SS Biomimicry Workshop 2015
April 2015 webinar
Agenda:
Intent of Class
Class 1 Homework review
iSite sharing
One biomimicry case study
Biomimicry history, ethics and
philosophy
Biomimicry design approach.
Learn about function & context
April Homework review
Questions and comments
Kendra Krueger
Engineering consulting,
“How on EARTH” Radio Show
Whilst under this tree
I ponder emerging life
Remembering joy
Life emerges today
Welcomed back by the sunshine
Laughter fills me again
Kate Gregory
U.S. EPA
LEED professional
Devoted
Compassionate
Tenacious
Nature Draws Me In.
Buds burst, bees build, birds bicker.
My senses, in tune.
Jayne Michaud,
Healthy schools grants,
U.S. EPA
Lynn Chan,
National Park Service
landscape architecture,
sustainabillity mgmt.
Martin Ogle. Founder
Entrepreneurial Earth LLC
Member, Colorado Alliance
for Environmental Education
Observing chickens today,
Trees and people too
Team
Communication
Forming Your Team
 Team name
 Meeting times to complete homework
 Develop one team power point slide
Team: How does Nature adapt to seasonal changes
in precipitation and drier conditions?
Team: How does Nature collect, store, and distribute
water with minimal energy?
Team: How does Nature manage disturbance?
Send homework to Marie and Diana:
zanowick.marie@epa.gov hammer.diana@epa.gov
303-312-6403
406-461-4148
iSite
Reconnecting with Nature = actually being in Nature
iSite sharing
Indigenous Wisdom
Biomimicry history,
ethics and philosophy
Meme of Biomimicry
• Meme: a cultural item that is transmitted
by repetition in a manner analogous to the
biological transmission of genes.
• Meme: like a highly
adapted gene, is an idea
that spreads rapidly
through a population.
• Songs, dances, symbols,
poems and stories are
some of the ways humans
spread a meme.
What Would Nature Do?
• Sustainability requires more than just a
mechanical adoption of new policy
requirements.
To be successful; a fundamental reframing of
problem solving activities is needed.
• Biomimicry is a way of seeking sustainable
solutions by borrowing life’s blueprints, chemical
recipes, and ecosystem strategies.
• It brings us into right relationship with the rest
of the natural world
Biomimicry contributes to the many
eco-design paradigms.
Three levels of Biomimicry
form
process
ecosystem
How does Biomimicry differ from
other bio-approaches?
Bio-utilization:
Bio-assisted:
acquire the
domesticate to
product or
producer
Bio-utilizationproducer
is harvesting a product or producer
Biomimicry:
emulate the
producer
well-adapted
sustainable harvest natural breeding
mimicking form,
process AND
ecosystem
mal-adapted
unsustainable
harvest
Mimicking form
alone; heat, beat
and treat processes
transgenics
Seeds of Biomimicry
To succeed at biomimicry requires a kind of
mindset, a connection to nature and a guide.
The practice of biomimicry embodies three
interconnected but unique realms:
ethos
(re)connect
emulate
(re)connect
with Nature
emulate
How to
Design
with
Biology
What is BaDT?
A Biologist at the Design Table
•ID Functions
•Functional Needs
•Connections
•Literature research
•ID patterns
•Communicate
•Understand LP’s
•Inspire
•Inform
Facilitate a shift in
thinking
I
N
T
E
R
F
A
C
E
WWND?
C
A
R
P
E
T
Entropy carpet tiles
Biomimicry Framework
• Designers already have a design process
and this framework gives context to
where, how, what and why biology fits
into the process of any discipline or scale
of design.
• Those new to design, this framework can
serve to promote your own budding
design process.
• Integrating Biology into Design (IBD)
Biomimicry Framework (IBD)
• Scoping phase: behind-the-scenes
preparation or “leg work”
• Creating phase: Glamorous stage of design,
options are explored, brainstorming
• Evaluating phase: Is used to determine if
goals and metrics are met.
Integrating
Biology
into Design
creating
Discovering
Biology
(life’s strategies
& adaptations)
scoping
evaluating
The Evolution of a Carpet Tile Using
Integrating Biology into Design
Discovering
Creating
InterfaceFLOR
Creating
Enropy Carpet tile
Evaluating
Evaluating
Scoping
Scoping
Creating
Discovering
Discovering
Evaluating
Discovering
Evaluating
Evaluating
Discovering
Scoping
gravity,
sunlight,
water
earth’s operating conditions
Scoping
Creating
Evaluating
Integrating
Biology
into Design
Discovering
Biology
(life’s strategies
& adaptations)
scoping
Leverage creative tension in your vision
Vision
Reality
Integrating Biology into Design
• A well-adapted biological strategy must
meet the functional needs of the organism
in the context in which it lives in order to
contribute to its survival.
• A well–adapted DESIGN must meet the
functional needs of the DESIGN
CHALLENGE in the context in which it
MUST EXIST in order to contribute to its
SUCCESS.
Integrating Biology into Design
Function: What you want your design to DO.
Integrating Biology into Design
What do you want your design to REALLY do?
Ask WHY many times
Biomimicry Taxonomy
The biomimicry
taxonomy can be a
useful tool in thinking
about function.
It is a comprehensive
look at the functions
of life.
Biologizing the question?
How does Nature perform this function?
How does Nature communicate?
How does Nature adapt?
How does Nature create more productive
feedback loops?
How does Nature ……?
Defining Context
• Context: Under what conditions,
circumstances, scenarios, constraints, laws,
budgets, systems, etc. must the solution
meet its defined function?
• Context must consider the end user, end
use, supply and distribution,
economics, and how the
design functions in space
and time.
April Homework
due May 15,2015
• Team introductions
• Learn About Function
• Identify goals, context, function(S) &
constraints for your challenge
• Watch the Ray Anderson video
• iSite