Biological Design

03 Oct 1994 12:00

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That is, design based on that of living organisms. (People called this "bionics" in the '60s, but interested faded, and besides, there was that awful TV show; "biomimetics" is now used by some people.) Primarily I'm intrested in this as it applies to architecture and design in the conventional sense; but of course there are also things like bio-computers.

See also: Evolutionary Design

Recommended:
• D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson, On Growth and Form

Semi-recommended (a bit too credulous and/or shallow):
• Janine Benyus, Biomimcry: Innovation Inspired by Nature
• Delta Willis, The Sand Dollar and the Slide Rule: Drawing Blueprints from Nature

Dis-recommended:
• George Hersey, The Monumental Impulse: Architecture's Biological Roots [Discussed elsewhere]

To read:
• Michael French, Invention and Evolution: Design in Nature and Engineering
• Heinrich Hertel, Structure, Form, Movement [design-from-natural-adaptations]
• C. Mattheck, Design in Nature: Learning from Trees
• Pearce, Structure in Nature is a Strategy for Design [Blurb]
• Philip Steadman, The Evolution of Designs: Biological Analogy in Architecture and the Applied Arts