Patterns at Mount Sutro

Short video showing patterns I heard, felt and saw. At Mount Sutro in San Francisco this morning.

BIO-WHAT? Biomimicry Basics

In this blog post I will be discussing the Whats, Whys and Hows of Biomimicry. After watching some video interviews of Janine Benyus, as well as one of her TED talks, reading the first chapter of her book (Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature) as well as a Biomimicry primer she wrote, I will be synthesising some of the concepts presented and communicating them here. This post will be an effort to compellingly and succinctly introduce biomimicry.

What is biomimicry?

• To quote Janine Benyus at its most basic Biomimicry is "learning an idea from an organism and applying it".
• The idea behind biomimicry is that nature has already solved a lot of the problems that currently plaque us: energy sources and production, food production, shelter, micro and macro climate control, manufacturing, packaging, transportation, etc. So why not tap into what nature has already discovered and tested over 3.8 billion years of natural selection?
• In the biomimicry primer Janine Benyus introduces the idea that there are three levels of biomimicry: The first is to imitate natural forms, this does not necessarily result in green solutions. The second is to be inspired by natural processes, how nature makes things, this adds a level of authenticity to the first level.The third is to imitate the systems of Natural Ecosystems, this should result in a closed loop economy. The three together result in a really honest application of natures ideas.

A picture I saw this morning on design boom, helmet inspired by
an armadillo from:http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat
/8/view/13767/modern-bicycle-helmets.html

Why biomimicry now?

• In the first chapter of her book Janine Benyus speculates "My guess is that Homo Industrialis, having reached the limits of natures tolerance, is seeing his shadow on the wall". As we see the cumulative effects of our existence take hold of the planet and these effects increasingly manifest in ways that negatively effect our and our planets mates abilities to flourish we are starting to look for alternatives. How can we change our relationship with the planet (our home).
• Species are disappearing rapidly. Possibly as many as 25% of species on the earth will be extinct in the next few decades. This will represent the loss of a huge wealth of information and design opportunities.
  
• A rapid acceleration of the volume of knowledge in the biological sciences gives us an unprecedented access to nature's success full designs.

What are nature's common principles?

• Janine Benyus talks about the necessity for every natural organism to meet their needs while ensuring that they preserve or improve the place their offspring will successfully reproduce in. She says "life creates conditions conducive to like".
• All organisms face the same struggles for: food, water, space and shelter. All organisms(with the possible exception of HUMANS) accomplish this while: running on sunlight, using only essential energy, fitting form to function, recycling everything, rewarding cooperation, banking on diversity, demanding local expertise, curbing excess(self limiting) and using limits as opportunities.

What does nature as mentor, measure and model mean?

• In the Biomimicry Primer by Janine Benyus this question is answered by posing 3 questions. Biomimicry is exploring problems and solutions by asking these questions:
• "What would nature do here?" Nature as Model
• "What wouldn't nature do?" Nature as Measure
• Why would or wouldn't nature do this? Nature as Mentor
• The idea is to move from a human centric perspective to one where we see our selves as a part of nature.

How will biomimicry influence the field of sustainable design?

• Biomimicry is integrative it offers solutions in context. The context that the earth is our home and just like our personal residences we have to take care of it.
• We are as a species have struggled, since the development of agriculture to break free of ecological laws. In order to be sustainable we must(just like all of our planet mates) operate within these rules. Biomimicry offers a way to reconnect with these laws.

What can designers learn from the natural world?

• The most basic thing we can learn from nature is integration. In nature everything fits in, a part of a massive system that is tested and proven(over a few billion years) to work. Our current path is an experiment with a new way and preliminary results suggest strongly that it is not working!
• The areas where nature has the most to offer us is where our approach is the opposite to nature's. For example our economies focus on maximising through put, nature focuses on cycles, very little input very little out put. Nature selects for integrative systems.

Picture from: http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National

-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2009/Mimicking-Mother-Nature.aspx

What can industry learn from the natural world?

• If you want to be around for a long time you need to mimic a mature ecosystem. Industry needs to become a massive interconnected network.
• In a mature ecosystem there is no "waste". Manufacturing needs to be designed such that waste becomes a resource. Eco-parks are a move in this direction.
  
• Nature manufactures with sunlight in conditions friendly to life. Industry, if it wants to stay here, must learn to produce in this way.

Picture from:http://www.taiganova.com/site/networking.asp

What can designers learn from biologists?

• Earlier we talked about nature facing the same problems we do. Nature is a massive collection of successful solutions to these problems.
• Biologists study these solutions and their combined knowledge of them doubles every 5 years. As designers we have the opportunity to tap into this huge resource by, as Janine Benyus says, "having biologists at the design table".
• Nature has brilliantly "made a world that works". Biologists study this world. As designers we make our world, it is ignorant to do this with our looking at how nature has accomplished so much. Biologist offer a portal to this knowledge.
  

What has changed in the last decade since Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature was written?

• The amount of biomimetic research has increased.
• There has been a movement from research to implementation of biomimicry.
• The sources of funding have moved from being primarily public(military and transportation/energy departments) to increasing private R&D. From the Biomimicry Primer.

What is asknature.org?

• Asknature is an open online source of natural solutions. A place where people can go to find out how nature solves problems.
• It also has a networking aspect where you can connect with fellow biomimics.

Biomimicry is a method of utilizing the rich collection of design solutions that are represented in the natural world. Through the it's application biomimicry also encourages us to again become a part of the natural world. To be a productive cog in the system of nature that has worked so well for so long.
Do I see biomimicry as a tool to help us move toward environmentally and socially sustainable design? Yes! But much more than that. I love to be out side and am constantly amazed by the accomplishments visible in nature. I think that biomimicry offers us a chance to inspire and amaze through design in a way that will result in consumers demanding these designs and in using these designs people will celebrate being part of nature.

Thanks for following along.

Nature Journaling

Mount Sutro:

• This is Mount Sutro. A Park owned and maintained my UCSF. It is a large forested park behind UCSF hospital a 5 minute walk from my apartment.Mostly heavily forested with some more open areas around the edges.

• Dirt and gravel paths run through the park.

• This area is very hilly and lush. The forest is dominated by huge old Eucalyptus trees. Obviously not native to this part of the world these trees were planted all over San Francisco in the late 19th century by Adolph Sutro.

• This first observation was conducted in a fairly clear area near the edge of the forest.

• This is where I sat on the remnants of a brick ring that circled the tree before the tree out grew it. Makes me wonder about trying to control or confine nature.

• Sunny, warm day with just a hint of wind from the north west. It has been raining for a few weeks and everything seems so lush. How has the activity changed with this new weather?

• I can hear birds high in the tree canopy and occasionally see them flit about. What is all their chatter about?

• I still hear the traffic on a nearby road.

• I can faintly make out the rustling of the grass and bushes as the wind passes

• I see grasses, low vines with shiny green leaves even the single vine has a multitude of shades of green.

• Can smell rotting material under the grass. Some fallen eucalyptus leaves and branches.

• Under the grass are other plants trying to grow. Will they emerge from the shade of the grass?

• Is the tall grass weakening this tiny blackberry bush and resulting in it being eaten by insects?

• Will this bush survive to shade out the grass?

• In a crack in that crumbling brick wall I sat on, this beautiful little patch of moss is growing.

• Can we learn about building or growing things in constrained places from this organism.

• How is the moss attached, how does it get water and nutrients?

• Looking at the bark on the tree I saw this small insect. I believe it is a Rove beetle.

• What happened next confirmed this.
  

• I guess I got too close taking this picture.

• Rove beetles are know to cure their abdomens up in a way that looks like they are going to sting. Just a bluff though these insects don't sting. What can we learn from this protective bluff? Applications in safety maybe instead of warning signs things can be made to look dangerous?

• Under some of the really smooth vine leaves I found this. Looks like spit. Has little yellow flecks in it.

• How does this adhere? Is it protecting some thing? Does it hurt the leaf?
  

Can we develop exude-able temporary structures?
This post feels to me like a bunch of really random observations, Sorry for that. I got really engrossed in examining closely what was happening in these different small scale habitats. On in and around the bark, under the grass and on the bottom of the leaves.
Stay Tuned for more next week!

Introductory Biomimicry for Designers Post

This is my initial post for the biomimicry for designers class. This blog will get more interesting!