Biomimicry: why the world is full of intelligent design

We humans like to think we’re pretty good at design and technology – but we often forget that Mother Nature had a head start of 3.6 million years. Now, the way that geckoes climb walls, or hummingbirds hover, is at the centre of a burgeoning industry: biomimicry, the science of “reverse-engineering” clever ideas from the natural world.

Such efforts are, in a way, nothing new. Joseph Paxton’s designs for the Crystal Palace that housed the Great Exhibition of 1851 were based, in part, on his observations of the structure of giant water lilies. George de Mestral, a Swiss engineer, came up with the concept of Velcro after observing the way burdock seeds clung to his clothes and the fur of his dog.

Yet as we become more and more concerned about the environmental impact of our behaviour, biomimicry is becoming fashionable.

“Imitating natural systems is about trying to mimic the amazing effectiveness of ecosystems, where the waste from one system or animal is used as the nutrients for another,” says Michael Pawlyn, the director of a sustainable architecture firm and one of the designers of the Eden Project in Cornwall. “Often, by applying ideas from ecosystems you can turn problems into solutions that are better both environmentally and commercially.”

…This week, Pawlyn is lecturing on biomimicry at Schumacher College in Devon, which runs courses on the environment and sustainability. However, for those that can’t make the lectures, we’ve collected a few examples of biomimicry at its best….

Read more from this feature from the Telegraph newspaper, by Sanjida O’Connell, 8 June 2009

Schumacher College is part of the Dartington Hall Trust, a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and as a charity (company no. 1485560, charity no. 279756). Registered office: The Elmhirst Centre, Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6EL, UK.