The Fibonacci sequence in the heart of the city and an opportunity to work with us
This month, Biomimicry Frontiers put the finishing touches on a beloved project by installing the final piece of art at Tridel’s Form Building in the heart of Toronto.
Biomimicry was a part of the design concept from the very beginning. In collaboration with OCAD students, we reimagined the FORM building using our Design Fiction methodology. As part of this process, students created various designs ranging from an air-filtering building facade inspired by the lungless salamander and the sea sponge, to a heat loss detection and response system inspired by the human blood vessel and wood frogs.
Design Fiction | The development of believable ideas that may not yet be possible but that provoke a conversation around what could or should be possible.
As the project progressed, so did our biomimetic development strategy that integrated biomimicry-inspired technologies into the apartment complex. This included:
Carboncure concrete which, like a forest, stores captured carbon into the building
Ornilux windows which reduce bird collisions by emulating the strategy of orb weaver spider webs
The project was recently completed with a living wall art piece. Moss-filled hexagons curated on the wall follow the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13), a pattern that is ubiquitous in nature and that was the source of our President’s shift in thinking back in 2004. As an engineering student, this sequence helped inspire him to realize that engineering can be done differently if we tap into the design genius of nature.
With the urgency of climate change, we believe that the conscious emulation of nature’s genius holds the key to truly innovative solutions and ideas. Nature is constantly communicating with us, we have just forgotten how to listen. This piece is to remind those passing-by to stop and take a breath and look deeper than what might be visible at first glance. Even in the busy hustle of a city, a connection to nature can be found.
Go check it out next time you're in Toronto, Ontario. The address is 50 McCaul St.
Interested in reading more about Biomimicry Frontiers' work? The following blog posts give insight into our mindset and consulting work.
Inspired by Nature - Earth Day Cohort
Sign-ups for our spring cohort of Inspired by Nature is currently open. Tap into the design strategies of the natural by signing up for this online course that will help you harness the genius of nature to inspire novel ideas that could transform the way we think, behave, and create.
Job Opportunity - Come work with us!
We are looking to add a Regenerative Designer to our team. If you are interested in addressing climate change - the biggest challenge of our generation - by drawing on the genius of nature and have experience with Geographic Information System and are proficient in computational architecture and modelling software, we invite you to send your cover letter, resume and portfolio to hello@biomimicryfrontiers.com. Include "Regenerative Designer" in the subject line.
