A while back I wrote about making more use out of less stuff. Here is an example of a startup gaining some traction: ThredUP aims to bring affordability and convenience to the children’s clothing market, which is estimated to be valued as a $1 billion space. The platform allows parents to exchange boxes of outgrown […]
Category Archives: Greenr
Biomimicry Applied to Organizational Structures
A question often asked: “Can you apply biomimicry in the field of organizational development?” IDEO and USGBC recently took part in FastCompany’s What Would You Ask Nature? challenge, with inspiring results: With 80 local chapters nationwide, they struggle with challenges like making group decisions and the ability to keep members motivated and involved. But the […]
Nature’s Collaboration System
Janine Benyus speaks about collaboration in nature at this week’s Google Atmosphere Conference – an invitational conference for CTOs. Nature’s Collaboration System
Towards A Resilience Pattern Language
If climate goes the way most scientists predict, then “resilience” is a word we’ll read ever more often. Last weekend I attended “Design 4 Resilience” and here is an example of what emerged: Chris Byrne, a participant at D4R last Saturday, has catalyzed D4R’s first informal workgroup to discover a resilience pattern language. Chris’ curiosity, […]
How the iPad Could Disrupt the Home Energy Market
My iPad arrived on Saturday and it is one cool device! While there are question marks over Apple’s closed ecosystem, there’s no doubt about consumer interest. Like the Apple II, the Mac, iPod and iPhone before it, the launch of the iPad will be the tipping point for widespread adoption of nascent technology – in […]
Biomimicry in the Built World
Fast Company blogger Jody Turner offers some insights from a recent talk: I was attending Janine Benyus’ talk, Biomimicry in the Built World: Consulting Nature as Model, Measure, and Mentor, sponsored by the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley. As the founder of an early-stage electronics startup and with a background in economics, I […]
Janine Benyus joins “World’s Most Influential Designers”
Adding to a growing number awards she has received over the past few years, Janine Benyus is included in a list of “Most Influential Designers” put together by BusinessWeek: Not only is “influential” difficult to measure, but “design” is also nigh on impossible to define neatly. Nonetheless, we decided to put together a list of […]
ASU joins Biomimicry Affiliate Program
Some great news from the Biomimicry Institute: Arizona State University has become the newest member of the Biomimicry Affiliate Program of the Montana-based Biomimicry Institute. ASU is the only U.S. institution to be awarded affiliate status and joins Iberoamericana University, Mexico City, and the Ontario College of Art & Design, Toronto. The agreement between ASU […]
Airbus: Biologically inspired engineering or ‘biomimicry’ is the future
Airbus joins the “inspired by nature” meme: Andrea Debbane, Vice President Public Affairs and Communications at Airbus, said, “Aviation is already putting a huge effort into reducing the 2% it contributes to manmade emissions … Biodiversity is also vital for the future of aviation and economic development. The natural world has been, and continues to […]
The Year in Biomimicry: By Tom McKeag
Tom McKeag teaches bio-inspired design at the California College of the Arts and UC Berkeley and closely tracks the burgeoning biomimicry industry. Here are his “Tommy” awards for the best and brightest biomimetic products/concepts from 2009: It’s time to review last year’s bio-inspired products and services and pick my favorites, and, since this is my […]