Biomimicry

Paper

Frontiers in Built Environment · Sep 17, 2025

A systematic review of 109 studies classifying biomimetic solutions into façade systems, structural optimization, and energy-generating envelopes to support low-carbon urban design.

Article

The Biomimicry Institute · Nov 24, 2025

Discusses the shift towards viewing cities as ecosystems and buildings as organisms, utilizing tools like AskNature Chat to derive biological strategies for regenerative urban design.

Article

re-thinkingthefuture.com

SHARE ‘To be or not to be,’ Does it pierce our mind anymore? More as a civilization than Prince Hamlet? \ Where are we on the scale of evolution? Where are we progressing towards? We certainly don’t know have answer, but we sure do know the solution. We have returned to nature every time we couldn’t see what’s ahead or perhaps it has dragged us to itself, but we found solace.

Article

iopscience.iop.org

Cities have an important role to play in tackling the challenges of climate change and the depletion of biodiversity. The way they were built has had a significant impact on biological and terrestrial systems. In this regard, a new generation of urban planners is attempting to address this problem by inventing new urban models, especially using biomimicry to create a real paradigm shift in the discipline. Nonetheless, it introduces a fresh perspective that refrains from viewing nature merely as a supplier of resources and energy, but instead recognizes it as a rich wellspring of wisdom. This approach is now unfolding in the realm of cities and territories as intricate systems. In fact, biomimicry is seen as a means towards more virtuous development models, aiming at the regeneration and resilience of living spaces in symbiosis with the environment. Researchers and theorists have put forth diverse ideas and concepts to incorporate the principles derived from nature into urban projects. However, several challenges are raised when trying to mimic how a biological system works to plan cities which are much more complex due to human social attributes. Although there are a few current examples of biomimicry being applied to urban planning, they need to be assessed to determine if this approach is relevant, particularly in the social field. This study employs a qualitative approach whereby the narrative review of literature has been applied which focusing on the applicability and impact of biomimicry in urban systems. Six-step framework for review articles are used to address three key research questions regarding the adoption of biomimicry principles in urban contexts. We aim to summarize and categorize the variety of applications of biomimicry to urban planning by the literature review method and to initiate an inquiry into their relevance and utility in responding to contemporary urban challenges.

Article

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Redesigning and retrofitting cities so they become complex systems that create ecological and cultural–societal health through the provision of ecosystem services is of critical importance. Although a handful of methodologies and frameworks for considering how to design urban environments so that they provide ecosystem services have been proposed, their use is not widespread. A key barrier to their development has been identified as a lack of ecological knowledge about relationships between ecosystem services, which is then translated into the field of spatial design. In response, this paper examines recently published data concerning synergetic and conflicting relationships between ecosystem services from the field of ecology and then synthesises, translates, and illustrates this information for an architectural and urban design context. The intention of the diagrams created in this research is to enable designers and policy makers to make better decisions about how to effectively increase the provision of various ecosystem services in urban areas without causing unanticipated degradation in others. The results indicate that although targets of ecosystem services can be both spatially and metrically quantifiable while working across different scales, their effectiveness can be increased if relationships between them are considered during design phases of project development.

Article

repository.tudelft.nl

Planet Earth is constantly changing, and with it our living environment. Seasonal variation in temperature and precipitation, as well as long-term climate trends, are but a few examples of change that pose challenges to a settled society. Whereas direction, magnitude, and even character of future changes may be uncertain, we can be confident that tomorrow’s Earth will be different from today’s. At the moment, urban designers respond to an ever-changing living environment by making a snapshot based on predictions about the future. Because of the inherently uncertain nature of the future, a contemporary design is hence partly based on assumptions instead of facts. However, if we can base a design merely on the fact that change will happen, we can focus on the process of change rather than on the outcome and thus better be able to deal with future changes. The goal is to create adaptable urban designs, in order to construct future proof urban environments. The relatively novel theory of ‘biomimicry’ might provide opportunities for the construction of adaptable designs. A biomimicry design approach tries to learn from nature’s successes in order to solve human problems. The theory proposes three levels of learning from nature: the level of form, the level of process, and the level of system. Learning on the level of form is predominantly practised in current applications of biomimicry within fields of research other than urban design. Importantly, there are also six design lessons from nature which represent the theory’s six life’s principles, one of which is ‘adapt to changing conditions’. The theory has been widely acclaimed in other fields of expertise, such as industrial design, architecture, and organisation processes. However, till this day, the theory has not been applied often in urbanism, nor has it been evaluated scientifically in this field. The main research question posed in this report is: How can biomimicry be applied in urban redesign and facilitate change in urban environments? The research evaluates biomimicry: is it just a hype or does it provide a solution for designing our uncertain future? The final result is a general strategy for applying biomimicry in urban redesign. This adds knowledge both to the field of urban design strategies and to the field of biomimicry. It is suggested that the strategy can also be applied in other disciplines. Starting with a literature study, a strategy is developed and tested on two pilot cases in different contexts. These cases both contain an analysis and design of an urban regeneration area: Strijp S in Eindhoven and the Agniesebuurt in Rotterdam. Based on the design results, the strategy is further developed and reflected in order to improve and strengthen the strategy. The strategy consists of eight steps that together form the design strategy (see Figure 1). However, some steps can also be used solely and implemented in other strategies. Different actors can be involved in different steps. In this design strategy, a biologist is consulted in order to understand processes, systems, and forms of nature which could be translated into design implementations. A linkage is created between the disciplines of biology and urban design. Strategies of nature are examined in order to find solutions for the specific problems that are faced in both Eindhoven and Rotterdam. In Eindhoven, the challenge is the transformation of a partly empty former industrial area into a regenerated area. Other problems in Eindhoven that were encountered are the scarce water quantity and temperature changes. This poses future threats to the area. Rotterdam, and specifically the Agniesebuurt also faces problems of future changes in water quantity, water quality and in temperature. These problems formed the starting points for the search for solutions in nature. Human society and natural systems experience similar problems of change like in and thus provides us with proven solutions for coping with unpredictable change i.e. ideas for urban interventions. The ideas are translated into various specific design solutions or abstract concepts and categorized into different scales. Moreover, they show the different consequences for the urban environment. Profound concepts arise because multiple ideas are combined into one concept. The implementations of the nature inspired design ideas in both cases result in an improvement of the adaptability of the area. This is accomplished through two important aspects. First, by taking the topic of change as the starting point for the creation of concepts. And second, through the integration of design interventions at different scales across the urban fabric. Integrating implementations throughout scales results in a profound understanding of design interventions. Adaptability is facilitated by the nature of the ideas derived from nature. The focus is primarily on change itself rather than on the final long-term plan of a possible future scenario. Options are kept open to changing directions, magnitude, and character of functions and implementations. Thus through the application of biomimicry in the field of urban redesign, the urban designer does not create a snapshot of what the future could possibly look like, but instead proposes a possibility for an area to change over time. Though it is important to note that the urban designer must remain critical about nature’s proven lessons. The designer must not take the examples for granted as the ultimate solution for achieving a successful design result per definition, since human society and nature do differ from each other. This research explored the possible added value of the application of biomimicry in urban redesign. The strategy that was constructed through this thorough research, supported with two design proposals, could form a valuable tool worth knowing when designing adaptable urban for unpredictable times to come.

Article

hal.science

The idea of applying biomimicry to cities is attracting increasing attention as a way of achieving sustainability. Undoubtedly the most frequently evoked natural model in this context is the forest, though it has not yet been investigated with any great scientific rigour. To overcome this lacuna, we provide: first, a justification of the model of the forest via what we call the arguments from “fittingness”, “scale”, and “complexity”; second, an exploration of various key innovations made possible by this model in the fields of urban planning, urban water systems, urban energy and transport systems, and urban food and nutrient systems.

Article

mdpi.com

Article

biomimicry.org

Biomimicry offers an empathetic, interconnected understanding of how life works and ultimately where we fit in. It is a practice that learns from and mimics the strategies used by species alive today. After billions years of research and development, failures are fossils, and what remains hold the secret to our survival. The goal is to create products, processes, and systems—new ways of living—that solve our greatest design challenges sustainably and in solidarity with all life on earth. We can use biomimicry to not only learn from nature’s wisdom, but also heal ourselves—and this planet—in the process.

Article

forbes.com

Windows that prevent bird collisions by mimicking the UV-reflective qualities of spider webs; a train that travels faster, uses less energy and makes less noise after it was redesigned to resemble a bird’s beak; highly efficient wind turbine blades that mimic the bumpy edges of a whale’s flippers.

Article

engineering.princeton.edu

Inspired by the material that makes up oyster and abalone shells, engineers at Princeton have created a new cement composite that is 17 times more crack-resistant than standard cement and 19 times more able to stretch and deform without breaking. The findings could eventually help increase the crack resistance of a wide range of brittle ceramic materials, from concrete to porcelain.

Article

medium.com

That’s where it all begins. It marked the start of the Industrial Revolution, a monumental step forward for our civilization. Although it propelled technological knowledge, this stage in human history solidified our impact on this planet IN THE WRONG WAY. Billions of tons of carbon dioxide have since been emitted into our atmosphere, millions of acres of forest have been destroyed, and a staggering two-thirds of the world’s wildlife populations have plummeted in the last 50 years. To put it simply, we’re killing our planet.