Michael Pawlyn
Michael Pawlyn has been described as an expert in regenerative design and biomimicry. He established his firm Exploration Architecture in 2007 to focus on high performance buildings and solutions for the circular economy. The company has developed a ground-breaking office project, an ultra-low energy data centre, a zero waste textiles factory and progressive solutions for green cities.
Prior to setting up Exploration, he worked with Grimshaw for ten years and was central to the team that designed the Eden Project. He is regularly booked as a keynote speaker on innovation and his TED talk has had over 2 million viewings.
Michael jointly initiated the widely acclaimed Sahara Forest Project; the latest version of which was opened by the King of Jordan in 2017. In 2019 he co-initiated ‘Architects Declare a Climate & Biodiversity Emergency’ which has spread internationally with over 7,000 companies signed up to addressing the planetary crisis.
Since 2018 he has been increasingly providing advice to national governments and large companies on transformative change. His book Biomimicry in Architecture has been RIBA Publications’ best-selling title. His latest book, titled Flourish: Design Paradigms for Our Planetary Emergency, co-authored with Sarah Ichioka, was published by Triarchy Press in December 2021.
TED Talk
Energy Disruptors Unite
Ellen MacArthur Foundation CE100
Testimonials
“Your talk was a tremendous inspiration to all and the response has been fantastic. Personally it was the
best presentation I have ever experienced – thank you Michael.”
“Michael was fantastic! The audience absolutely loved his lecture. Couldn’t have been a better way to
launch the series.”
“We just wanted to send a quick note to thank you again so much for your brilliant address at yesterday’s
Heat Conference. I’ve heard nothing but praise for your presentation – it was so good to hear new ideas
from someone outside of our sector. It really helped to energise the whole day: some have even said it
was the best Heat Conference we’ve had!
“Michael, Thank you! It was a very inspiring talk and you received very positive feedback from many of
the participants. Well done!”
“Michael was excellent. There was lots of glowing verbal feedback on him with a lot of questions at the
end. Personally, I really love the positive and practical approach to sustainability that he promotes and
the sheer beauty of nature which he expresses through his excellent slides. Very well done.”
“Thank you for your contribution at the CE100 Annual Summit, the feedback has been exceptional with
many people commenting that your talk was a particular highlight.”
“Thanks so much for coming to speak at our event yesterday. You did a fantastic job. A lot of people
mentioned to me how much they appreciated your talk.”