Biomimicry – nicking nature’s best ideas and applying them to man-made design – has been making the news a lot lately. Last week, Professor Malcolm MacIver of Northwestern University revealed his robot that replicates the electric impulse navigation and fin propulsion systems of the ghost knifefish, with a view to using them for underwater exploration vehicles. In the world of architectural biomimicry, design practice Exploration and its founder Michael Pawlyn is at the forefront; the agency was set up in 2007 to focus exclusively on developing the field.
Exploration Architecture: Designing with Nature is an exhibition of the practice’s work at The Architecture Foundation‘s project space in London. Showcasing four sustainability-led projects inspired by design in nature, the show centres around a, impressive sculptural installation display that highlights the potential of 3D-printing in resource efficiency and a software program designed around the way bones and trees can adapt their growth patterns. The exhibition runs until 14 March.
Coral
Courtesy, Exploration Architecture
Installation photography, Daniel Hewitt
