Transcript Slide 1

BIOMIMICRY:Inspiration, innovation,
mentor and way of life
,
Life creates conditions
conducive to Life
Agenda and Introduction
 Scientist, Facilitator, Social Entrepreneur
AGENDA
 Technology and Nature: what’s effective
 Comparison of approaches
 Focus on Biomimicry
 Efficient and Effective
Technology & Nature
Technology
Nature
Bron: Julian Vincent et al.
4
Technology & Nature
Technology
Nature
Bron: Julian Vincent
5 et al.
Eco-efficient vs Eco-effective
The big quest:
to come up with solutions that
expand/improve the regenerative
capacity of bio-based systems
Efficiency: Reduce, Regulate, Recyle, less
bad solutions, Down-cycling, end- of-pipe
Effectivity: Up-cycling (continous/closed
loops), Waste is food, good nutritious
solutions, context-sensitive
 Are they mutually exclusive?
Study Sustainability approaches:Selection
Requirements:

influential,

published in scientific literature,

not limited to a specific discipline (e.g. architecture) or environmental problem
(e.g. climate change) and

attempt to come up with a set of principles that could serve as a guides or
reference points when one wants to embark on a transition towards
sustainability.
Initially studied:
•
The Natural Step (TNS)
•
Cradle to Cradle (CtoC)
•
Ecological footprint (EF)
•
Biomimicry (B)
•
Industrial Ecology (IE)
•
Natural capitalism (NC)
•
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Focus on three sustainability approaches:
•
The Natural Step (TNS)
•
Cradle to Cradle (CtoC)
•
Ecological footprint (EF)
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Integration via Biomimicry-Bio-inspired approaches
CtoC: How do we love all children
of all species forever?
Problem: We produce ourselves to
oblivion. Cradle to Grave
1. Waste does not exist: waste is food
2. Sun limitless source of energy and
life (4 billion years to go)
3. Cherish/stimulate diversity
Observe:
Energy-supply + Growing population is no problem!
Technologically Optimistic
The Natural Step: what can we do?
Perform a gap analysis using the lens of sustainability, and then work
toward closing the gap.
A change-management approach that is value-driven and selects
intervention methods that help organizations and networks (of
organizations) to move toward more sustainable ways of operating.
TNS II
Principles/Values:
 Nothing Disappears: All mass and energy in the universe is
conserved.
 Everything Spreads: Energy and matter tend to spread
spontaneously; everything has a tendency to disperse (the
Second Law of Thermodynamics, or the Law of Entropy).
 There is Value in Structure: We determine material quality
by the concentration and structure of the matter that makes
up a material. For example, food and petrol are valuable
because they have a high concentration and structure. What
we consume is the ability of energy to perform work. We
never consume energy or matter because it is neither
created nor destroyed. (see 1)
 Photosynthesis Pays the Bills: Net increases in material
quality on Earth are generated almost entirely by the sundriven process of photosynthesis..
Ecological Footprint: How do
we know?
 2 problems: current ways of producing
and consuming and growing population
 Similar to funnel TNS
 It is an accounting method that seriously
creates awareness, but lacks a changemgt approach
 Green accounting – waterfootprint, carbon
footprint, etc.
 Measurement oriented
Gaps Sustainability Approaches
Requirement
TNS
C2C
EF
Sufficient?
Issues addressed in scope
Social
2
Ecological
2
Economical
2
Political/institutional
1
Ethical?
2
(Psychological/)Spiritual
1
2
2
2
0
2
0
1
2
0
2
2
0
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
N
Physico-chemical
Biological
Socio/cultural
Economical
Measurement tool
2
2
1
1
0
2
2
0
0*
2
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
1
2
1
2
0
2
0
2
N
Y
N
Y
types of work
2
1
1
1
2
2
2
0
2
0
2
0
Y
N
Y
Y
2
2
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
2
2
2
1
1
Contextual factors addressed
Psychological
1
Behavioural
2
Cultural
1
Systems
2
Process: conditions and
Awareness (Conceptual)
Association (Relational)
Agency (Action driven)
Action and reflection
process
Shared understanding
Vision
Inspiration
Passion
Leadership

Positive
Positive
approach
1
2
2
2
1
2
Life creates conditions
conducive to Life
Nature as model, measure & mentor
Biomimicry is a new way of viewing
and valuing nature, based not on
what we can extract from the
natural world, but what we can
learn from it.
The Technology of Nature/Biology
Definition brings value
 Biomimicry, bionics, biomimetics = same
 Biomimicry: mimicking the functional basis of
biological forms, processes and systems to
produce sustainable solutions
Conditions: a-biotic nature
Biomimicry reminds us that life is directly
or indirectly subject to Earth’s operating
conditions:
 Earth is in a state of dynamic nonequilibrium.
 Earth runs on sunlight, water and gravity
 Earth is subject to limits and boundaries.
 Nature uses cyclical process
LIFE’s PRINCIPLES
Evolve To Survive
 Replicate strategies that work
 Integrate the unexpected
 Reshuffle information
Be Resource Efficient
 Use multi-functional design
 Use low energy process
 Recycle all materials
 Fit form to function
Adapt to Changing Conditions
 Maintain integrity thru self-renewal
 Embody resilience thru variation,
redundancy, & decentralization
 Incorporate diversity
LIFE PRINCIPLES
Integrate Development & Growth
 - Combine modular & nested components
 - Build from the bottom up
 - Self-organize
Be Locally Attuned & Responsive
 - Use readily available materials & energy
 - Cultivate cooperative relationships
 - Leverage cyclic processes
 - Use feedback loops
Use Life-Friendly Chemistry
 - Build selectively with a small subset of elements
 - Break down products into benign constituents
 - Do chemistry in water
InterfaceFLOR Entropy & Tactiles
Biomimicry-3 levels
Bio-utilized
Bio-assisted
Bio-mimicked
NourishingHealthy
Well-adapted
Effective?
Sustainable
Harvest
Natural
Breeding
Humane
Conditions
Mimicking,
form, process
and (eco)system
Damaging
Mal-adapted
Efficient?
Unsustainable
harvest
Transgenic,
Inhumane
Conditions
Mimicking
form; heat,
beat and treat
Disciplines
Biomimicry and Sustainability:
Integration
Inspiration from permaculture:
 The 3 function rule makes a system resilient (self-organizing).
 The 3 function rule originated as a design principle for permacultural
systems which goes like this:
 Every organism has multiple functions (AT LEAST 3) in a system and each
function that a system has is supported by a number (AT LEAST 3) of
organisms (redundancy).
 Nature shows that searching the ultimate- one dimensional answer –
is a strategy that destroys life in the long run.
 So, no organic vs industrial agriculture but integrate and diversify
 Also no search for the best or ultimate design or engineering approach
but multi-method context sensitive
 Sustainability is a multi-level construct, that has produced a myriad of
approaches
 Biomimicry is able to shed light on and integrate different approaches
in a manner that creates opportunities for more life…
 What does this mean for your branche of engineering?
Efficient and effective: as a strategy
80-95% savings (efficient),
It’s safer (technically and at the perception level) and Could
become Effective if:
Using alternative renewable sources of energy production
(effective) for such applications becomes becomes feasible
Continuous Cycles
Life creates conditions
conducive to Life