Lecture prepared by Carlos Fiorentino !using multiple sources, for the purpose !of display in the Biomimicry Alberta !Workshop 2014 setting only. Not for !duplication. No derivatives of the work !

are permitted. © 2014 Carlos Fiorentino

Living things have done everything humans want to do, without guzzling fossil fuels, polluting the planet, or mortgaging their future ~ Janine Benyus

!!

what better models could

there be?

Bio-inspired design : biomimetics : biomechanics : bionics : biomimicry

Biomimicry (from bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate) !Organisms and environments integrate and optimize strategies to create conditions conducive to life. How can design create conditions conducive to life?

Biomimicry sees nature !as a model photosynthesis, self-assembly, natural selection, self-sustaining ecosystems !as a measure uses an ecological standard to judge the rightness of our innovations, what works, what is appropriate and what lasts as a mentor introduces an era based not on what we can extract from the natural world but on what we can learn from it

!!● Nature runs on sunlight

● Nature uses only the energy it needs

● Nature fits form to function

● Nature recycles everything

● Nature rewards cooperation

● Nature banks on diversity

● Nature demands local expertise

● Nature curbs excesses from within

● Nature taps the power of limits

Cannon of nature’s laws, strategies, and principles:

Resilience

Changing by design or by disaster !!!!!!!!!!!!!The question is not if but when and how and for how long changes will happen, and what we need to do in response to prevent major problems. !!!

Resilience: “leaping back” The ability of a system to return to its initial state after a disturbance.

Three defining characteristics of resilient systems:!• A system is resilient when it can undergo certain amount of change and still retain the same controls on function and structure !•At a certain degree, a resilient system is capable of self-organization !• A system is resilient when it posses the ability to build and increase the capacity for learning and adaptation

Resilience !Ball in a basin metaphor

Resilience

Initial state

New state

Resilience and biomimicry !How would nature design buildings and cities that fulfill the ecosystem services of the original habitats they replaced? !Generous Cities: places where our buildings actually regenerate and improve our environment, like coral reefs or rain forests, ecosystems we find in nature that have been around for millions of years.

Resilience and biomimicry

“If you want to know how to rebuild, go to the shoreline. Ask what survived there, and why. Look for the survivors and replicate their strategies. See how humble grasses rebuild dunes, and oyster beds act as reefs, sheltering the land from impact.” ~Janine Benyus

Content references: !Bateson, G. (1972). Steps to an Ecology of Mind. Ballantine, New York.Baumeister, Dayna (2013). Biomimicry Resource Handbook: A seed bank of knowledge and best practices Missoula MT, USA: Biomimicry 3.8Benyus, J. M. (1997) Biomimicry : innovation inspired by nature. New York: Perennial.Benyus, J.M. (2008) A good place to settle: Biomimicry, biophila, and the return to nature’s inspiration to architecture. In Kellert, S. R., Heerwagen, J., & Mador, M. (Eds). Biophilic design: The theory, science, and practice of bringing buildings to life. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.Boehnert, J.J. (2011) Epistemological Error. A Whole Systems View of Converging Crises. London, UK: EcoLabs University of BrightonBrundtland, G. H., & Development, A. a. W. C. o. E. a. (1987). Our common future/World Commission on Environment and Development. New York: Oxford University Press.Bubolz, M. (1995). Use of a critical science perspective in human ecology. In S.D. Wright (Ed.), Human ecology: Progress through integrative perspectives (pp. 1-4). Seventh Conference of SHE. Bar Harbor, ME: Society for Human Ecology.Capra, F. (1982). The Turning Point. New York: Simon & Schuster.Capra, F. & Henderson H. (2009) “Qualitative Growth” London: The Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales.Carlson, Rachel (1961). Silent spring. New York : Houghton MifflinCrutzen, P. J. (2006). The “anthropocene”. In Earth System Science in the Anthropocene (pp. 13-18). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.Diegel O., Singamneni S., Reay S., Withell A. (2010). Tools for Sustainable Product Design: Additive Manufacturing. Journal of Sustainable Development 01/2010 Vol.3, Num. 3, 68-75.Edmondson, Amy (2007) . A Fuller Explanation. EmergentWorld LLC, 2007Edwards, A. R. (2005). The sustainability revolution: Portrait of a paradigm shift. New Society Pub.Falcon, Andrea. Aristotle and the Science of Nature : Unity Without Uniformity. Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press. 2005.Fiorentino, C. (2012) Design for Sustainability vs. Design for Resilience: A Time Scale Problem? The International Journal of Sustainability Education. 8 (2), pp. 30-45Fiorentino, C., (2012). Applying Biomimicry Concepts in Teaching Design for Sustainability: The most inspiring design solutions are present in nature. Fiorentino, C. (2011). STB Conference 2012 Sustainability Through Biomimicry: Discovering a world of solutions inspired by nature. November 26-27, 2012, Dammam University, College of Design, Saudi Arabia.Folke, C. (2006). Resilience: The emergence of a perspective for social–ecological systems analyses. Global environmental change, 16(3), 253-267.Gibson, James J. (1977). “The Theory of Affordances.” In Perceiving, Acting, and Knowing: Toward an Ecological Psychology. Eds. R. Shaw and J. Bransford. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1977. 67-82.Gibson, James J. (1979). The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Guba, E. C. (1990). The alternative paradigm dialog. In E.C. Guba (Ed.), The paradigm dialog (pp. 17-27, 379-400). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Henderson, H. (1999). Beyond Globalization. West Hartford, Conn.: Kumarian Press.Jantsch, E. (1980). The self-organizing universe : scientific and human implications of the emerging paradigm of evolution, Oxford: Pergamon PressKaplinsky, J. (2006). Biomimicry versus humanism. Architectural Design, 76(1), 66-71. Kellert, Heerwagen & Maador (2008). Biophilic Design: : the theory, science, and practice of bringing buildings to life. Hoboken, N.J. : WileyKellert, S.R. & Heerwagen, J.H. (2008) Preface. In Kellert, S. R., Heerwagen, J., & Mador, M. (Eds.). Biophilic design: The theory, science, and practice of bringing buildings to life (pp. vii- ix). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Knappett, C. (2005). Thinking through material culture: an interdisciplinary perspective. Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania PressKrafel, P. (1999). Seeing nature: Deliberate encounters with the visible world. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company. Kuhn, Thomas S. (1996). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, [3rd edition].Lance Klein, (2009). A Phenomenological Interpretation Of Biomimicry And Its Potential Value For Sustainable Design. Manhattan, Kansas: Kansas State University. Lincoln, Y.S., & Guba, E.G. (2000). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences. In N.K. Denzin & Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 163-188). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Lovins, A. B. (1977). Soft energy paths: toward a durable peace. New York : Harper & Row.Montana-Hoyos, C. (2007) Biomimicry in Sustainable Industrial Design Education. BioInspired: The Biomimicry Institute Newsletter. Volume 5, Issue 2, June 20, 2007Montana-Hoyos, C. (2008) A Proposal of Biomimicry, Human Needs and Ecodesign in an Integrative Method to Teach Sustainability within Industrial Design Education. Design Research Journal, Number 47, November 2008, Japan. Montana-Hoyos, C. (2010) The Bio-Inspired Design Landscape, Industrial Design. BioInspired: Center for Biologically Inspired Design - Georgia Tech. Volume 7, Issue 3, September 8, 2010.Montana-Hoyos, C. (2011) Bio-Inspired Design, from the Industrial Revolution to our Days. In The Encyclopedia of Form and Function, Maruzen, Tokyo, Japan. New York: Harper & Row.Orr, David. 2002. The Nature of Design. New York: Oxford University Press.Orr, David. 2004. Earth in Mind. On Education, Environment and the Human Prospect. Washington, DC: Island Press. Papanek, V. (1984). Design for the real world : human ecology and social change, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.Steiner, F. (2002). Human Ecology: following Nature’s Lead. Washington, D.C. : Island Press.Stibbe, Arran (2009). The Handbook of Sustainable Literacy. Cambridge, UK: Green Books UIT Walker & Salt (2012), Resilience Practice: building capacity to absorb disturbance and maintain function. Washington, D.C. : Island PressWilson, E. O. (Ed.). (1984). Biophilia: The human bond with other species. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press.!

Imagery retrieved from royalty free photo sources.

Let’s go outside!