ARCHITECTURE FOLLOWS NATURE - BIOMIMETRIC PRINCIPLESBiology influences design projects in many ways; the related discipline
is known as biomimetics or biomimicry. Using the animal kingdom as a
source of inspiration, Ilaria Mazzoleni seeks to instill a shift
in thinking about the application of biological principles to design and
architecture. She focuses on the analysis of how organisms have adapted
to different environments and translates the learned principles into
the built environment. To illustrate the methodology, Mazzoleni draws
inspiration from the diversity of animal coverings, referred to broadly
as skin, and applies them to the design of building envelopes through a
series of twelve case studies.
Skin is a complex organ that
performs a multitude of functions; namely, it serves as a link between
the body and the environment. Similarly, building envelopes act as
interfaces between their inhabitants and external elements. The
resulting architectural designs illustrate an integrative methodology
that allows architecture to follow nature.
"Ilaria Mazzoleni,
in collaboration with biologist Shauna Price, has developed a profound
methodology for architectural and design incentives that anticipates and
proposes novel ways to explore undiscovered biological inspirations for
various audiences."
—Yoseph Bar-Cohen |
