Do you think the things we build today will be considered wonders in the future? Think of Stonehenge, the Pyramids, Machu Picchu and Easter Island. Now, they're all pretty different from what we're doing today, with those massive stones, assembled in complex but seemingly illogical ways, and all traces of their construction erased, shrouding them in mystery. It seems like people could not have possibly built these things, because people didn't. They were carefully crafted by a primordial race of giants known as Cyclops.
Credes que as cousas que construímos hoxe serán consideradas marabillas no futuro? Pensade en Stonhenge, as pirámides, Machu Picchu e a Illa de Pascua. Son bastante diferentes ó que facemos hoxe en día, con esas pedras enormes, xuntadas de xeitos complexos pero aparentemente ilóxicos, e sen rastro ningún da súa construción, envolvéndoas en misterio. Semella que ninguén podería construír estas cousas, porque non o fixeron. Foron coidadosamente creadas por unha raza orixinal de xigantes coñecida coma Ciclopes.
(Laughter)
(Risas)
And I've been collaborating with these monsters to learn their secrets for moving those massive stones. And as it turns out, Cyclops aren't even that strong. They're just really smart about getting material to work for them.
E estiven colaborando con eses monstros para coñecer os segredos sobre como mover esas pedras inmensas. Resulta que os ciclopes non son tan sequera tan fortes. Só pensan moi ben como facer que o material lles funcione.
Now, the videos you see behind me of large, stone-like, wobbly creatures are the results of this collaboration. OK, so Cyclops might be a mythical creature, but those wonders are still real. People made them. But they also made the myths that surround them, and when it comes to wonders, there's this thick connective tissue between mythology and reality.
Os vídeos que vedes detrás de min de grandes criaturas de pedra abaneando son o resultado desta colaboración. Vale, pode ser que os ciclopes sexan criaturas mitolóxicas, pero estas marabillas seguen sendo reais. Están feitas por persoas. Pero tamén fixeron os mitos que as rodean, e cando se trata das marabillas, hai un groso tecido conectivo entre mitoloxía e realidade.
Take Easter Island, for example. When the Dutch explorers first encountered the island, they asked the people of Rapa Nui how their ancestors could have possibly moved those massive statues. And the Rapa Nui said, "Our ancestors didn't move the statues, because the statues walked themselves."
Tomade o exemplo da Illa de Pascua. Cando os exploradores holandeses a atoparon por primeira vez, preguntáronlle á xente de Rapa Nui como os ancestros moveran semellantes estatuas. E os Rapa Nui dixeron, "Os nosos ancestros non moveron as estatuas, porque as estatuas camiñaban".
For centuries, this was dismissed, but actually it's true. The statues, known as moai, were transported standing, pivoting from side to side. OK? As spectacular as the moai are for visitors today, you have to imagine being there then, with colossal moai marching around the island. Because the real memorial was not the objects themselves, it was the cultural ritual of bringing a stone to life.
Durante séculos, isto foi descartado, pero é verdade. As estatuas, coñecidas como moais, transportáronse de pé, pivotando de lado a lado. De acordo? Por moi espectacular que sexan os moais para os turistas hoxe en día, tedes que imaxinar estar alí entón, cos enormes moais camiñando pola illa. Porque a verdadeira homenaxe non eran os obxectos propiamente, era o ritual cultural de darlle vida a unha pedra.
So as an architect, I've been chasing that dream. How can we shift our idea of construction to accommodate that mythical side? So what I've been doing is challenging myself with putting on a series of performances of the ancient but pretty straightforward task of just moving and standing big heavy objects, like this 16-foot-tall megalith designed to walk across land and stand vertically; or this 4,000-pound behemoth that springs itself to life to dance onstage. And what I've found is that by thinking of architecture not as an end product but as a performance from conception to completion, we end up rediscovering some really smart ways to build things today.
Así que coma arquitecto, persigo ese soño. Como podemos transformar a idea da construción para adaptar a parte mítica? O que estiven facendo foi retarme a mín mesmo poñendo en marcha unha serie de representacións da tarefa antiga pero sinxela de mover e pór de pé grandes obxectos pesados, coma este megálito de 5 metros de altura deseñado para camiñar e manterse verticalmente; ou este mastodonte de 2 toneladas que cobra vida para bailar sobre o escenario. E o que atopei é que pensando na arquitectura non coma un produto final senón coma unha obra dende a concepción ata a compleción, acabamos redescubrindo xeitos moi astutos de construír cousas hoxe.
You know, so much of the discussion surrounding our future focuses on technology, efficiency and speed. But if I've learned anything from Cyclops, it's that wonders can be smart, spectacular and sustainable -- because of their mass and their mystery. And while people still want to know how those ancient wonders were built, I've been asking Cyclops how to create the mystery that compels people to ask that very question.
Sabedes, gran parte da discusión arredor do noso futuro céntrase na tecnoloxía, a eficiencia e a velocidade. Pero se aprendín algo dos ciclopes, é que as marabillas poden ser astutas, espectaculares e sostibles polo seu tamaño e misterio. E mentres a xente aínda quere saber como se construíron esas marabillas antigas, eu pregunteilles ós ciclopes como crear o misterio que leva á xente a preguntarse esa mesma cuestión.
Because in an era where we design buildings to last 30, maybe 60 years, I would love to learn how to create something that could entertain for an eternity.
Porque nunha era en que deseñamos edificios para que duren 30, quizais 60 anos, encantaríame aprender a crear algo que se pudiese admirar eternamente.
Thank you.
Grazas.
(Applause)
(Aplausos)