Stories from the Prairie: Applying the “Genius of our Place” to Unlock Nature’s Strategies for Resilient, Restorative Design

Nature is inherently resilient and restorative while our human systems are...not. But what could we learn about the nature of design by studying the science of nature? By exploring our native organisms and ecosystems with a biomimicry lens, we can unlock nature’s locally-attuned design strategies and begin to apply them to our context: creating buildings, businesses and communities that are inherently sustainable, naturally.

Lurie Gardens. Photo by @amycoffman

In the other articles in this series, I wrote about the importance of connecting with nature and ways to do so. In this last (for a time, at least) article in this series, I share some stories of what I've learned in my exploration of the tallgrass prairie as well as a vision for a more sustainable and resilient world: one where our choices are based on working with and leveraging local context and energy flows rather than fighting against them.

It’s time to start thinking differently.

Like Wes Jackson who was inspired by the prairie to rethink industrial agriculture to Allan Savory who emulates grazing for holistic land management and Gerould Wilhelm who emulates the prairie in landscape design, each of these innovators look to the prairie ecosystem as inspiration for alternatives to standard practice. Doing so, they were able to (re)think standard practices, creating more low-maintenance, cost-effective, and biodiverse alternatives. And you can do this too.

Visit The B-Collaborative's Blog to learn more!

Resilient Communities Inspired by Nature!

Biomimicry Chicago co-founder Amy Coffman Phillips wrote an article on resilient communities inspired by nature for the Great Lakes Bioneers Chicago blog - check it and let us know what you think! Let's start a conversation about local resiliency for our communities by looking to Nature's communities as inspiration. 

"The resiliency challenges we face must be planned for and addressed now – prior to them becoming a crisis – in order for our efforts to be effective. Fortunately, we have models we can look to when tackling such seemingly large obstacles."

Click here to read more and join the conversation!

Project Haiti and Biomimicry

Project Haiti Orphanage and Children's Center is about the people of Haiti who are facing ongoing devastation following the earthquake of January 2010. It's about a replicable, RESILIENT model for rebuilding and it's not surprising that the USGBC, HOK and Lend Lease are utilizing the principles of Biomimicry to inspire the design.

http://www.usgbc.org/haiti/haiti.html

Envelope:
Lightweight, porous, self shading, low-emissivity and optimal solar reflecting skin keeps solar radiation from reaching the concrete structural core while still allowing desired ventilation into the inner-core areas. This design principle mimics the low-emissivity of local plant leaves, stems and barks.

From www.asknature.org:
"Barks, through tannin and cellulose, efficiently absorb radiation between 6 and 10 microns. Other bark surfaces have developed a very rough surface that produces a lot of self-shading along-side the illuminated areas. Such a morphology stimulates the convection of air, which then transports heat away from the surface.

"Leaf temperature data support micro-climate buffering and create leaf temperatures that are cooler than ambient temperatures, especially during the hottest part of the day. Leaf size often affects the boundary layer, a thin layer of still air hugging the surface of the leaf."

Structure:  

Lightweight yet robust reinforcement strategies improve the resiliency of the structure. Wood and concrete hybrids mimic the diversity of the natural forest and the strength of the Kapok tree can respond to abiotic disturbances such as the earthquake in 2010.

From www.asknature.org:

"A patchy forest is made up of a variety of species, spacing, ages, heights, densities and stages of succession. Combined with abiotic elements such as soil types, topography and micro-climates, the forest becomes more resilient. Tree root link together to form a heterogenous pattern which becomes more resilient to outside disturbances."