What does nature have to teach us about how to be more successful in our products, buildings, businesses and society? With 3.8 billion years of experience, it turns out that nature can teach us plenty! In this brief seminar, we’ll begin to explore the new field of biomimicry - what it is, what it isn’t, and how to use it to become more successful in your practices. Examples will include the development of better products, improved performance in business and organizations, and how the Living Building Challenge applies the ideas to the built environment. Wear your running shoes!

1. Helping people achieve very energy efficient buildings

4. MC Escher “Metamorphosis III” (mirror-image)

5. It’s a bird, it’s a plane,
it’s a quieter, more efficient BULLET TRAIN!

6. Context
Industrial revolution: 180 ybp
Hunters to farmers: 12,000 ybp
Homo sapiens sapiens: 50,000 ybp
Life on earth: 3,850,000,000 ybp BIOMIMICRY
NATURE: SUCCESSFUL:
Products
Model
Buildings
Mentor Businesses
Measure Society

7. Why is it important?
 Provides a useful way define success
 Learn from the masters
 Game changer: new paradigm
 An idea, a discipline, problem solver
 Permeates creativity and life

8. What is it / define Biomimicry:
“The conscious emulation of life’s genius”
“Innovation inspired by Nature”
Biomimicry is learning about from, then emulating, natural:
 Forms
 Processes
 Ecosystems
to create more sustainable designs and systems.

9. Nature as Model, Mentor, Measure
Nature has already solved many of our problems!!
Manufacturers at ambient temperatures
(without heat/beat/treat)
Runs on local energy (sunlight) and water
Interactive, resilient, always life-friendly
Let’s observe how she does it …

13. See pages
Ask Nature.org biomimicryinstitute.org biomimicryguild.com

25. Real Life Examples

26. http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/case-studies/case-studies/transportation.html

28. http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/case-studies/case-studies/climate-change.html

29. Transportation
Consumer
Adhesives
Goods
Sports Alternative
Energy Technology
Architecture
Nanotechnology Manufacturing
Medicine
Engineering
Courtesy: San Diego Zoo, Biomimicry Group

30. How do we do this?
1. Biology to Design
2. Challenge to Biology
What problem do we want to
solve?
Assisted by Biologist / Biomimic at the Design Table (BaDT)

31. Begin to practice:
“Quiet your cleverness”
Learn to see, understand, appreciate, emulate …

32. How do we do this?

33. Eg: How does Nature keep things clean?

35. Eg: How can organizations be more effective?

36. Eg: How does Nature create more fertility?

38. Bio-what?

39. Bio-what? examples

40. Bio-what? examples

41. title

43. Applying ideas to the built environment …
Living Building Challenge
Site
Water
Buildings Energy Cities
Health
Materials
Neighborhoods Equity Societies
Beauty
What if … every single act of design and construction
made the world a better place?

72. Context
Industrial revolution: 180 ybp
Hunters to farmers: 12,000 ybp
Homo sapiens sapiens: 50,000 ybp
Life on earth: 3,850,000,000 ybp BIOMIMICRY
NATURE: SUCCESSFUL:
Products
Model Buildings
Mentor Businesses
Measure Society

73. leapfrog
We have the opportunity to
leapfrog
over industrial technologies…

74. “My society and I enjoy sustainable prosperity.”

75. Dreams

78. What’s next?
What is
Biomimicry?

79. This is just the beginning …
Helping people achieve very energy efficient buildings
Beth Brummitt 619-531-1126 www.brummitt.com