Crysalis III
Crysalis (III) is a sculptural piece that explores cellular morphologies using parametric tools and composite materials. Designed and built by MATSYS, the sculpture takes direct inspiration from the organization of barnacle-like cells.
Embroidered Artwork
The embroidered artwork of Meredith Woolnough explores the beauty and fragility of nature. She uses a synthetic embroidery thread and a water-soluble fabric to create her work. The water-soluble fabric is what makes her work possible.
Porifera Jewelry
Porifera is a 3D-printed brass jewelry collection inspired by the forms of deep-sea dwelling glass sponges. These ancient sponges form reefs of glass with complex, porous architectures that are home to many species.
Parametric Barnacle Lamp
In this project by Kai Zhang, designer used bristol paper as construction material. After playing around with paper and exploring possible forms he used grasshopper to parametrically generate the lamp’s form.
RADIOLARIA
The Radiolaria Bernotat Co are a family of eleven lamps made of 3D-knitted textile with glow-in-the-dark seams, inspired by the phenomenon of bioluminescence and the microscopic organisms discovered by German scientist Ernst Haeckel.
Reaction Diffusion Pattern
In Kouhei Nakama’s production, Diffusion, programming is used to generate patterns on a human form. The central question is “Why do humans not have patterned skin like animals?”. To explore this concept, Nakama implements reaction-diffusion algorithms to generate patterns that resemble those found in plants and animals.
Bix Display Skin
Affectionately named The Friendly Alien, by its designers Peter Cook and Colin Fournier, the Knusthaus Graz was built for the European Cultural Capital 2003 activities in Graz, Austria.
UAE Pavilion
Following a seven month design competition with submissions from the world’s leading architecture firms, the National Media Council of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) selected Santiago Calatrava’s proposal for the UAE Pavilion at the Dubai World Expo 2020.
Silk Pavilion
Designed by the Mediated Matter research group at the MIT Media Lab in collaboration with Prof. Fiorenzo Omenetto (TUFTS University) and Dr. James Weaver (WYSS Institute, Harvard University), The Silk Pavilion explores the relationship between digital and biological fabrication on product and architectural scales.
Sea-Urchin Shell Pavilion
The research team at the Institute for Computational Design (ICD) and the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) have taken morphological inspiration from the structure of the sea urchin and the sand dollar, both sea-bed invertebrates, to create what almost bears semblance to a floating bee hive, in a team combining architects, engineers, biologists, and palaeontologists.
Scutoid
A completely new geometric shape has been discovered by a group of researchers looking into the dynamics of cells that contribute toward the embryonic development and lead to the formation of human organs. Lehigh University professor, Javier Buceta, helped discover this geometric shape— the scutoid.
Biologic
A team of MIT researchers has designed a breathable workout suit with ventilating flaps that open and close in response to an athlete’s body heat and sweat. These flaps, which range from thumbnail- to finger-sized, are lined with live microbial cells that shrink and expand in response to changes in humidity.
Autonomous Earthworm Robot
Researchers at MIT, Harvard University and Seoul National University have engineered a soft autonomous robot that moves via peristalsis, crawling across surfaces by contracting segments of its body, much like an earthworm. The robot, made almost entirely of soft materials, is remarkably resilient.
The Navicula Light
Navicula is derived from nature, in this case from one of the many microscopic diatoms that float around in the oceans. The flowing, segmented form is shipped as kitset and assembled on site with push-in nylon clips. The thin curved pieces of CNC-cut bamboo plywood create a flowing structure
Flagellum Protein Motor
The bacterial flagellum has become an iconic example of the evidence against modern Darwinian theory as well as the evidence for intelligent design. Stephen Meyer, Scott Minnich and others scientists and scholars explore the facts about this amazing piece of nanotechnology, first made famous by biologist Michael Behe.
Bionic Vaulted Structures
Dr. Mirtsch Wölbstrukturierung GmbH in Berlin has developed an innovative process for producing vaulted materials. The bionic structure is relatively easy to install in metals. The sheet metal is rolled over a mill equipped with lined braces. The varying levels of pressure cause the metal to ‘plop in’.
The Diatomist
THE DIATOMIST is a short documentary about Klaus Kemp, master of the Victorian art of diatom arrangement. Diatoms are single cell algae that create jewel-like glass shells around themselves. Microscopists of the Victorian era would arrange them into complex patterns, invisible to the naked eye but spectacular when viewed under magnification.
Autonomous Earthworm Robot
Researchers at MIT, Harvard University and Seoul National University have engineered a soft autonomous robot that moves via peristalsis, crawling across surfaces by contracting segments of its body, much like an earthworm. The robot, made almost entirely of soft materials, is remarkably resilient.
Radiolaria
Radiolaria lets you manipulate a web of connected cells to create a huge variety of biologically-inspired patterns. Each object you create starts as a basic hexagonal mesh which you can change as much, or as little, as you want with a variety of tools.
The Navicula Light
Navicula is derived from nature, in this case from one of the many microscopic diatoms that float around in the oceans. The flowing, segmented form is shipped as kitset and assembled on site with push-in nylon clips. The thin curved pieces of CNC-cut bamboo plywood create a flowing structure
UltraTech Hydrophobic Coating
Ultra-Ever Dry is a superhydrophobic (water) and oleophobic (hydrocarbons) coating that will completely repel almost any liquid. Ultra-Ever Dry uses proprietary nanotechnology to coat an object and create a barrier of air on its surface. This barrier repels water, oil and other liquids unlike any coating seen before.
Pine Cone Adaptive Shading
An adjustable shading system that adapts itself independently over the course of the day, without sensors or motors and largely maintenance-free? It really is possible: an ETH doctoral student at the Institute for Building Materials has developed an alternative to motor-driven sunshades.
Desert Beetles Solve Drought
Namib desert beetles live in an area with little ground water, so how is it that they have no trouble finding H2O? Find out how the resourceful insects use their wing scales to absorb water droplets from fog, and how we can use them as a model for combating water shortages.
Innovation Inspired by Nature
Janine Benyus is a biologist, innovation consultant, and author of six books, including Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. In this video Benyus explains the practice of biomimicry and what can be learned from the genius of nature.
Biomimicry & Bionics
In this section of Parametric House, you can find information about Biomimicry Design & Bionics with related examples in Architecture and Engineering.
Biomimicry Examples #2
In this biomimicry example we are taking a look at the Kingfisher Bird as an example for the bimimicry section. High-speed passenger trains in Japan were once a real headache, because their engineering caused a "tunnel boom," a huge boom created by air being pushed out of the tunnel ahead of a train. But the [...]
Biomimicry Examples #1
In this Biomimicry example we are taking a look at the Nacre Structure as an example for the Biomimicry section. Research, funded in part by the Danish Council for Independent Research Technology and Production Sciences, takes inspiration from oyster and abalone shells for stronger materials. A combination of algorithm-based design and multilateral 3D printing is used [...]
Biomimicry Architecture #3
The Esplanade theater and commercial district in Singapore by DP Architects and Michael Wilford host an elaborate skin inspired by the Durian plant. The external shading system is also responsive in that the triangular louvers adjust during the day to the suns angle and position. “A secondary sun shading lattice is used with folded sunshades [...]
Biomimicry Architecture #2
In this biomimicry architecture project we are taking a look at the Eastgate Centre as an example for Biomimicry. The Eastgate Centre is a shopping center and office building located in Harare, Zimbabwe. Rather than using a traditional fuel-based air-conditioning system to regulate temperature within the building, the Eastgate Centre is designed to exploit more [...]