DESIGN BASED ON NATURE – A LITERATURE INVESTIGATION
Year: 2016
Editor: Erik Bohemia, Ahmed Kovacevic, Lyndon Buck, Christian Tollestrup, Kaare Eriksen, Nis Ovesen
Author: Conrad, Franziska; Lofthouse, Vicky; Escobar-Tello, Carolina
Series: E&PDE
Institution: 1Bournemouth University, 2Loughborough University
Section: Exploration
Page(s): 696-701
ISBN: 978-1-904670-62-9
Abstract
This paper discusses the findings of a doctoral literature investigation considering design practice
inspired by Nature into education. Academic and mainstream commercial publications related to Biodesign,
Bionics, Biomimetics, Biomimicry and Nature Inspired Design form the basis of this
investigation. Several approaches are compared and discussed to determine whether they are suitable
for design education and capable of fostering sustainable design thinking. Current sustainable design
education in the UK is explored to determine whether the identified current sustainable design
methods are consistently embedded across the years of an undergraduate design degree or rather seen
as an add-on to traditional design methods. The investigation concludes with 3 core questions that
form the basis of further investigations. 1) Are design methods involving inspiration through nature
used successfully in sustainable design education? 2) Could the integration of design based on
nature lead to consistent inherently sustainable design practices. 3) Could this approach foster
collaborative cross-discipline design projects at undergraduate level?
Keywords: Sustainable Design, Design Based on Nature, Design Education, Collaboration.