Nature has had millions of years to perfect its design. What can we learn from it?
Nature provides us with a host of strategies for future-facing urban planning that serve as inspiration for our research. In its complex ecosystems, all materials are resources for other organisms. But ecosystems and interconnections can be established in cities, too, by embracing the goals of recycling, repair and return of waste products to the material cycle.
Nature provides us with a host of strategies for future-facing urban planning that serve as inspiration for our research.
What are the biggest challenges in this approach?
Collaborating with artists in one of our projects, we realized that areas such as urban food production call for society to adopt a new way of thinking with new processes, technologies and resources, but also give rise to new design requirements. If urban districts are to be self-sufficient in food production, we need to devise creative farming methods. What about, say, hydroponic workplaces, where the desks are surrounded by plants?.
So if we really want to learn from nature, do we need to change?
Learning requires a change of perspective as a matter of principle. If we want to integrate natural principles into our technologies and designs, we need to be open to new approaches and reassess traditional ways of thinking. With this in mind, we contribute creative projects to the Fraunhofer Network Science, Art and Design (WKD) with the purpose of developing innovative solutions and debating with the public in participatory projects. We look forward to showcasing numerous projects at the PionierHUB in the Werksviertel district during this summer’s mcbw, and meeting as many visitors as possible to gain new impetus for our research.