Combining bio-inspiration and ecodesign

Abstract

Prescriptive ecodesign tools aim to aid designers in creating more sustainable designs by providing them with general recommendations, relying on the designer to adapt and convert such recommendations into a creative concept. This class of ecodesign methods relies on - and is limited by - the creativity and previous knowledge of the designer. In contrast, bio-inspired design creates new concepts using analogical transfer from existing solutions found in nature. The resulting designs however do not necessarily have a lower environmental impact. This paper proposes to join ecodesign and bio-inspired design, combining the strengths of both and making them more accessible. The general recommendations resulting from ecodesign are used to steer the selection of relevant biological strategies, resulting in more tailored inspiration with the clear direction of improving the environmental impact. Starting from a single ecodesign recommendation, a number of diverse biological strategies are presented. Both the principles used by termites to passively regulate the temperature of their mound and the principles used by sharks and fish to reduce the drag across their skin can be used as an embodiment of the guideline to reduce energy consumption during use.