The term ‘biomimicry’ comes from the Latin words bio – meaning life and mimises – meaning to imitate and refers to referencing for design ideas. It is ‘the conscious emulation of life’s genius’. A popular example of biomimicry is Velcro, which was invented by Georges De Mestral, who noticed how seed burrs attached to his pants leg and his dog’s fur during a walk one day. He then spent eight years developing industrial technology and processes to re-create the hook and fabric attachment observed, to create the synthetic product called Velcro.
Design can be thought to be generated by either the Industrial or Natural. The Industrial refers to man made, structured, linear and generally with a single purpose or outcome to a process. Natural refers to a system or systems which are unconscious, self-developed, adapting, autonomous and interdependent with many processes and many outcomes not all of which are understood. These are quite distinct and cannot be confused.
Biomimicry is claimed to combine nature and industry and to directly inherit ‘life’s principles’ that ‘instruct us to build from the bottom up, self-assemble, optimize rather than maximize, use free energy, cross-pollinate, embrace diversity, adapt and evolve, and use life-friendly materials and processes, engage in symbiotic relationships, and enhance the bio-sphere.’ By following ‘life’s principles’ we are able to create eco-friendly and sustainable design. These principles provide a framework to reference industrial design against nature.
However, if we use this framework for Velcro, a product made from extracted, processed fossil fuels to create nylon, it is apparent that it does not reference ‘life’s principles’ and is not eco-friendly and sustainable. Biomimicry, in this instance, is another form of ‘flicking through a magazine’ to find ideas to use in the industrial sphere.
This example is one of many examples( also the ‘ kingfisher shaped nose of the bullet train) that biomimcry is not an eco-friendly, sustainable form of design. Rather biomimcry is imitating nature which does not necessarily result in sustainable outcomes because it takes one feature of a natural organism and replicates it without the need to understand the functioning of the rest of the organism.
Organisations and such as Biomimicry Institute, key people like Jenine Benyus as well as others that support eco-friendly and sustainable biomimicry design ideology, claim that we can learn processes and develop products using ‘nature as model’ to create elegant environmental solutions to design problems, but simply imitating is not enough.
If we are to reference ‘Nature as mentor’ in design, I suggest that the term ‘Biodoctrine’, Bio – life, Doctrine – to learn, be used. This term incorporates the view that by understanding the natural system including its adaptation, full life cycle and recycling of resources, inter-dependencies and so on, we can assess and review our industrial practices and products to be more sustainable and ecofriendly. After all, nature has taken 3.8 million years to create the diversity and full life cycle ecosystems we witness today in nature.
References:
Biomimicry 3.8 Institute :: Biomimicry 3.8. 2013. Biomimicry 3.8 Institute :: Biomimicry 3.8. [ONLINE] Available at:http://biomimicry.net/about/biomimicry38/institute/. [Accessed 15 August 2013].
Biomimicry: Jamie Miller at TEDxEmbryRiddle – YouTube. 2013. Biomimicry: Jamie Miller at TEDxEmbryRiddle – YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHrO4t86phA. [Accessed 15 August 2013].
Biomimicry :: Biomimicry 3.8. 2013. Biomimicry :: Biomimicry 3.8. [ONLINE] Available at: http://biomimicry.net/about/biomimicry/. [Accessed 15 August 2013].
A Brief History of: Velcro – TIME. 2013. A Brief History of: Velcro – TIME. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1996883,00.html. [Accessed 15 August 2013].
Benyus, J.B., 1997. Innovation Inspired by Nature. 1st ed. New York: Harper Perennial.
Images:
http://moreimagesfromme.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/roots.jpg
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