Biomimicry In Design Greengaged 2009

BIOMIMICRY IN DESIGN
Sourcing Sustainable Design Solutions in the 21st Century

By Melissa Sterry of Societás

Visual futurist Syd Mead’s vision of the city of Doho, Qatar in the future.

© Societas Ltd 2009 All Rights Reserved

Our Vision


Meeting our emerging & future needs…

1. BIODIVERSITY: Creating wildlife
inclusive urban habitats to
accommodate migrating insect,
bird & mammal species.

2. FOOD & WATER SCARCITY:
Growing food locally & rain
harvesting.

3. CHANGING WEATHER PATTERNS:
Adapting to hotter summers &
heavier downpours.

4. NATURAL RESOURCE DEPLETION:
Supply shortages of many building
materials.

5. WASTESTREAM RECYCLING:
Sewage & rubbish recycling in situ.


THE PERFECT STORM | MEETING OUR DESIGN BRIEF

Need to reduce existing level of consumption by 2/3 in the UK,
4/5 in the US, 6/7 in the UAE.

Currently 90% of all products are waste within 6 months of
purchase, UK expected to run out of landfill space by 2016

For every tonne of household waste that we throw away, there's
a further 5 tonnes of materials that have been used in the
manufacturing of the products consumed.

20% of the naturally occurring chemical elements will run out
within 100 years (source Chemistry Innovation)

Jim Hansen announced in ‘08 that 325 parts per million should
be our target - stating a 2 degree increase should already
be built in.


EMERGING PRINCIPLES IN 21ST CENTURY DESIGN

LIVING DESIGN - living materials & structures

SYMBIOSIS - interdependent systems

CLOSED LOOPS - creating zero waste

LIFETIME GUARANTEE - repair & retro-fit

MATERIAL MINIMALISM - less is more

ORGANIC ORIGINS - as nature intended

MICRO-ENERGY - self-powered design

HARVESTING - rainwater, natural sunlight

MULTI-FUNCTION - multi-tasking design


BLUEPRINTS


COPYCATS


BIOMIMETIC DESIGN #1

Steve Fambro’s Aptera

• 300 miles or more to the gallon

• Shape minimizes air resistance

• 3 wheels minimize drag on the road

• Interior and exterior LED lighting

• Solar assisted climate control system

• Recycled materials

• Both electric and plug-in hybrid models

• Top speed of 90mph

• 0-60 in around 10 seconds

• Ample storage - interior large enough to
fit a surf board


Festo’s bionic AquaPenguin

• Hydrodynamic body contour design with wing propulsion and head/tail sections that can move in all directions

• Able to manoeuvre in cramped spatial conditions/turn on spot, unlike biological counterpart swims backwards

• An autonomous underwater vehicle that independently navigates itself, supported by a 3D sonar system

• Expect to see technology developed for use in underwater research and exploration



Jean-Marie Massaud - Manned Cloud Hotel
•700ft x 270ft x 170ft super-airship with 20 bedrooms, a restaurant, library, lounge, bar, gym and spa
•Only requiring re-fuelling after 5,000 km, able to remain airborne for 3 days at a cruising speed of 80mph
•Ferrying up to 40 passengers in the sky for a serene cruise around the world



Ross Lovegrove - DNA Staircase

• Inspired by DNA and human bone
• Made it from fiberglass and unidirectional carbon
via bladder molding
• High-performance composite manufacturing to
produce hollow lightweight form


Ross Lovegrove - Solar Trees

• Solar-powered urban street lighting

•Solar branches follow the sun


University of Southampton & Checkmate SeaEnergy’s Anaconda funded by EPSRC

200m long flexible rubber tube filled with seawater, sealed at both ends, sits on ocean surface generating
wave energy

Each passing wave squeezes the rubber, producing a bulge that ripples down the tube, powering an electric
turbine at the end

BRIEF HISTORY OF BIOMIMICRY
4.6 BILLION YEARS - approx age of Earth

3.8 BILLION YEARS - estimated age of the single cellular organism

65.5 MILLION YEARS - age of the Cenozoic geological era

32,000 BC - earliest known cave art

20,000 BC - earliest forms of horticulture

10,000 BC - earliest planned cultivation & trait selection

7000 BC - Birth of Mesopotamia - the cradle of civilization

1452 - Birth of Leonardo Da Vinci

1936 - Alfred H. Barr describes art that refers to or evokes living
forms as Biomorphism

1948 - George de Mestral invents Velcro

1950s - Otto Schmitt coins the term biomimetics & Jack E.
Steele coins the term bionic


TERMINOLOGY

BIOMIMICRY BIOMIMETICS BIOMIMESIS BIONICS

BIOENGINEERING BIOCHEMICAL BIOPOWER

BIONSPIRED BIOINSPIRATION BIOGNOSIS

BIOMORPHIC BIOMORPHISM

EVOLUTIONARY ARCHITECTURE
SYMBIOTIC ARCHITECTURE

ECOTECTURE ECONEERING

ECOLUTIONARY LIVING ARCHITECTURE


WHERE NEXT FOR BIOMIMICRY?

RESPONSIVE ENVIRONMENTS - living materials developed
for a wide range of applications

URBANATURE - the concrete jungle becomes an urban
paradise and bio-diversity inclusive

ORGANIC GROWTH - cities become self-sustaining, self-
protecting ecological systems

CHROMATOPHIC - environment responsive materials that
change colour / texture

LIGHT FANTASTIC - solar harvesting, light optimized, light
responsive

ECOUSTIC - acoustic structures, quiet, natural noise


GETTING IN TOUCH

Melissa Sterry, Societás

+44 (0) 870 910 4904

hello@societas.ltd.uk

http://societas.ltd.uk

"at present there is only a 10% overlap between biology and technology in terms
of the mechanisms used” Professor of Biomimentics Julian Vincent

Biomimicry In Design Greengaged 2009

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