ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Brandon Clifford - Ancient technology architect
TED Fellow Brandon Clifford mines knowledge from the past to design new futures.

Why you should listen

Brandon Clifford is best known for bringing megalithic sculptures to life to perform tasks. He is the director and cofounder of Matter Design, where his work focuses on advancing architectural research through spectacle and mysticism. He creates new ideas by critically evaluating ancient ways of thinking and experimenting with their value today. This work ranges from an award-winning play structure for kids to a colossal system of construction elements that can be guided into place with ease by mere mortals. He is dedicated to reimagining the role of the architect, and his speculative work continues to provoke new directions for design in the digital era.

Clifford is also an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His most recent authored work, The Cannibal's Cookbook, demonstrates his dedication to bringing ancient knowledge into contemporary practice with theatrical captivation. He received his Master of Architecture from Princeton University and his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Georgia Tech.  For his work as a designer and researcher, he has received recognition with prizes such as the American Academy in Rome Prize, the SOM Prize, the Design Biennial Boston Award and the Architectural League Prize for Young Architects & Designers.

More profile about the speaker
Brandon Clifford | Speaker | TED.com
TED2019

Brandon Clifford: The architectural secrets of the world's ancient wonders

布蘭登·克里福: 世界最古老的建築奇蹟,背後有什麼秘密?

Filmed:
642,791 views

古文明如何移動沉重的石頭來建立出巨石陣、金字塔、復活島雕像?在這場簡短而輕快的演說中,TED 研究員布蘭登·克里福揭開了過去的建築秘密,並展示我們要如何使用這些天才技巧來建立未來。「在這個時代,我們設計的建築要維持三十年,或六十年,」他說:「我會很樂意學習如何創造出能永遠一直吸引人們的建築。」
- Ancient technology architect
TED Fellow Brandon Clifford mines knowledge from the past to design new futures. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
Do you think the things we build建立 today今天
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你認為我們現今所建造的東西,
00:15
will be considered考慮 wonders奇蹟 in the future未來?
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在未來會被認為是奇蹟嗎?
00:19
Think of Stonehenge巨石陣,
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想想史前巨石群、
00:20
the Pyramids金字塔,
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金字塔、
00:22
Machu馬丘比丘 Picchu馬丘比丘 and Easter復活節 Island.
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馬丘比丘,和復活節島。
00:26
Now, they're all pretty漂亮 different不同
from what we're doing today今天,
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比起我們現今所做的東西,
它們很不一樣,
00:30
with those massive大規模的 stones石頭,
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它們用大石頭做成,
00:32
assembled組裝 in complex複雜
but seemingly似乎 illogical不通 ways方法,
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用複雜但似乎沒有邏輯的方式組成,
00:38
and all traces痕跡 of their construction施工
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它們建造過程的所有蹤跡
00:41
erased擦除,
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都已被抹除,
00:43
shrouding護罩 them in mystery神秘.
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讓它們成為謎。
00:47
It seems似乎 like people could not
have possibly或者 built內置 these things,
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看起來,人類不可能
建造出這些東西,
00:52
because people didn't.
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因為確實不是人類建的,
00:54
They were carefully小心 crafted精雕細琢
by a primordial原始 race種族 of giants豪門
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而是由原始的巨人種族精心製作的,
00:59
known已知 as Cyclops獨眼 巨人.
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獨眼巨人。
01:00
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
01:01
And I've been collaborating合作
with these monsters怪物
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我一直在和這些怪獸合作,
01:04
to learn學習 their secrets秘密
for moving移動 those massive大規模的 stones石頭.
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了解它們搬移巨石的秘密。
01:08
And as it turns out,
Cyclops獨眼 巨人 aren't even that strong強大.
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結果發現,獨眼巨人沒那麼強壯。
01:13
They're just really smart聰明
about getting得到 material材料 to work for them.
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它們只是非常聰明,會擅用材料。
01:19
Now, the videos視頻 you see behind背後 me
of large, stone-like石頭狀, wobbly搖擺不定 creatures生物
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在我背後的影片中看到的
像石頭一樣的巨大搖晃生物,
01:23
are the results結果 of this collaboration合作.
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就是這次合作的結果。
01:26
OK, so Cyclops獨眼 巨人 might威力 be
a mythical神話 creature生物,
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好吧,獨眼巨人可能只是傳說生物,
01:30
but those wonders奇蹟 are still real真實.
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但那些奇蹟仍然是真實的,
01:33
People made製作 them.
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是人製造了它們。
01:35
But they also made製作 the myths神話
that surround環繞 them,
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人也創造了與奇跡有關的神話,
01:39
and when it comes to wonders奇蹟,
there's this thick connective結締組織 tissue組織
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談到奇蹟時,
在神話和現實之間
有著厚實的連結組織。
01:43
between之間 mythology神話 and reality現實.
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01:47
Take Easter復活節 Island, for example.
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以復活節島為例,
01:49
When the Dutch荷蘭人 explorers探險
first encountered遇到 the island,
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當荷蘭探險家初次發現這座島時,
01:53
they asked the people of Rapa拉帕 Nui努伊
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他們問拉帕努伊人,
01:55
how their ancestors祖先 could have possibly或者
moved移動 those massive大規模的 statues雕像.
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他們的祖先怎麼有可能
移動那些大型雕像。
01:59
And the Rapa拉帕 Nui努伊 said,
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拉帕努伊人說:
02:01
"Our ancestors祖先 didn't move移動 the statues雕像,
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「我們的祖先沒有移動雕像,
02:05
because the statues雕像 walked themselves他們自己."
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那些雕像自己會走路。」
02:09
For centuries百年, this was dismissed駁回,
but actually其實 it's true真正.
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數世紀以來沒人理會這種説法,
但這是真的。
02:13
The statues雕像, known已知 as moai摩艾,
were transported standing常設,
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那些摩艾像是直立著運輸的,
02:18
pivoting旋轉 from side to side.
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用扶著兩側旋轉的方式來搬移,
02:21
OK?
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有道理吧?
02:23
As spectacular壯觀 as the moai摩艾 are
for visitors遊客 today今天,
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雖然對現今的訪客而言,
摩艾像已經相當壯觀,
02:27
you have to imagine想像 being存在 there then,
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你更要想像一下當時
巨型摩艾像在島上行進的壯觀景象。
02:29
with colossal龐大 moai摩艾
marching行軍 around the island.
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02:32
Because the real真實 memorial紀念館
was not the objects對象 themselves他們自己,
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因為真正值得紀念的,
不是物體本身,
02:38
it was the cultural文化 ritual儀式
of bringing使 a stone to life.
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而是賦予石頭生命的文化儀式。
02:43
So as an architect建築師,
I've been chasing that dream夢想.
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身為建築師,我一直在追那個夢。
02:47
How can we shift轉移 our idea理念 of construction施工
to accommodate容納 that mythical神話 side?
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我們要如何把建設的想法
轉變成也能考量神話的體現?
02:53
So what I've been doing
is challenging具有挑戰性的 myself
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所以,我一直在做的,
就是挑戰我自己,
02:55
with putting on a series系列 of performances演出
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做出一連串的表演,
02:58
of the ancient but
pretty漂亮 straightforward直截了當 task任務
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演出內容是古老卻很直接的任務,
03:01
of just moving移動 and standing常設
big heavy objects對象,
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就是移動和立起很重的巨大物體,
03:05
like this 16-foot-tall-foot高的 megalith巨石
designed設計 to walk步行 across橫過 land土地
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比如這個十六英呎高的巨石,
它被設計為能在陸地上移動
並能直豎地站立;
03:09
and stand vertically垂直;
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03:12
or this 4,000-pound-磅 behemoth河馬
that springs彈簧 itself本身 to life
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或是這個四千磅的龐然大物,
它能夠突然活躍起來,
在台上跳舞。
03:16
to dance舞蹈 onstage在舞台上.
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03:19
And what I've found發現 is
that by thinking思維 of architecture建築
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我發現,在思考建築時,
03:23
not as an end結束 product產品 but as a performance性能
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不要把它當作最終產品,
而要當成表演,
03:26
from conception概念 to completion完成,
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從構想到完成的表演,
03:30
we end結束 up rediscovering重新發現 some really smart聰明
ways方法 to build建立 things today今天.
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最後,我們會重新發現現今
仍然很聰明的建造方式。
03:35
You know, so much of the discussion討論
surrounding周圍 our future未來
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當談論我們的未來時,
大部分的焦點都放在
科技、效能和速度上。
03:38
focuses重點 on technology技術,
efficiency效率 and speed速度.
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03:42
But if I've learned學到了 anything from Cyclops獨眼 巨人,
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但如果我有從獨眼巨人學到什麼,
03:44
it's that wonders奇蹟
can be smart聰明, spectacular壯觀
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那就是,奇蹟也可以是
聰明的、壯觀的,
03:48
and sustainable可持續發展 --
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且永續的——
03:50
because of their mass and their mystery神秘.
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因為它們的規模和神秘性。
03:54
And while people still want to know
how those ancient wonders奇蹟 were built內置,
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雖然大家仍想知道那些
古老奇蹟是怎麼建造的,
03:57
I've been asking Cyclops獨眼 巨人
how to create創建 the mystery神秘
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我一直在問獨眼巨人
如何創造出驅使人們
去問那個問題的訣竅。
04:00
that compels迫使 people
to ask that very question.
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04:04
Because in an era時代
where we design設計 buildings房屋
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因為,在這個時代,
我們設計的建築
要維持三十、也許六十年,
04:06
to last 30, maybe 60 years年份,
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04:09
I would love to learn學習
how to create創建 something
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我會很樂意學習如何創造出
能永遠一直吸引人們的建築。
04:12
that could entertain招待 for an eternity永恆.
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04:15
Thank you.
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謝謝。
(掌聲)
04:16
(Applause掌聲)
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Translated by Lilian Chiu
Reviewed by Carol Wang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Brandon Clifford - Ancient technology architect
TED Fellow Brandon Clifford mines knowledge from the past to design new futures.

Why you should listen

Brandon Clifford is best known for bringing megalithic sculptures to life to perform tasks. He is the director and cofounder of Matter Design, where his work focuses on advancing architectural research through spectacle and mysticism. He creates new ideas by critically evaluating ancient ways of thinking and experimenting with their value today. This work ranges from an award-winning play structure for kids to a colossal system of construction elements that can be guided into place with ease by mere mortals. He is dedicated to reimagining the role of the architect, and his speculative work continues to provoke new directions for design in the digital era.

Clifford is also an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His most recent authored work, The Cannibal's Cookbook, demonstrates his dedication to bringing ancient knowledge into contemporary practice with theatrical captivation. He received his Master of Architecture from Princeton University and his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Georgia Tech.  For his work as a designer and researcher, he has received recognition with prizes such as the American Academy in Rome Prize, the SOM Prize, the Design Biennial Boston Award and the Architectural League Prize for Young Architects & Designers.

More profile about the speaker
Brandon Clifford | Speaker | TED.com

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