Fotos: © ScIoI
Think of nature as a great designer. Through billions of years of evolution – of design trial, error, and rerouting – it has come up with uniquely functional and beautiful materials.
Nature’s »design« is truly sustainable. It uses simple materials in clever ways, making natural materials sophisticated in their structure and function. More than that, natural materials are part of a cycle of growth, decay, and change – every material is always reused.
Meanwhile, many human designs are wasteful and have created immense problems on a planetary scale. One of the biggest challenges for a sustainable future will be to find alternatives to the energy-consuming, non-biodegradable materials we use today.
What if we used nature’s »design« as inspiration for smarter and more sustainable materials in our everyday lives? What might such a bio-inspired world look like? CollActive Materials and design researcher Emilia Tikka invited members of the public to join a speculation workshop on this topic at the Museum für Naturkunde.
Fotos: © ScIoI
Researchers Prof. Dr. John Nyakatura, Felix Rasehorn, and Apoorv Vaish provided insights into their work on this issue from the perspectives of zoology, design, and robotics. Stimulated by these spotlights on research activities, participants developed everyday objects from a bio-inspired future. Overall, the workshop produced ideas and sketches for the speculative exhibition »Coalescence«, which the Museum für Naturkunde might stage to present bio-inspired everyday design in the year 2122.
Fotos: © ScIoI