Biomimicry, the idea of taking inspiration from nature for design, one of the most exciting stories of biomimicry around at the moment is Lilian van Daal’s revolutionary new chair concept. Breaking the mould of conventional chair design, this piece is made completely on a 3D printer. Van Daal took inspiration from plant cells and gave the chair an intricate layered design, this compliments her overall aim to reduce waste in the design world, she said “A lot of materials are used in normal furniture production, including several types of foam, and it's very difficult to recycle because everything is glued together” with this elegant design Daal has reduced the number of materials used but not scrimped on comfort. Nature again inspired Van Daal when it came to the comfort; she looked to plant cells and noticed their flexibility, from this she realised that parts of the chair could be made flexible by increasing the layers of plastic but also by making each one thinner and reducing the overall density of the structure, allowing the seat to cushion you.

The Mercedes Bionic concept car, without a doubt the ugliest car on the planet, but yet boasts minimal drag and a rigid structure. It too is a design inspired by nature. Taken from the shape of a boxfish which has low flow resistance, which is vital to good aerodynamics.

So why look to nature for inspiration? Nature has evolved over millions of years to adapt and evolve to certain tasks; giving us interesting and functional forms that can be applied to our aesthetic, structural & aerodynamic needs.

By Sam Ings