Learning from Nature with #GVIS2015
On 11th February 2015 we welcomed over 40 individuals to Squire Patton Boggs in Leeds to our first Green Vision seminar of 2015 which explored the concepts of Biomimicry & Biophillic Design within the built environment and how the designers of today can learn from 3.8 billion years of nature.
- The session was chaired by Green Vision & Living Building Challenge Ambassador, Martin Brown of Fairsnape. Martin is a strategic sustainability & business improvement consultant and as UK Living Building Challenge Ambassador an acknowledged expert and advocate of sustainability innovation.
Kick off!!! Welcome to learning from nature by @fairsnape #gvis2015- Before introducing our two speakers Martin gave a brief background to the concepts of biomimicry & biophilia and why we need a new way of thinking around sustainability. He highlighted the alarming statistic that despite efforts over the last 5 years a report from Wrap & Green Construction Board has concluded that we are emitting 13% more carbon than in 2008. Other targets such as reducing waste by 50% were also missed. (Latest Wrap annual report can be downloaded here). We need to think & do things differently...
- Next up was a short video, A World of Solutions - "the earth isn't in danger - WE are in danger"
- Our first speaker was Richard MacCowen from Biomimicry UK presenting on "Rethinking Nature". Richard is an awarding-winning urbanist with interests in both behavioural economics and nature-based design. He formed the team behind Biomimicry UK in 2012 to take the research on nature-based design and finding a place for it in industry. More about Biomimicry UK at the link below.
- Great quote from Richard to start us off...
- Richard started by outlining some of the challenges we face today as a result of enormous population growth (7 billion people & growing!) including resource drain, increased air & land polution, disruption of ecosystems, climate change and increased flooding amongst others. We have to develop "Resilience", and this is for us, not the planet. If we went tomorrow the planet wouldn't miss us, in fact it would start to heal. Hence why we have to look to nature to ensure our survival.
- Richard talking about resilliance thinking @Biomimicry_UK #gvis2015
- Some real life examples include the Eden Project Biomes, designed by Grimshaw Architects, which referenced nature throughout all design stages e.g. studying of dragon fly wings to help resolve the way the steel members intersected at the junctions. Some more info at the links below...
- The Eden Project: The Biomes < Projects | Grimshaw ArchitectsThe second phase of The Eden Project's development refers to the 'biomes', a sequence of eight inter-linked geodesic transparent domes ...
- Nature as Inspiration - Biomimicry in ArchitectureBy taking a look around, designers can find inspiration everywhere - particularly in nature. Nature provides us with an amazing number of solutions to many complex problems. The quest to learn from nature in this way is called "biomimicry", and increasingly architecture is benefiting from this approach.
- Richard has also been involved in setting up the European Biomimicry Alliance (more info at link below) who have a number of research projects in the pipeline, hoping to tap into Horizon 2020 framework for research & innovation
- HomeEuropean Biomimicry Alliance a trans-national network of European experts in the field of sustainable innovation. Contributors to the alliance are mostly certified Biomimicry professionals, specialists and other experts in the field of bionics and biomimetics all with diverse professional backgrounds.