acrobat JSPD 8 - The Centre for Sustainable Design

BioDesign: ten tips to be cyclic, solar and safe
Almost all environmental innovation
so far has been in one or two
of the Cyclic, Solar, Safe, and
Efficient categories. The next step
is to achieve high levels in all four
parameters at the same time. Here
are some tips for design inspired
by nature:
1 Get microbes to do the work
such as digestion by bacteria
for compost toilets, bioremediation
clean-up of toxic waste,
and cardboard coffins. Or use
higher animals, such as eel
farms making use of warm
waste water, and edible packaging.
2 ‘Gene’ recombination is the
key to nature’s innovation.
Recombine existing, proven
approaches instead of pioneering
substantially newer technologies.
Evolution always
takes what is to hand and then
builds the unexpected from
reliable parts fitted together in
new ways. The same is true of
business innovations. Of over
1.5 million patents analysed in
Genrikh Altshuller’s TRIZ study,
over 90% were found to be
variations on solutions already
in existence, often from within
the same industry. An example
– use biogas to power a fuel
cell.
3 Revive and recolonise –
sometimes a locally extinct
species or product may reappear
if conditions are right, like
otters on the Thames in the UK,
cargo sailing ships, native
herbal remedies and the
Jurassic Park dinosaurs. Look
through the amber of history for
potential new product DNA.
4 Mimic nature’s materials
with their elegant solutions to
structural problems. Spider’s
webs, feathers, mother of pearl,
deer antlers and butterfly wings
are just a few examples that
have inspired recent innovations.
5 Exquisitely fine control is
found in the metabolism of
living systems, something which
maximises the use of materials.
Make systems respond on
demand (like the Ecoflush toilet
with a dial for High, Medium
and Low settings), use senses
and feedback loops (like thermostats
and presence sensors),
and make use of everything
(like Chinese cookery or the
printworks which makes birdboxes
out of pallets that are
beyond repair). The solarpowered
fan in the sun roof of
a parked Audi automatically
matches demand – as the
hotter the day, the more
cooling is needed and the
faster the fan rotates.
6 Generalists are more adaptable
than specialists, especially in
times of change. Think of
crows, foxes, and coyotes
adapting to city life.
Multifunctionality also ensures
maximum utility, rather than
having a specialist tool which is
used once a year, for example.
PC/TVs and fax/scan/printer/
copiers are other examples.
7 Think ahead a long time. In
south-west England, landowners
sometimes plant a
stand of willow trees when a
daughter is born, to pay for her
wedding – when the willows
JANUARY 1999 · THE JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT DESIGN
INNOVATION
are harvested and they are
made into cricket bats. All
products are disposable in the
end, so plan for takeback even
if it’ll happen in 20 or 50 years.
Alternatively, try to be immortal,
like the 800 year old Japanese
temple which is still regarded
as totally original even though
every bit of the building’s fabric
has been replaced over the
centuries, or like Porsche and
Rolls Royce cars, almost all of
which are still on the road.
8 Muscle power is a form of solar
energy, which is used in the
Brox human power vehicle,
Eco-Drive quartz watches and
which can be stored with
clockworks, compressed air
or flywheels.
9 Photon power is the secret to
life on Earth. Photosynthesis
can be a key energy provider
via biofuels and biomass, and
plants are being used for a wide
variety of industrial purposes
such as oils, fibres and plastics
– for example soya crayons,
Unpetroleum Jelly, Citrasolv
degreaser, Earth Shell packaging,
and cornstarch pens.
Photovoltaics (PV) are
particularly useful for local
and mobile applications.
10 Seasonal variations are
inevitable, so work with them.
Natural systems are tolerant of
flux and have strategies for
feast and famine, winter and
summer, and so should new
products. PCs now hibernate
when not in use. Grass roofs
insulate in winter and the
plants’ transpiration cools in
summer.
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