Plant to Design

This term I am taking a course called Biomimicry. Biomimicry is when designs are inspired by nature. In this unit we discussed plants and animals and how they adapt to their habitats. In class, we talked about how plants function and survive. We also learned about how living things have evolved over time. One way we did this was by looking at a timeline of the earth and how long life has been around. From there, we discussed people who used Biomimicry to make their own designs like Jay Harman who created the PAX impeller. He mimicked the way a whirlpool works and applied it to his own design by making the impeller spin the same way. In order to get some inspiration for our project we went on two Field Experiences. Our first Field Expierence was at a carpet company called Interface. We learned that their company creates sustainable and replacable carpets by using Biomimicry. They observe different forms of nature to their own designs to make their carpets Eco-friendly. For example, they created a carpet that looks a lot like an ocean. They also think of materials they can use from nature, which I thought was very fascinating. The second Field Experience we went to was the Lincoln Park Conservatory. Here, we closely observed several different plants like different flowers, fruit, leaves, and much more. As we looked at these plants, we got to draw them and see if they use the Fibonacci series. The Fibonacci series is a series of numbers like 1,1,2,3,4,8,etc. Each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers. For example, 0+1=1, 1+1=2, 1+2=3, and so on. These numbers are often see in spirals on different kind of plants. For our action project this unit, we have to think of a human challenge and think of how a plant would solve it through a design. The plant I chose was the Desert Rhubarb. It stores water and had huge roots. The human problem I chose was dehydration. I chose this because not all people have access to clean water. I created a water system that has a small set of tubes and a big set of tubes. When it rains, the water goes through a drain that would be installed in the ground like a plant. The water then travels through the small tubes that are connected, creating a steady water flow. Then, it goes through the bigger tubes that look a lot like the underground roots of the Desert Rhubarb. When the water travels through it becomes filtered. It then comes back up through a faucet and the water is clean and healthy to drink. Through this project we had to talk about how it connects to any Life Principles or SDGS (Sustainable Development Goals). I was able to create a beneficial and sustainable design thanks to the Desert Rhubarb plant!