Julia Watson: What Can We Learn From Indigenous Design Developed Over Generations?

Part 3 of the TED Radio Hour episode It Takes Time

For generations, Indigenous people have used slow but sophisticated technology to build elaborate structures. Architect Julia Watson says their designs can guide our response to the climate crisis.

About Julia Watson

Julia Watson is an architect and the author of Lo-TEK, Design by Radical Indigenism, a book about using Indigenous technologies to design a sustainable future. She is a lecturer at Columbia University's School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, and she has previously taught at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design as well as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's School of Architecture.

Her design portfolio includes the Rockefeller Center Summer Gardens, Bali's first UNESCO World Heritage site, and the Gateway to the City of El Segundo at Los Angeles International Airport.

Watson received her master's in Landscape Architecture from Harvard University, and her bachelor's in Architecture from The University of Queensland.

This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Diba Mohtasham and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Twitter @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadio@npr.org.