BioMimicry | GreenerDesign.com

Structure: Lessons from an Egg

Tom McKeag — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:39:00 -0700

The ostrich egg is a study in contradictions solved. It needs to move easily, and then stay put. It needs to resist breaking, and then break easily. It needs to seal some things out, but allow others in. It needs to keep some things in, but allow others out, and do so much more.

Framing Our Design Challenges: Introducing the Bio Design Cube

Tom McKeag — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:58:00 -0700

If we're going to effectively look to nature as a “model, measure and mentor,” then we might want to have a framework for that search. This framework ought to be complete, useful, instructive and provocative. My solution is the Bio Design Cube, meant to provide a “search frame” for designers to organize their bio-design inquiry.

Beyond Metaphor: Biomimicry and the Case of the Gecko

Tom McKeag — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:29:00 -0700

Designers of tomorrow's buildings have to go beyond metaphors in order to apply truly useful biomimetic innovation to the problems of our built world. For years researchers have been studying how geckos adhere to walls, and how humans can harness that ability.

Learning From Nature to Use Less Material and Energy

Tom McKeag — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:04:00 -0700

Solutions in nature that require the least effort and least material are fertile grounds for builders' research. Least-material solutions often mean least-energy solutions, and these savings may mean the difference between survival and oblivion for organisms. Similar solutions applied to, or avoided by, businesses can bring a variety of benefits or costs.

It's the Structure, Stupid: Why Nature is a Better Builder

Tom McKeag — Wed, 27 May 2009 12:30:00 -0700

Nature has been practicing feedback loops for billions of years, and builders are now implementing feedback loops (through advanced programming and sensors) in structures to optimize their performance. While humans have created bigger and longer structures than nature, we still have a lot to learn from nature about optimization.

Efficient Screen Displays Copy Color-Changing Sea Creatures

GreenerDesign Staff — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:42:00 -0700

Cephalopods like cuttlefish and squids can change their skin color quickly and across a broad spectrum, a process researchers are mimicking to make highly-efficient, reflective displays.

Janine Benyus, Suzlon and RecycleBank Execs Honored as U.N. 'Champions'

GreenBiz Staff — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 06:03:00 -0700

As part of its Earth Day celebrations, the United Nations Environment Programme awarded six individuals and one NGO as 'Champions of the Earth' for their environmental endeavors.

Design is the Problem: The Future of Design Must be Sustainable

GreenerDesign Staff — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:28:00 -0700

Nathan Shedroff examines how the endemic culture of design often creates unsustainable solutions, and shows how designers can bake sustainability into their design processes in order to produce more sustainable solutions.

Hippo Sweat Could Lead to Better Sun Protection

GreenerDesign Staff — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:46:00 -0700

A secretion that protects hippos from the sun also keeps insects and microorganisms away, and could be an inspiration for multi-purpose sunblocks.

Crab Shells Hold the Secret to Self-Healing Paint

GreenerDesign Staff — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:50:00 -0700

Researchers at the University of Southern Mississippi have developed a coating that heals its own scratches when exposed to sunlight.

State of Green Business 2009: Greener Design Comes Out of the Lab

Joel Makower — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:00:00 -0800

Along with the growth of concern about toxics in everyday products has come a growing number of solutions, a small but promising toolkit of chemical alternatives and design strategies aimed at wringing out the most toxic ingredients -- and, at the same time, improving some products' performance characteristics.

U.K., China Universities Combine Biomimicry Research

GreenerDesign Staff — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:00:00 -0800

Universities in the U.K. and China have opened a joint research center to bring their work related to biomimicry together.

Baby Beetles Get Through Water Efficiently, So Can Small Boats

GreenerDesign Staff — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:00:00 -0800

Researches at the University of Pittsburgh have a developed a way to move small robots and boats with low-energy electrical pulses, copying the way beetle larvae move on water.

The Top Green Design Stories of 2008

Jonathan Bardelline — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:00:00 -0800

Green design, like all things green, has spread into companies big and small and is now found in all sorts of products, packaging, supply chains and architecture. With many actual results being made throughout the year, there was also a hefty dose of support being given to concepts that will no doubt lead to cleaner, greener design innovations.

Researchers Develop Light, Tough Ceramics by Copying Mother of Pearl

GreenerDesign Staff — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:00:00 -0800

The inner layer of mollusks holds the secret to increasing the strength of ceramics, and scientists have been able to copy it with the help of freezing seawater.