NATURE IN DESIGN - HORIZONS

Nature in Design has proven to be a very popular topic across various forms of media in the present and past, and evidence that nature in design, as far as functionality and a way for sustainable design, is still very much in its early steps, though in fast development.

I will now continue to explore Nature in design's exposure in different types of media and its popularity in the near future.

I will begin with one of the most fascinating discoveries I have encountered during my research, and that is the works of a company named FESTO.
Festo is a German company that specialises in designs based of nature. I will, in particularly, be looking at two of their designs, and the success of these, to prove that their continuing efforts to merge nature with design will still be relevant and popular in 2012.

Festo's projects are gaining a lot of recognition due to several awards, including German Future Award 2011 and 2010 respectively. Through exposure in websites like TED and Youtube, magazines like Gizmag and many others, and the fact that Festo is continuing today with the development of new technologies inspired by nature should ensure that the popularity of these creations is maintained or even increased through 2012 with the reveals of their latest work.

The work shown in the following examples is a

The first of these projects is Smartbird (Festo KG & Co, 2011). This is a flying robot that mimics the flight of a Herring, from the weight distribution to the way the wings move. Its completely eco friendly and really just a step forward in aerodynamic engineering. "The robot's minimal use of materials and lightweight construction will help increase efficiencies in resource and energy consumption" (Smartbird Brochure, Festo, 2011). This video speaks for itself:

        FIG1: (Skip to 2:00 to see Smartbird in action)

                                             

FIG2: Smartbird. Festo.

The other project by Festo that I speak about is their "Bionic Handling Assistant" (Festo KG & Co, 2010). This incredible piece of technology bases its design on the trunk of an elephant. It is completely flexible in 360 degrees and can pick up and handle various types of objects, including complex objects.

FIG3: Bionic Handling Assitant, Festo.

                                                      FIG4: Video of Festo's Bionic Handling assistant.


However, the horizons of nature in design do not only look at robotics and aerodynamic. Architecture is one of the medias that have taken the most advantage of natures designs. Buildings like the Eden Project (Eden Trust, 2011),with a lot of planned exhibitions for 2012 ensure that the popularity of these nature inspired buildings is maintained or increased in the near future.

FIG5: Upcoming events at the Eden Project, Cornwall.

FIG6: Eden Project, Eden Trust, 2011.

Another very exciting project is the FC Bate stadium in Belarus (OFIS Acrhitects, 2009 - 2012), which is scheduled to open in 2012 and is designed based of nature. It takes inspiration from coral, honey combs, cellular organisation, bubbles, etc... to create a stellar looking design that is also energy efficient.
With a 4 star rating by the UEFA association, 13.000 seats, and future international exposure with TV retransmission of European football competition, this design inspired by nature will be exposed to a very wide audience and its popularity should be vast, not only through the mentioned media, but architecture magazines and journals like "Newarchitecture" and "Archiscene" who praise the design of this stadium.

FIG7: Inspiration and concept of the FC Bate Stadium.

The next topic I want to cover is the military Recon drone being developed by the MIT and the US military is the COM-BAT (University of Michigan, 2008) "That's the Army's concept, and it has awarded the University of Michigan College of Engineering a five-year, $10-million grant to help make it happen." ( Nicole Casal Moore, MIT News, March 13 2008)
This recon drone has been in development since 2008, and with a time frame for development of 5 years, it is expected that the first prototypes of the project will see the light in 2012, increasing the popularity of this design.

FIG8: COM-BAT robot conceptual design.

Another design scheduled for a 2012 release that bases its construction around nature's workings is the FISKER KARMA (Fisker automotive, 2012). The Fisker Karma is a car which borrows design elements from windswept sand dunes and the muscular distribution of a cheetah.
The 2012 Fisker Karma was showcased at the 2011 LA auto show, which ensures that its popularity will be high when the car is released in 2012.

FIG9: 2012 Fisker Karma.

Looking further into the horizon of nature in design as a sustainable alternative and really as a way forward in design, I came upon some books that are scheduled to release in 2012. Some of these explore the nature of designing with polymers, other as eco friendly fuels, etc ... "Enlightened polymer clay" (Rie Nagumo, May 2012), Eco Architecture IV: Harmonisation between architecture and nature,( C.A.Brebbia, 2012) The diversity of advancements being produced by this type of design proves to be a topic that expects great popularity in the following year:

FIG10: Enlightened Polymer Clay, Rie Nagumo, 2012.

FIG11: Eco Architecture.

This talk about polymers also brings me back to the work that's being done by Ross Lovegrove at Lovegrove Studio. His design with polymers is simply astonishing, and the way he uses biomaterials to make objects is remarkable. Ross lovegrove is expected to give a speech at the 2012 Business Airport expo (Business Airport world expo, 2012) about "designing the 21st century". This should mean that the popularity of his incredible designs should still be relevant in 2012 and that his current developments will still be covered by media.
One of his proven designs is the "Supernatural Chair" (Lovegrove Studio, 2005) ,the success of this and many of his other designs through exposure like TED, youtube and designs magazines ensures that Lovegrove's new designs will gain popularity in 2012.

FIG12: Upcoming talk by Ross Lovegrove.

FIG13: Supernatural chair, by Lovegrove studio, 2005.

Another topic we covered in the present that relates, and really embodies the whole idea behind nature in design is Biomimicry. The future of biomimicry looks very bright, and with the Biomimicry institution even organising competitions like "Biomimicry Youth Design Challenge " (Biomimicry Institute, 2012) for young designers and kids to ensure that they grow with the knowledge of these technologies shows that Biomimicry's popularity during 2012 will be guaranteed.
The Biomimicry Institute also has projects that are currently undergoing development and are being kept secret for now.

FIG14: Biomimicry institute young designers 2012 competition.

Nature, design, their combination and the possibility for them to coexist without one setting the other back is one of the holy grails for engineers and architects. This is one of the reasons that the "International Conference on relating Design in Nature to Science and engineering" (Wessex Institute of technology, 2012) will take place for the 6th time in A Coruna, Spain, in June 2012. It has been held before in many other cities, and is proof that the popularity of this subject is relevant at an international level. This event is also being covered by several journals including "Design & Nature and Ecodynamics". "The Design and Nature conference is to be reconvened in 2012 following the success of previous meetings, the first of which was held in Udine, Italy in 2002; followed by Rhodes, Greece (2004); the New Forest, UK (2006); the Algarve (2008); and the last one in Pisa (2010)."(Design & Nature and Ecodynamics, 2011)

FIG15: Design & Nature and Ecodynamics Journal.

If we look at the London 2012 Olympics and the events surrounding it, we see that again, the 2012 London Design  Festival (London Design festival Ltd, 2012) is  hosting what will probably be one of the most important design festivals in the world. It comes to no surprise to see that many of the landmark projects of the 2012 celebration are designs based and inspired by nature. Some of these include the 2009 Marc Newson  - Supercell (Marc Newson, 2009, 2012 London design festival). Although this was made in 2009, the fact that it is going to be showcased in the 2012 design festival shows that this design will still be popular."The starting point of this project was the underlying structure of Biological growth" (Marc Newson, London design festival).
Another project that can be seen is the Timber Wave constructed by A_LA architects (Amanda Levete, 2011). Its is a structure based on a wave in the ocean made out of timber. Again, even though it was built in 2011, its showcasing in the 2012 design festival ensures its popularity in media throughout the next 12 months.

FIG16: Supercell.

FIG17: Timber Wave.

Nature in design is not only a topic that has been relevant and popular for a long time, but a topic that aims very much to be at the forefront of design in the next years, and that is proven by the advances and exposure that are planned in several types of media for the next year.With openings of new stadiums, the release of many books and the 
knowledge that new exciting products are being developed now and will be ready to see the light next year, nature in design will be more popular in 2012 than it is now, and therefore, more accessible to the general public.