Biomimicry: Finding Inspiration for Innovation in Nature Brittany Hodges Currently, in popular culture, there is answers and instead looking to nature as a positive trend of green awareness. As the supreme source of knowledge and global warming and humanity's impact on solutions. the environment have become more apparent, people have started to grow in Presently, biomimicry is mostly their attentiveness towards the Earth's theoretical, as the amount of research and current dilemmas. Yet, still unheard of by proven uses of biomimicry is minimal at the general public, and even by many the moment. However, the potential of professionals, is the concept of biomimicry is strong. Especially when "biomimicry." Coined by Janine Benyus, combined with engineering, biomimicry biomimicry is the idea of imitating the could increase efficiency of energy use processes of nature in human technology and decrease our ecological footprint and architecture. By mimicking nature, significantly. Maibritt Pedersen Zari, a there is hope that innovative and professor of architecture at Victoria sustainable design will result. The use of University, believes "design that mimics biomimicry requires certain guidelines to how most ecosystems are able to function be met so that the use of biomimicry in a sustainable and even regenerative contributes to sustainability and way, has the potential to positively efficiency. The definitions for biomimicry, transform the environmental its guidelines, and the current uses of performance of the built environment." biomimicry in technology and However, what is crucial to productive architecture will be discussed in this biomimicry is adaption of the biology to paper. technology, not just reproduction of its forms. For instance, designing a ship in Janine Benyus's book, Biomimicry, the shape of a leaf could be defined as defines biomimicry in three ways: nature biomimetic, but it does not adopt the as a model, nature as a measure, and chemical and biological processes of a nature as a mentor (1). By this she means leaf. If a design lacks the aspects that that biomimicry "is a new science that make nature sustainable, then the design studies nature's models and then imitates really isn't sustainable. Therefore, there or takes inspiration from these designs are a few guidelines established by and processes to solve human problems, Benyus and others in order to assure uses an ecological standard to judge the "correct" and useful biomimetic design. 'rightness' of our innovations, [and] it introduces an era based not on what we First of all, the guidelines are designed can extract from the natural world, but on to fit the goal of biomimetic design, which what we can learn from it" (Benyus 1). is "to produce engineering that has basic Biomimicry, therefore, is a paradigm shift attributes of biological systems such as from thinking we, as humans, have all the low energy usage, easy recycling, extreme 208 durability and versatility from few readily To begin to apply biomimicry, it is available starting materials" (Vincent). important to have some scientific The guidelines, which are defined by knowledge of the organisms that are Benyus, are also based on what many inspiring the design. Although it may be organisms already do— more precisely, easy to mimic the forms and shapes of what makes the natural world interact in different organisms, when chemical a balanced, yet functional way. First off, processes get involved, some professional some organisms use waste as a resource. help is needed (Zari). The Biomimicry This ensures that there is no excess waste Institute has made finding solutions to that is polluting the environment and it problems easier by creating a database also minimizes the amount of available called AskNature. This database allows resources consumed. Many organisms the user to search for the problem, and also are efficient users and gathers of the search engine will give results of energy. Efficient use of energy is very solutions found in nature. This public important, especially in the current age database allows biomimicry to reach all where society is consuming energy levels of education and is a good quickly and unsustainably. The goal to use introduction for serious innovations. energy with little of it wasted is crucial. Along with being efficient energy users, There are numerous ways of most organisms use materials sparingly. categorizing and judging different types Whereas in the United States we live off of biomimicry. Maibritt Pedersen Zari the glamorization that "bigger is better," believes there are three levels: organism, most organisms do not exceed nature's behavior and ecosystem. The "organism" limits. It is also important to keep toxins level is usually represented when a part in mind. Many organisms have poisonous or whole of an organism is mimicked. substances for defense, yet they keep the Then there is the "behavior" level, which toxins out of their homes. We capitalize is mimicking how an organism works in on synthetic, hidden toxins and are the ecosystem. The "ecosystem" level is surrounded by them every day. By mimicking the general principles that mimicking the traits of the allow an ecosystem to function. In terms aforementioned organisms, we would be of building design, there is a second careful with how materials are used and "dimension" to the ecosystem level. It how they intoxicate our living basically entails applying a general environment. A limiting factor in nature is ecosystem principle of all ecosystems to the fact that a majority of organisms must the built environment. This has promise "buy" locally—that is, they can't travel far to decrease a building's environmental distances to get the resources they need. impact since the building would balance Therefore, we should do the same. This the resources used with its waste and would minimize on transportation energy make contributions to the environment and support local economies. All of these like an organism would. traits that organisms exhibit are guidelines that we as a human race could Benyus also outlines several factors to use to create technologies, systems, and consider when applying a natural trait to buildings more sustainable. an engineered innovation. She suggests that the process should mimic the manufacturing process that organisms 209 use. After research into the subject of how pass through" and uses "gills" to let out organisms "manufacture" themselves, the polluted air (Muntaneau). Another results show the underlying factor for an company, "Kyosemi," developed a "a organism's structure is due to proteins power-harvesting solar cell that imitates and amino acids. Proteins allow for the way trees collect sunlight" called crystal structures to be densely Sphelar (Munatneau). Unlike traditional structured, and they even work their photovoltaic panels, these spherical cells magic in our bodies by creating strong, that are incorporated into windows can yet flexible tendons. Benyus mentions absorb the sun's rays from multiple that in order for us to use biomimicry to directions. This enables a more consistent the fullest extent, we must become energy consummation as the sun experts on how proteins build structures relatively changes its position in the sky. and code for the natural processes and There is also a promise to stop air balances among species and the pollution with the product called environment. Because of the natural "SuperAbsorber" (Munatneau). This is a structures of organisms, energy is not a highway barrier that uses a process called concern. In fact, "energy is the controlling "photocatalyzation" (Munatneau). It is factor in only 5 percent of all problems in claimed "that the airborne pollution of a biology" (Vincent). From this statistic, it is large city could be cut in half if pollution- apparent that organisms are naturally reducing cement were to cover just 15 energy conserving, and therefore, a percent of urban surfaces" (Munatneau). valuable inspiration. Even automobiles are starting to see a biomimetic presence. For example, Although biomimicry is a new airplane engineers are looking to birds for concept, there have been many studies innovative aerodynamics, and the car and there are many examples of company, Daimler Chrysler, is looking to a biomimicry at work. These illustrate the fish. The design Chrysler is using mimics a potential biomimicry holds for the future box-fish (ostracion meleagris), which "a sustainability initiative that the world is uniquely aerodynamic fish despite its responsible for. Benyus lists several box-like shape" (Okonsky; Zari). In broad inspirations for biomimicry that addition to this, the structure of the car is cover various types of uses. For instance, also biomimetic. The structure is based on she suggests farming similar to how a how trees grow, which minimizes stress prairie grows, collecting energy like a leaf, concentrations, and there are gaps of weaving fibers and strengthening structure because the material needed is structures like a spider, storing what we minimized (Zari). learn like how a cell stores information and closing loops in commerce by Much of biomimicry's inspiration and running a business akin to how a success is based off of materials that redwood forest works. mimic the skins and membranes of organisms. There are a few guidelines One example of a completed product based off of nature that we can learn based off of biomimicry is the product from, as stated by Benyus. The first is a called "Kinetic Glass." The glass is "based "life friendly manufacturing process," on animal respiratory systems and made which means, no harsh chemicals, or high with a slit silicone surface that lets air pressures and a strong reliance on water 210 and room temperature (Benyus 88). mounds to 87 degrees Fahrenheit, even Benyus also suggests self-assembling. though their native Zimbabwe has Whereas we rely on a top-down approach temperatures ranging from 3S to 100 to manufacture materials, organisms do degrees in a single day (Lefaivre).