Nothing like some global perspective and a bunch of good quotes to start the new year off with: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkdNBSOL1UE "In outer space you develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international …
Continue reading The tiny, precious, pale blue dot we call home.
It’s Christmas time again! A time of year wrapped in cultural traditions as well as seasonal and celestial significance. For those of us in the northern hemisphere it’s the darkest time of year, the winter solstice occurring on the 21st of December and bringing only a few hours of daylight to much of the northern …
Yes, Biomimicry does literally mean the “imitation of nature”, but a literal imitation of nature is not what Biomimicry is! Biomimicry involves drawing inspiration from nature to help find solutions to human problems. Ideally the process (as outlined by Janine Benyus) uses nature as a: Model (imitating or taking inspiration from natural solutions) Measure (using …
What better way to spend this afternoon than clicking through the pages of the newly released Zygote Quarterly 3rd Edition. This unique e-zine is a refreshing and inspiring view into the current world of biomimicry as it develops across multiple disciplines. With it's beautiful graphic styling and high quality original articles, its quickly become an …
Biomimicry gives us a strong logical reasoning for turning to nature for design solutions. The living things on this planet have gone through 3.8 billion years of research and development, refining them into the perfectly appropriate and adapted solutions we see functioning around us today. So in our quest to create a more sustainable built …
Recently at work while doing some run-of-the-mill materials research I came across a completely non-run-of-the-mill range of carpet tiles that utilises Biomimicry and a unique lesson from nature to achieve sustainable innovation. Traditionally carpet tiles are required to be identical in colour, pattern, size and must be installed uniformly in the same direction. This necessity …
Continue reading Lessons from nature: it’s ok to be imperfect.
I just came across this talk and was really excited to get some insight into the current Biomimicry workings at HOK, arguably the most progressive architectural design firm when it comes to integrating Biomimicry into architecture. Unfortunately no insights were given here, just a brief and basic introduction to the general concept of biomimicry. But …
Following along the idea of lessons from nature which are broader than specific design solutions comes one of the most underutilized, I think, in the human world: spontaneity! As the May blossoms spring into life here, and a walk through a brown defrosting park one day could a couple days later be a fresh green …
Adaptability- the ability to change or be changed to fit altered circumstances, is one of the master lessons we can learn from nature. Designing for adaptability and adaptable reuse is slowly being recognised as a crucial part of creating sustainable architecture and built environments. Buildings currently consume 32% of the world’s resources, and roughly one …
Two things really captured my imagination and inspired me last week, linked by an unexpected thread. They were a piece of news about an ancient fossil forest in New York, and the Edward Burtynsky photography exhibition I checked out. First up, the discovery of a 385 million year old forest floor, fossilized in New York …
Continue reading Inspired by nature: Lessons from Fossils and Photography.
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