By Reena Jana
One champion of biomimetic design is Chris Garvin, a senior associate at Cook+Fox Architects and a partner in New York-based consulting firm Terrapin Bright Green, which has advised such clients as the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and Starwood Hotels on sustainability strategies that involve biomimetic design and whole-systems thinking. As a trusted advisor on the benefits of biomimicry, Garvin, who serves on the Board of Directors for the New York chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council and on the Advisory Board for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, is also honest about how the field can be improved in general.
He took the time to answer questions on what types of biomimetic concepts succeed, where current biomimicry efforts might fall short or fail, and how designers, biologists, entrepreneurs, and entire cities could more efficiently apply biomimicry approaches in the near future.
Here is our exchange.
Is there a danger of over-simplifying the concept of biomimicry–as in, “well, if it works in nature, it’s sure to work in the human world?”
Yes, I think so. Mankind hasn’t gotten close to replicating anything close to the simple complexity of nature. We most often see forms from nature being mimicked. For example, the bullet train mimics the dive of a kingfisher, a model of concept car mimics the shape of a box fish. Mirasol’s display technology [from Qualcomm] mimics the nanostructure of a butterfly’s wing. But rarely do we see a form that manages to use one function to achieve myriad results, as we often find in nature.
Rarely do we see a product made with a material that is non-toxic, recyclable, and manufactured at room temperature, under low pressure. If anything, the tendency has been to oversimplify how nature works. We often find that biomimetic innovators benefit from multiple positive outcomes stemming from greater efficiency, reduced toxicity, and the like, but not to the scale of most organisms in nature. READ MORE >>
Socialize