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

布兰登·克里福德: 世界古老建筑奇迹的秘密

Filmed:
642,791 views

古代文明是如何移动大石块来建造巨石阵、金字塔和复活节岛石像的?TED 研究员布兰登·克里福德通过这个简短、愉快的演讲,揭示了古老建筑的秘密,并且展示了如何用这些精妙的方法建造未来。他说:“在这个建筑物只有30到60年寿命的时代,学习创造亘古永恒的奇迹,该是多么神奇啊。”
- 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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当今时代的建筑,
00:15
will be considered考虑 wonders奇迹 in the future未来?
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在未来会是奇迹吗?
00:19
Think of Stonehenge巨石阵,
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就像巨石阵、
00:20
the Pyramids金字塔,
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金字塔、
00:22
Machu马丘比丘 Picchu马丘比丘 and Easter复活节 Island.
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马丘比丘和复活节岛?
00:26
Now, they're all pretty漂亮 different不同
from what we're doing today今天,
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这些建筑和现今的建筑
有天壤之别,
00:30
with those massive大规模的 stones石头,
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它们由巨大的石头,
以复杂、似乎没有逻辑的形式堆叠而成。
00:32
assembled组装 in complex复杂
but seemingly似乎 illogical不通 ways方法,
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00:38
and all traces痕迹 of their construction施工
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而它们所有的建造痕迹
都被抹去了,
00:41
erased擦除,
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让它们成为了人类历史的不解之谜。
00:43
shrouding护罩 them in mystery神秘.
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00:47
It seems似乎 like people could not
have possibly或者 built内置 these things,
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很难想象人类能够建造这些奇迹,
00:52
because people didn't.
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因为它们不是人类建造的,
00:54
They were carefully小心 crafted精雕细琢
by a primordial原始 race种族 of giants豪门
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是一群原始巨人精心打磨成的,
00:59
known已知 as Cyclops独眼 巨人.
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也就是独眼巨人。
01:00
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑)
我最近和这群巨人合作,
01:01
And I've been collaborating合作
with these monsters怪物
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01:04
to learn学习 their secrets秘密
for moving移动 those massive大规模的 stones石头.
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来揭示它们移动巨石的秘密。
01:08
And as it turns out,
Cyclops独眼 巨人 aren't even that strong强大.
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结果我发现,独眼巨人没那么强壮,
01:13
They're just really smart聪明
about getting得到 material材料 to work for them.
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他们只是非常聪明,
善于操控物体。
01:19
Now, the videos视频 you see behind背后 me
of large, stone-like石头状, wobbly摇摆不定 creatures生物
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我身后的视频中,大家看到的
巨大、石头样的摇晃的物体,
01:23
are the results结果 of this collaboration合作.
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就是这次合作的成果。
01:26
OK, so Cyclops独眼 巨人 might威力 be
a mythical神话 creature生物,
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好吧,独眼巨人只是个传说,
01:30
but those wonders奇迹 are still real真实.
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但这些史前奇迹是真实存在的,
它们是由人类建造的。
01:33
People made制作 them.
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01:35
But they also made制作 the myths神话
that surround环绕 them,
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它们也引发了许多神话,
01:39
and when it comes to wonders奇迹,
there's this thick connective结缔组织 tissue组织
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而在神话和现实之间,
有着深厚的联系,
01:43
between之间 mythology神话 and reality现实.
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01:47
Take Easter复活节 Island, for example.
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比如复活节岛。
01:49
When the Dutch荷兰人 explorers探险
first encountered遇到 the island,
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荷兰探险家首次发现这个岛的时候,
问当地的拉帕努伊居民,
01:53
they asked the people of Rapa拉帕 Nui努伊
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你们的祖先是怎么挪动这些巨石的?
01:55
how their ancestors祖先 could have possibly或者
moved移动 those massive大规模的 statues雕像.
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01:59
And the Rapa拉帕 Nui努伊 said,
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拉帕努伊人说:
“我们的祖先没有挪这些雕像,
02:01
"Our ancestors祖先 didn't move移动 the statues雕像,
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因为雕像自己会走路。”
02:05
because the statues雕像 walked themselves他们自己."
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几个世纪以来,该说法
一直被人们忽视,但这却是真相。
02:09
For centuries百年, this was dismissed驳回,
but actually其实 it's true真正.
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这些雕像,也被称为摩艾巨石,
02:13
The statues雕像, known已知 as moai摩艾,
were transported standing常设,
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是直立着,不断旋转着运输的。
02:18
pivoting旋转 from side to side.
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02:21
OK?
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能想象吧?
02:23
As spectacular壮观 as the moai摩艾 are
for visitors游客 today今天,
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今天大家看到这些巨石觉得很壮观,
02:27
you have to imagine想像 being存在 there then,
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那想象一下当年的景象,
巨大雕像在岛上行走的样子
岂不更加壮观。
02:29
with colossal庞大 moai摩艾
marching行军 around the island.
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因为它们的真正意义,
不是这些物体本身,
02:32
Because the real真实 memorial纪念馆
was not the objects对象 themselves他们自己,
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而是赋予石头“生命”的文化仪式。
02:38
it was the cultural文化 ritual仪式
of bringing使 a stone to life.
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02:43
So as an architect建筑师,
I've been chasing that dream梦想.
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作为一个建筑师,这就是我的梦想。
02:47
How can we shift转移 our idea理念 of construction施工
to accommodate容纳 that mythical神话 side?
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我们如何将思维从打造建筑
转变为创造神话?
02:53
So what I've been doing
is challenging具有挑战性的 myself
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所以我一直在挑战自我,
02:55
with putting on a series系列 of performances演出
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进行一系列
古老但非常直接的、
02:58
of the ancient but
pretty漂亮 straightforward直截了当 task任务
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移动站立的、巨大笨重物体的展示,
03:01
of just moving移动 and standing常设
big heavy objects对象,
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比如这块设计为可在
地面行走、并竖直站立的
03:05
like this 16-foot-tall-foot高的 megalith巨石
designed设计 to walk步行 across横过 land土地
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16英尺高巨石;
03:09
and stand vertically垂直;
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03:12
or this 4,000-pound-磅 behemoth河马
that springs弹簧 itself本身 to life
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再比如这个可以一跃而起、
在台上起舞的
4000磅的庞然大物。
03:16
to dance舞蹈 onstage在舞台上.
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03:19
And what I've found发现 is
that by thinking思维 of architecture建筑
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通过这些,我发现,
如果不把建筑看作最终成品,
而是看作一场表演,
03:23
not as an end结束 product产品 but as a performance性能
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03:26
from conception概念 to completion完成,
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从概念一直到成品,
03:30
we end结束 up rediscovering重新发现 some really smart聪明
ways方法 to build建立 things today今天.
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我们就可以重新发现
非常精妙的建造方式。
03:35
You know, so much of the discussion讨论
surrounding周围 our future未来
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太多关于未来建筑的讨论,
都是关于科技、效率和速度。
03:38
focuses重点 on technology技术,
efficiency效率 and speed速度.
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但是独眼巨人教会了我一件事:
03:42
But if I've learned学到了 anything from Cyclops独眼 巨人,
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03:44
it's that wonders奇迹
can be smart聪明, spectacular壮观
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奇迹之所以精妙、壮观,
而且经久不衰,
03:48
and sustainable可持续发展 --
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正是因为它们的巨大和神秘。
03:50
because of their mass and their mystery神秘.
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03:54
And while people still want to know
how those ancient wonders奇迹 were built内置,
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尽管人们还在猜测,
这些古老奇迹是怎么建造的,
我却在向独眼巨人提问:
03:57
I've been asking Cyclops独眼 巨人
how to create创建 the mystery神秘
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04:00
that compels迫使 people
to ask that very question.
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如何建造引发这些猜测的奇迹?
04:04
Because in an era时代
where we design设计 buildings房屋
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因为在这个建筑物
只有30年、也许60年寿命的时代,
04:06
to last 30, maybe 60 years年份,
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04:09
I would love to learn学习
how to create创建 something
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学习创造亘古永恒的奇迹,
该是多么美妙啊。
04:12
that could entertain招待 for an eternity永恒.
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04:15
Thank you.
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谢谢。
04:16
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Nan Zhou
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