a long, narrow piece of land, often used for recreation and pedestrian and bicycle user traffic, and sometimes for streetcar, light rail or retail uses.- Terminology :...
, mega-public libraries, and Bogotá's Bike Paths NetworkBogota's Bike Paths NetworkBogotá is the Colombian city with the most extensive and comprehensive network of bike paths. Bogotá’s bike paths network or ciclorrutas in Spanish, designed and built during the administration of Mayor Enrique Peñalosa, is also one of the most extensive in the world.The design of the network was...
. - "Affordable Green Housing": New York City is known for its diversity, but that quality isn't always reflected in its public housing developments, which often ignore the social and cultural characteristics of the communities who live in them.
- "Adaptive Reuse in the NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
": DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
planners with West 8West 8West 8 is an urban planning and landscape architecture firm founded by Adrian Geuze in the Netherlands. It is known for its contemporary designs and innovative solutions to urban planning problems using lighting, metal structures, and color....
tap into their innate design sensibility and the industrial landscape to create a sustainable development in Amsterdam's abandoned Eastern DocklandsEastern DocklandsThe Eastern Docklands is a neighborhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands, located between the IJ and the Amsterdam–Rhine Canal. The harbor area was constructed in the late nineteenth century to allow for increasing trade with the Dutch East Indies; a new location was necessitated by the construction of...
, Borneo Sporenburg. - "Architecture 2030": Architect-turned-activist Ed Mazria's Architecture 2030 organization is galvanizing commitment to a carbon-neutral building sector by the year 2030.
Energy
- "Harvesting the Wind": Wind energy is a growing source of energy and income for farmers in Minnesota; Community wind energy.
- "Energy for a Developing World": The Grameen Shakti organization in BangladeshBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
distributes small solar-energy systems and portable biogasBiogasBiogas typically refers to a gas produced by the biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Organic waste such as dead plant and animal material, animal dung, and kitchen waste can be converted into a gaseous fuel called biogas...
systems. - "Paving the Way"
- "Growing Energy": In response to the oil crisis1970s energy crisisThe 1970s energy crisis was a period in which the major industrial countries of the world, particularly the United States, faced substantial shortages, both perceived and real, of petroleum...
of the 1970History of ethanol fuel in BrazilThe history of ethanol fuel in Brazil dates from the 1970s and relates to Brazil’s sugarcane based ethanol fuel program, which allowed the country to became the world's second largest producer of ethanol, and the world's largest exporter...
's, Brasil created a domestic ethanol industry that is thriving on all levels, from production, to distribution at gas stations, to nationwide adoption of flex-fuel cars at 50 USD per vehicle. Interviews include José GoldembergJosé GoldembergJosé Goldemberg , a Brazilian physicist, university educator, scientific leader and research scientist, is a leading expert on energy end environment issues....
and Steven ChuSteven ChuSteven Chu is an American physicist and the 12th United States Secretary of Energy. Chu is known for his research at Bell Labs in cooling and trapping of atoms with laser light, which won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997, along with his scientific colleagues Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and... - "State of Resolve": California's laws regulating greenhouse gasGreenhouse gasA greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
emissions could influence the U.S. toward a cleaner energy future. - "CoalCoalCoal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
& NuclearNuclear powerNuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
: Problem or Solution": RenewablesRenewable energyRenewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
, biofuelBiofuelBiofuel is a type of fuel whose energy is derived from biological carbon fixation. Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion, as well as solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases...
s, solar, windWind powerWind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
and other alternative energyAlternative energyAlternative energy is an umbrella term that refers to any source of usable energy intended to replace fuel sources without the undesired consequences of the replaced fuels....
sources may offer solutions to the world's demands.
Transport
- "London: The Price of Traffic"
- "Paris: Vélo Liberte", see Vélib'Vélib'' is a large-scale public bicycle sharing system in Paris, France. Launched on 15 July 2007, the system has expanded to encompass over 20,000 bicycles and 1,202 bicycle stations, located across Paris and in some surrounding municipalities...
- "Food Miles"
- "Seoul: The Stream of Consciousness"
- "Portland: A Sense of Place"
- "Aviation: The Limited Sky"
Season three
- "A Garden in CairoCairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
" - "The Village Architect"
- "Melbourne Reborn"
- "The Art and Science of Renzo Piano": Architect Renzo PianoRenzo PianoRenzo Piano is an Italian architect. He is the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal, Kyoto Prize and the Sonning Prize...
redesign of the San Francisco based natural history museum California Academy of SciencesCalifornia Academy of SciencesThe California Academy of Sciences is among the largest museums of natural history in the world. The academy began in 1853 as a learned society and still carries out a large amount of original research, with exhibits and education becoming significant endeavors of the museum during the twentieth...
. - "New Orleans"
- "Super Use"