Biomimicry In Design Greengaged 2009

1. BIOMIMICRY IN DESIGN Sourcing Sustainable Design Solutions in the 21st Century By Melissa Sterry of Societás

4. Meeting our emerging & future needs… 1. BIODIVERSITY: Creating wildlife inclusive urban habitats to accommodate migrating insect, bird & mammal species. 2. FOOD & WATER SCARCITY: Growing food locally & rain harvesting. 3. CHANGING WEATHER PATTERNS: Adapting to hotter summers & heavier downpours. 4. NATURAL RESOURCE DEPLETION: Supply shortages of many building materials. 5. WASTESTREAM RECYCLING: Sewage & rubbish recycling in situ. © Societas Ltd 2009 All Rights Reserved

5. THE PERFECT STORM | MEETING OUR DESIGN BRIEF Need to reduce existing level of consumption by 2/3 in the UK, 4/5 in the US, 6/7 in the UAE. Currently 90% of all products are waste within 6 months of purchase, UK expected to run out of landfill space by 2016 For every tonne of household waste that we throw away, there's a further 5 tonnes of materials that have been used in the manufacturing of the products consumed. 20% of the naturally occurring chemical elements will run out within 100 years (source Chemistry Innovation) Jim Hansen announced in ‘08 that 325 parts per million should be our target - stating a 2 degree increase should already be built in. © Societas Ltd 2009 All Rights Reserved

6. EMERGING PRINCIPLES IN 21ST CENTURY DESIGN LIVING DESIGN - living materials & structures SYMBIOSIS - interdependent systems CLOSED LOOPS - creating zero waste LIFETIME GUARANTEE - repair & retro-fit MATERIAL MINIMALISM - less is more ORGANIC ORIGINS - as nature intended MICRO-ENERGY - self-powered design HARVESTING - rainwater, natural sunlight MULTI-FUNCTION - multi-tasking design © Societas Ltd 2009 All Rights Reserved

9. BIOMIMETIC DESIGN #1 Steve Fambro’s Aptera • 300 miles or more to the gallon • Shape minimizes air resistance • 3 wheels minimize drag on the road • Interior and exterior LED lighting • Solar assisted climate control system • Recycled materials • Both electric and plug-in hybrid models • Top speed of 90mph • 0-60 in around 10 seconds • Ample storage - interior large enough to fit a surf board

10. BIOMIMETIC DESIGN #2 Festo’s bionic AquaPenguin • Hydrodynamic body contour design with wing propulsion and head/tail sections that can move in all directions • Able to manoeuvre in cramped spatial conditions/turn on spot, unlike biological counterpart swims backwards • An autonomous underwater vehicle that independently navigates itself, supported by a 3D sonar system • Expect to see technology developed for use in underwater research and exploration © Societas Ltd 2009 All Rights Reserved

11. BIOMIMETIC DESIGN #3 Jean-Marie Massaud - Manned Cloud Hotel •700ft x 270ft x 170ft super-airship with 20 bedrooms, a restaurant, library, lounge, bar, gym and spa •Only requiring re-fuelling after 5,000 km, able to remain airborne for 3 days at a cruising speed of 80mph •Ferrying up to 40 passengers in the sky for a serene cruise around the world © Societas Ltd 2009 All Rights Reserved

12. BIOMIMETIC DESIGN #4 Ross Lovegrove - DNA Staircase • Inspired by DNA and human bone • Made it from fiberglass and unidirectional carbon via bladder molding • High-performance composite manufacturing to produce hollow lightweight form

13. BIOMIMETIC DESIGN #5 Ross Lovegrove - Solar Trees • Solar-powered urban street lighting •Solar branches follow the sun

14. BIOMIMETIC DESIGN #6 University of Southampton & Checkmate SeaEnergy’s Anaconda funded by EPSRC 200m long flexible rubber tube filled with seawater, sealed at both ends, sits on ocean surface generating wave energy Each passing wave squeezes the rubber, producing a bulge that ripples down the tube, powering an electric turbine at the end

15. BRIEF HISTORY OF BIOMIMICRY 4.6 BILLION YEARS - approx age of Earth 3.8 BILLION YEARS - estimated age of the single cellular organism 65.5 MILLION YEARS - age of the Cenozoic geological era 32,000 BC - earliest known cave art 20,000 BC - earliest forms of horticulture 10,000 BC - earliest planned cultivation & trait selection 7000 BC - Birth of Mesopotamia - the cradle of civilization 1452 - Birth of Leonardo Da Vinci 1936 - Alfred H. Barr describes art that refers to or evokes living forms as Biomorphism 1948 - George de Mestral invents Velcro 1950s - Otto Schmitt coins the term biomimetics & Jack E. Steele coins the term bionic © Societas Ltd 2009 All Rights Reserved

16. TERMINOLOGY BIOMIMICRY BIOMIMETICS BIOMIMESIS BIONICS BIOENGINEERING BIOCHEMICAL BIOPOWER BIONSPIRED BIOINSPIRATION BIOGNOSIS BIOMORPHIC BIOMORPHISM EVOLUTIONARY ARCHITECTURE SYMBIOTIC ARCHITECTURE ECOTECTURE ECONEERING ECOLUTIONARY LIVING ARCHITECTURE © Societas Ltd 2009 All Rights Reserved

17. WHERE NEXT FOR BIOMIMICRY? RESPONSIVE ENVIRONMENTS - living materials developed for a wide range of applications URBANATURE - the concrete jungle becomes an urban paradise and bio-diversity inclusive ORGANIC GROWTH - cities become self-sustaining, self- protecting ecological systems CHROMATOPHIC - environment responsive materials that change colour / texture LIGHT FANTASTIC - solar harvesting, light optimized, light responsive ECOUSTIC - acoustic structures, quiet, natural noise © Societas Ltd 2009 All Rights Reserved

18. GETTING IN TOUCH Melissa Sterry, Societás +44 (0) 870 910 4904 hello@societas.ltd.uk http://societas.ltd.uk "at present there is only a 10% overlap between biology and technology in terms of the mechanisms used” Professor of Biomimentics Julian Vincent © Societas Ltd 2009 All Rights Reserved