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Lecturer Robert Ouellette asks the question: Want digital cities that thrive in a changing world? Start with responsive, sustainable buildings.

Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Everything, and mobile computing are disrupting traditional economies, but does that disruption bring with it new, powerful tools architects, urban designers, and city managers can use to build the cities of tomorrow, today? In this talk to the B.E.S.T. community, MESH Cities founder Robert Ouellette explains how the fine-grained design strategies used to create responsive buildings will cushion the massive systemic change brought by smart cities.

Robert Ouellette’s leadership in strategic innovation and design helps cities, companies, and institutions thrive in a changing world. Along with design champions Charles Landry and MIT’s Carlo Ratti, Ouellette received the City Father award in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He advised global leaders on the financial and social benefits of smart building retrofits at the Think Green Global Forum in Nanjing, China. While working with Dr. Ron Dembo, he directed the global zero prize building re-skinning competition in partnership with the World Urban Forum. He was a respondent at the United Nations’ Sustainable Cities conference in New York.

His online initiative to open up the TTC’s real-time traffic data led to a crowd-sourcing event Harvard Business Review called a breakthrough business idea, and the John Street Interactive project—predating Google’s Street View—is on perpetual display in the National Library of France. A recipient of the City of Toronto’s Urban Design Award, he publishes in architecture and planning journals nationally and internationally. The National Post nominated Robert for a National Newspaper Award. He has an honours degree in Architecture from the U of T, and an MBA from the Ivey School of Business. See www.meshcities.com

All Building, Ecology, Science, and Technology Series Lectures at the University of Toronto are worth OAA Continuing Education Credits.