June 8 — 12, 2009
Dayna Baumeister, Michael Pawlyn, Andy Middleton
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Biomimicry is a rapidly developing discipline that finds inspiration in the startling design solutions of the natural world. These solutions can be applied to product design, architecture, engineering and even community development.
Natural structures and systems are inherently sustainable as well as being beautiful, efficient and elegant. Biomimicry brings together design and biology to solve design challenges by asking “what would nature do here?” This course will outline the philosophy and ethics of biomimicry, introduce life’s inherently sustainable design principles and apply them to a range of professional practices. Participants will develop a method for bringing natural forms to the design table and a whole new way of viewing and valuing the genius that surrounds us.
This course is intended for: professionals and students in fields including architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, industrial design, the sciences, engineering, community development, city planning and business. It is for anyone serious about creating a sustainable, bio-inspired future.
Interested in reading what a previous participant thought of last year’s Biomimicry course? Check out Leonora Oppenheim’s blog at www.treehugger.com and to read more about the course which Leonora and fellow participants took click here
Sources of inspiration take many forms. Biomimicry is a tool that teaches one to look to nature for inspiration and take those ideas beyond mimicry of form. Increasingly design professionals are recognising that biomimicry is a highly effective way of making their work genuinely sustainable. This course will look in depth at the ways that biomimicry can be applied within a range of contexts from architecture and industrial design to effecting organisational change.
Biomimicry is a rapidly developing discipline that finds inspiration in the startling solutions that natural organisms have evolved over the course of the last 3.85 billion years. Proponents of biomimicry contend that many of the solutions that we will need during the sustainability revolution are to be found in nature: super-efficient structures, high strength bio-degradable composites, self-cleaning surfaces, zero waste systems, low energy ways of creating fresh water and many others.
The three presenters on this course between them will address all the key issues that need to be considered when seeking to make design truly sustainable, including the design process itself and the broader applications of biomimicry that extend to inform new approaches to management, industry and society. As well as lecture sessions, the course will involve practical exercises, field study and group work in which participants will have the opportunity to discuss in greater detail how sources of inspiration from the natural world can be applied to real-life projects.
Participants will gain conceptual tools and familiarisation with a wide variety of examples that will enable them to introduce or extend the role of biomimicry within their professional practice. Participants will also develop their knowledge and understanding of how to be effective agents of change.
Dayna Baumeister will introduce some of the fundamental principles of biomimicry such as the way that life creates conditions conducive to life and the idea that life adapts and evolves. Dayna will then explore each of these aspects in greater detail and, with the use of abundant examples from both nature and human ingenuity, to show that the same adaptations found in natural organisms can be applied to design challenges. The key principles can be summarised as follows:
Michael Pawlyn will describe a number of design projects (some of which he worked on while at Grimshaw) that have applied biomimicry to achieve transformative results – allowing established approaches to be completely reconceived. The schemes will reveal some of the advantages to be gained from studying natural forms, systems and processes and using these to generate new design solutions that transcend conventional approaches to sustainability. The projects that Michael will describe include the following:
Andy Middleton will look at the role of the design industry within business and society: How did we end up getting ‘lost’ in design? What is the past and present role of perverse incentives? Where’s the current front edge for business and government in relation to re-design? He will work with participants to identify their points of highest leverage and understand the principles of Triple Top Line design.
Dayna Baumeister
Co-founder of the Biomimicry Guild, Dayna’s fascination and intrigue with the natural world began early with daily forays into the woods behind her home and weekend trips to the mountains with her family. As an adult, nature has been an inspiration in all of her personal and professional endeavors. Starting at the coastal seashore of Florida, Dayna received a BS in Marine Biology from New College in Sarasota. After several years exploring the intricate relationships of coral reefs, she turned in her wetsuit and headed back to the mountains. There, Dayna earned a MS in Resource Conservation and a PhD in Organismic Biology and Ecology from the University of Montana in Missoula, specializing in dynamics of positive interactions among animal and plant life.
With a background in biology, a devotion to applied natural history, and a passion for sharing the wonders of nature with others, Dayna has worked in the field of Biomimicry since 1998 as an educator, researcher, and design consultant. As co-founder and keystone for the Biomimicry Guild, Dayna acts as the liaison between all members of the Guild. In addition, she brings her skills as a systems thinker and organic communicator to her dynamic workshops, presentations, seminars, and exhibits, which have introduced the idea of nature as model, measure, and mentor to thousands of designers, business managers, and engineers around the country.
Bringing home the principles of life that she espouses in her work, Dayna finds physical and spiritual sustenance as a gardener, hunter, yoga instructor, and naturalist. She lives with her family in the foothills of the inspiring landscape of the rugged Rocky Mountain Front in Montana.
Michael Pawlyn
Michael set up Exploration in 2007 to focus on environmentally sustainable architecture inspired by nature. From 1997 to 2007 he worked with Grimshaw Architects and was instrumental in the design development of the Eden Project. He was responsible for leading the design of the Biomes and proposals for a third major climatic enclosure. He initiated and developed the Grimshaw environmental management system resulting, in December 2000, in the company becoming the first firm of European architects to achieve certification to ISO14001.
Michael has lectured widely on the subject of sustainable design in the UK and abroad and in May 2005 delivered a talk at the Royal Society of Arts with Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface. In 2006 he was appointed to represent Grimshaw as a Founder Member of the UK Green Building Council and in 2007 was elected as a committee member of ‘The Edge’, a think-tank dedicated to addressing important political, social and professional issues.
Andy Middleton
Andy Middleton is an adventurer and ecoentrepreneur. Haphazard yet interesting learning at school and university led to work as gold miner, adventure guide and then business director. Inspired by social & environmental justice and armed with naiveté, conviction and good fortune, he founded TYF in 1986 and has started a handful of businesses since then. Andy’s hundred or so UK and international projects and conferences on leadership, sustainability and innovation confirmed the need for big changes in the way the world of life, work and government is taught and designed. He’s convinced that this is possible using tools, ideas and knowledge we already have. Andy works to help organisations change inside out; sustainability and climate programmes with Business in the Community, the Welsh Assembly and Chinese government are providing lots of learning right now. Andy is a board member of the Association of Sustainability Practitioners and Cynnal CymruSustain Wales.
Today, he lives in a self-built, eco-friendly house on a Welsh cliff overlooking the sea. Taking groups into the natural beauty of the Welsh coastline to heighten their sense of awareness of and connectedness to the environment is his true passion. But this enthusiasm for positive change also translates to the classroom and the boardroom, where Andy also leads professional development workshops based on biomimicry principles.
For businesses: One week £1,200
For individuals, NGOs, Educational & Public Sector Organisations: One week £700
All course fees include accommodation, food, field trips and all teaching sessions.
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Discounts
10% for residents of South West England
20% with five or more people coming from the same organisation on the same course
The ‘Spring Deal’ does not apply to this course.
(only one discount applicable per booking)
For further information about Schumacher College please see About the College
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