Biomimetic design looks to nature as model, measure, and mentor while emphasizing sustainability. One of the earliest examples of biomimicry was the study of birds to enable human flight. The Wright brothers took inspiration specifically from observations of pigeons in flight.
History tells that even the Eifell tower (shown above), designed by structural designer Gustave Eifell, was inspired by scientists of the time who studied bones. One of these scientists was Herman Von Meyer, who was specifically intrigued with the structure of the femur. Another bone visionary of the time who worked with Gustave Eifell was Karl Cullman, who studied the "tabuglae" lines of the femur to understand how to distribute the Eifell Tower's structural load.
Beside the Eifell Tower's innovative design is the Crystal Palace in London, also designed using concepts of biomimicry. The architect, Joseph Paxton, was entranced with water lilies. He noticed that they possessed the ideal structure every engineer admired. It's bottom (shown above) had veins that spread from the outer edges of the giant leaf to the center column. The support was so strong, in fact, that it could support a child sitting on top.
We should not imitate exactly what the naked eye perceives, but instead observe as nature points us in the direction we should go. We are submerged in a universe of design that existed long before we did. The only question is, are we learning from nature's design, or manipulating it?
