Wild Design: Ecofriendly Innovations Inspired by Nature

The thing I love about the Ecomimicry Project is that its premise - to create eco-friendly design inspired directly by innovations already found in nature - is so simple, and yet, so smart. We know algae can create energy for fuel - why not build an algae-powered car? And what about swimming pools? Why not turn a pool into a mini self-filtering eco-system? It seems a lot cheaper and safer in the...more

The thing I love about the Ecomimicry Project is that its premise - to create eco-friendly design inspired directly by innovations already found in nature - is so simple, and yet, so smart. We know algae can create energy for fuel - why not build an algae-powered car? And what about swimming pools? Why not turn a pool into a mini self-filtering eco-system? It seems a lot cheaper and safer in the long run than buying chemicals every year, in addition to annual draining, cleaning, etc. One of my favorite designs featured in this book however is the solar panel flower petal street light. Following a flower's natural pattern of opening its petals in the daylight and then closing them at night, a street light with solar panel "petals" would open during the day to collect sunlight for energy, and then at night, would close around the sides of the light, to provide light without causing light pollution. It's beautiful, it's eco-friendly, and in the long run, could be rather cost-effective. I highly recommend this book to designers interested in creating their own eco-friendly innovations.   hide