Biomimicry: Learning from Nature’s Perfection

Throughout the ages, mankind has looked to nature for inspiration when constructing objects, machines, and buildings. The remarkable achievements of living beings have always been recognized, and humans have endeavored to replicate them for their own benefit.

Today, we have the ability to take this practice to a new level of understanding. With an awareness of the 3.8 billion years of evolution that have led to the intricate and ingenious solutions found in the natural world, we can tap into a vast laboratory of experimentation.

This is the goal of biomimicry — a process of designing and creating by observing and learning from the solutions nature has already perfected. By harnessing the power of biomimicry, we can continue to push the boundaries of what is possible and create a more sustainable and harmonious relationship with the natural world.

Tonkin Liu: Pushing Boundaries with Nature-inspired Architecture

Tonkin Liu’s Shell Lace Stent is a tracheal stent, which is commonly used to support transplants of the trachea and to treat collapsed airways in instances of throat cancer, trauma, and for the elderly. Patented, 2021. Source: Tonkin Liu

The Tonkin Liu architecture studio is renowned for its designs that seamlessly blend strength with elegance, taking inspiration from the intricate shells of molluscs. The studio’s unique approach allows for the creation of structures that can range in size from a towering skyscraper to a tiny stent — a medical device used to open up arteries…