BIOMIMICRY

Nature as Model, Measure, and Mentor

 BI-O-MIM-IC-RY
(From the Greek bios, life, and mimesis, imitation)

 Nature as model. Biomimicry is a new science

that studies Nature’s models and then imitates or takes
inspiration from these designs and processes to solve
human problems.
 Nature as measure. Biomimicry uses an
ecological standard to judge “rightness” of our
innovations.
 Nature as mentor. Biomimicry is a new way of
viewing and valuing Nature.
 Energy Efficiency: Learning from
Nature how to create flow without
friction.

PAX Fans and Impellers

Design: How does Nature

attach and detach?

Gecko tape
Toxics: Learning from plants how to
clean without cleaners:
The Lotus Effect
Architecture: Learning from termites how to create sustainable buildings:
Passive Climate Control in the Eastport Building, Harare Zimbabwe
Transportation: How does
Nature travel quickly and
smoothly?

The Shinkansen Bullet

Train in Japan
Medicine: Learning from Chimpanzees how to heal
ourselves
Human Safety:
Learning from Dolphins how to warn people about Tsunamis
 Climate Change:
Learning from human lungs how to sequester carbon
Agriculture: Learning from prairies how to grow food
sustainably
 The Biomimicry Guild’s
Functional Taxonomy
Function is the pivot between life’s wisdom and what we
are trying to achieve intentionally.
 What function do you want your design to perform?
 How does life perform that function?

The Biomimicry Guild has produced an organized

collection of functions that covers everything that life
does and that we might want a design to do.

The functions are grouped by similarity so it’s called a

taxonomy (an organized system of naming) of functions.
 Identify the Real Challenge
 Don’t ask “what do you want to design?” (an air conditioner)

 Ask “what do you want your design to do?” (make people feel cooler)

 Ask “why?” multiple times: (Challenge: Air conditioners use lots of energy
because they use heat to dry desiccants that dehumidify air and then they
must cool the heated air.)

 Why use desiccants? (To dry the air)

 Why do the units dry air? (Because high humidity makes air feel warmer)

 Why are they using heat? (To drive the moisture out of the desiccant so it
can be reused)

So, you want a design to pull moisture

out of air and cool the air!
Develop a Design Brief for the Needed Function

 Biologize the Question:

 Identify functions (i.e. purpose, role, or use)
 How does Nature do that function?
 How does Nature not do that function?

 Reframe questions with additional

keywords.
Develop a Design Brief for the Needed Function
 Define Operating Parameters;
 “Climate” conditions: (wet, dry, cold, hot, low/high
pressure, highly variable, high/low UV,etc.)
 “Nutrient” conditions: (nutrient poor =no $,
nutrient rich = lots of available materials)
 “Social” conditions: (competitive, cooperative)
 “Temporal” conditions: (dynamic, static, growing,
ageing)

After defining operating parameters, ask:

“How does Nature do that function HERE?
In these conditions?”
 Integrate Life's Principles
into the Design Brief

 Optimize rather than maximize

 Locally attuned and responsive
 Build in resilience
 Leverage interdependence
 Integrate cyclic processes
 Use benign manufacturing
 Find The Best Natural Models

 Go for a walk outside

 Consider both literal and metaphorical
models
 Comb the literature
 Brainstorm with Biologists
 Identify Deep Patterns and
Principles
 Look across discovered strategies
 Look at the strategies collectively

Specific to your desired function, what

does each strategy have in common?

How are they different?

 Deepen the Conversation
 Areyou mimicking form?
 Can you mimic process?
 Can you mimic the ecosystem?

Does the design

“create conditions conducive to life”?
 Evaluate your findings
 Can it adapt and evolve?

Thank your teacher (Nature)

for the inspiration
Nature as Mentor

* Incredibly competent universe

* Nature’s living examples
* Can live abundantly
and enhance where you live
* Much older mentors have
figured it out
* We can do the same thing

– JANINE BENYUS
 ?? Questions ??

How can EPA use Biomimicry to meet our

mission?

Where are the leverage points EPA can

use to promote Biomimicry as part of a
sustainable ecosystem approach?