Behind the Standard: Designing with Nature's Genius

Speaker A: This is hospitality Unpacked, powered by new H. We're diving into the trends, ideas and people shaping the hospitality industry, from design and innovation to the business behind the brands. Today's segment is the experience where design, service and storytelling meet to create unforgettable moments.

Speaker B: Hi, everyone. Thank you all so much for joining today. Today we have Anika chakrati from Biomimicry 3.8, who's going to be expanding upon our conversation of our scholarship presentations of biophilic design. And we're really going to be taking, uh, the concept of biophilia and expanding it into biomimicry. And Anika will really take us through the process, not just of how nature looks, but how it functions systematically, and how he can be inspired in hospitality design from scale, anywhere, from a product and how that's made all the way through a project. Thank you.

Speaker C: So I am going to talk to you today about biomimicry and biophilia as they relate to the hospitality industry. So biophilia is defined as the innate human tendency to connect with nature and other living things. So it basically talks to our inherent affinity for nature. Being in natural spaces, being around all things nature, plants, uh, and animals alike. And it is literally defined as the love of life. Biophilia we're talking about, we really like being around nature. You're enjoying being in that natural space, feeling connected to your natural surroundings. I really like that experience of being in nature. How can I replicate that within my built environment? So what I'm going to talk a little bit more about is biomimicry. So biomimicry is we're not just designing based on the feel of the tree, but we're actually learning from the tree. Biomimicry is all about learning from nature's genius. So if we incorporated this into a biomimetic design, you would still have a beautiful ceiling that looks like a tree canopy and it would function like a tree. So maybe it's generating energy as well as looking beautiful. So our working definition for biomimicry is the conscious emulation of nature's genius. Biomimicry is based on the premise that life on Earth has existed for about 3.8 billion years and has had to solve for a lot of the things that us humans are trying to solve for. It has come up with a lot of elegant, beautiful and efficient solutions. And so why reinvent the wheel when there is so much wisdom out there in our natural world? Literally billions of years of it. So I work for a company called Biomimicry 3.8. And we're a consultancy company. We basically work with clients to incorporate learnings from natural forms, systems and processes into man made design. So we work across technical and social innovation. We also have a lot of projects in the built environment, different examples of biomimicry and how they incorporate biophilic design. So why not have designs that are beautiful and can function like nature? The Venus Flower Basket is a sea sponge that it has this very strong lattice like structure and it's made of silica. So it's a glassy sponge.

Speaker A: Sponge.

Speaker C: It sort of has these diagonal beams. It has mastered how to create strength with minimal use of material. And it also has really efficient fluid flow with water being channeled through the pores within its structure. So the designers of the Gherkin took inspiration from the Venus Flower Basket. They looked at those diagonal beams and the result was that this building uses 20% less material than a similar steel frame. So you have 20% less material use. And there's less use of air conditioning because it is also modeled after the really efficient airflow that the Venus Flower Basket is using. So beautiful and also extremely efficient. So the designers of the Esplanade wanted to figure out how can we maximize daylight but minimize sunlight exposure because it is hot in Singapore, it's a tropical climate. So they looked at polar bear fur and they saw that there are two layers. There's a very heavily insulating layer closer to the skin and then there's an outer layer that has these kind of hollow tube shaped hairs. And it turns out that polar bears are really good at allowing heat into the skin to warm up the animal. But it's also really good at ensuring that there is not too much heat that's coming in and it has good heat dissipation properties. So again, a beautiful example and incorporating function from nature. Council House 2 is 80% more efficient in terms of energy usage than Council House 1. Why Council House 2 was designed with inspiration from nature. Surprise, surprise. And this time there are two organisms that the designers looked at. So the first one was they modeled trees. Designers noticed that trees typically have smaller leaves at the top, larger leaves at the bottom. And this is because the tree has evolved to figure out how can we minimize heat exposure and therefore evaporation close to the top of the tree, but how can we still optimize sunlight capture in the bottom layers? So Council House 2 has windows that literally increase in size as you go down the building. And this means that you have again minimized heating at the top, but you're still optimizing daylight towards the bottom. And then organism number two is termite mounds. So the designers also knew that termite mounds were really, really effective at regulating the internal temperature of the mound. So no matter how much the external temperature fluctuates outside of a termite mound, the inside is only ever changing by 2 to 3 degrees. There are kind of these ventilation columns that exist in the mounds, and they use that to inspire this building. And voila, 80% less energy than the initial building they had designed. Okay, so now I have two more examples. These are more interior. Some of you may have heard of Interface. They are a company that designs carpet tiles. A while ago, Interface made a commitment to zero waste. They wanted to figure out how they could design carpets that, you know, if there's a stain or damage, they don't have to throw the whole carpet away. So they came up with the idea of carpet tiles. And the team at the time went on a walk with Janine Benyus, who is the founder of Biomimicry. And they were walking through the forest, and they were looking at the forest floor and realized it's kind of chaotic, right? There are different colored leaves, sticks, soil, but somehow it's beautiful. Somehow it all matches. And they kind of thought to themselves, it's sort of this human need to have everything magic and perfect and uniform, but nature isn't that way. And it's still mesmerizing. It's still beautiful. So they took inspiration from that and designed carpet tiles that are all different. So if you have a stain on one, you can just rip it off, take the tile off, go put it in the wash, and bring in another one. And it doesn't even have to be of the same color or the same texture. And my last example is on Ornilux. So the company Arnold Glass, they're based in Germany, and they knew that over 250,000 birds across Europe die every day from just crashing into windows. And so they asked themselves, what can we do about this? They knew that orb weaver spiders, I think all spiders, actually create their webs in such a way that they noticed birds are not colliding into the webs, but they're still catching all of these insects, which are their food. And they found that the silk within the threads has this UV reflective coating which birds can see, but insects cannot. Which is good for the birds and for the spiders, because if you're a spider, you don't want a bird crashing through your web. Okay, So I hope that was inspiring. And before we move on to our Q and A and interview with Rachel. Just a couple of thoughts as we walk away from this. So the first one is echo. What this means is an echo in nature is more than a sound. It's a feedback loop. Biomimicry. We really try and understand what is the feedback that we're receiving from our environment. And not only that, you know, we as humans have gotten. We sustain our lives based off of our natural environments. How can we give back? How can we make that an echo? How can we make that a two way flow? Listen. Okay, this is a cute fox that has big ears and is really good at listening. So humans are really intelligent. We're amazing. But also sometimes we're too smart for our own goods. And there is a lot of wisdom all around us. And imagine the kind of innovative designs we could come up with if we just quieted our human cleverness and listened a little bit more. Breathe and go outside. Both of these are about how to formulate that connection with your surroundings. And not just your surroundings, but your natural surroundings. So at the organization I work for, we literally have one day out of every month where we have to go outside and reconnect. We spend our own time, it's paid time off and we have to go outside and reconnect with our natural surroundings. And that's all about, you know, the more you feel connected to nature, the more we realize we are nature. We're not separate from it. Our designs are likely to be much more harmonious with our natural surroundings.

Speaker B: All right, we'll get into our Q and A right now. We're so far away. Okay, Anika, that was so inspiring. And what I think the reason I wanted to bring the topic of biomimicry, because, like, we are people, we are a part of that ecosystem as well, and we should be using it to our advantage. So, Anika, I'd love to actually just start off by learning a little bit about you and how you got into the field. How does one become a practitioner of bioimicry? And I really want to know what inspired, inspired you to go down this professional route?

Speaker C: Yeah, I appreciate that question. So I'm originally from Zimbabwe in sub Saharan Africa. And so I've grown up in a very green and natural environment. So I've always had a very deep love for nature. And then one day I was sitting on my couch, it was during COVID and I was watching YouTube videos, as one does, and I came across a video from Janine Benyus, who, as I mentioned, is the founder of Biomimicry And I was like, wow, that's such an incredible way to add so much meaning to this love of nature that I have. Like, this is actually a way that it can be incorporated into the way that we live our lives, the way that we design our organizations and our technologies. So from there, I learned about a master's degree that's available through Arizona State University. They have a virtual program. It's designed for working professionals. And so I joined that and I got kind of really involved with the biomimicry community. I went on every single biomimicry program in the world. I then found after that and did all of those over the last few years. And then I finally ended up working for biomimicry 3, 8, just through making connections within that space.

Speaker B: That's incredible. Uh, now we're clearly at a hospitality design conference, right?

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: So let's connect biomimicry to the hospitality space. What do you think designers should think about when they're applying biomimicry in hospitality settings?

Speaker C: So, firstly, I think that biophilic design is, as we've seen, a really incredible way to incorporate beautiful design from nature into hospitality. And I think with biomimicry, it's sort of a, uh, why not do it that way, too? Because we can have biophilic design. We can have really beautiful spaces, floors, ceilings, walls. And why not add something that can also add the function of reducing material use or reducing energy usage, so we can have that beauty and we can have lower operational costs. I think on the other side, also, in terms of the guest experience, I think people really like to feel like they're in these spaces. And also knowing, oh, like this was inspired by a chameleon.

Speaker A: Ah.

Speaker C: Or this was inspired by this animal, plant, fungi. I think it really adds that much more level of connection with people. I think it can help a lot for public imaging and branding with hotels and other members of the hospitality industry. So it's like a why not? For me, it's, why not add that onto the biophilic design components?

Speaker B: And there's studies also that show that when you have elements of biomimicry, biophilic design, room rates, two things happen. One, room rates go up. Right. But secondly, when people are leaving reviews, they're not thinking about, oh, the room service, this or that, their takeaway is related to nature because it leaves an imprint on them. And so there's a lot of benefits from that perspective of incorporating some of these strategies. When you're thinking about hospitality design, what resources are out there if anyone is interested, whether you're a designer, a manufacturer, an owner, to learn more specifically about this area of practice.

Speaker C: So there are some more high level resources available online. Like if you were to just Google Biomimicry Toolbox, you would be directed to a site hosted by Biomimicry.org and there is a toolbox there that goes at a high level through the Biomimicry thinking design methodology is what we call it. Like basically it teaches you how do you look at a leaf and then from there you're designing like a solar panel. How do you make that connection and how do you make all the steps along the way. It gives you an overview of that design process. So that's one tool. There's another site called Ask Nature which is pretty cool. So if you just type in asknature.org, it'll take you to a site that is built by Biomimics. And the goal of that site is that if you have a specific challenge you're trying to solve for, like say you're trying to design a, ah, really efficient water storage mechanism. So you'll type in the search thing. How does nature store water? And it will come up with a whole range of biological strategies and mechanisms from different organisms and ecosystems that show you how different species are, uh, storing water really effectively. So that is a really cool way to get inspired. And then Biomimicry 3.8 also hosts workshops that people can apply for. I think they have them about once every few months. That's a great way to get involved.

Speaker B: There's also, you can go on trips.

Speaker C: You can go on trips.

Speaker B: You can go on trips.

Speaker C: Yeah. They hold workshops in really cool places like in the Amazon. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker B: And apply your thinking to nature in person.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: Bucket list, agenda item.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: Because maybe I'll get that on my budget next year.

Speaker C: Because it's. What do we think to look at the pictures on a computer. But imagine actually being immersed in ecosystems and being taught about like all of these patterns that exist amidst um, species in a tropical rainforest. And like it's mind blowing to have that in person immersion.

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, exactly. I remember when Ask Nature was created, I want to say like 15ish years ago. And um, everyone in the audience, Internet was like kind of a thing then. I mean we're like on our phones trying to get to Ask Nature. But it's a really cool resource that is just consistently being developed.

Speaker C: Yes. It's, yeah. They're constantly adding new examples and new research. Yeah.

Speaker B: What are the biggest challenges that people Face. Okay. They've learned about biomimicry. They're interested. It's such a cool concept, but it truly is a concept until you apply it.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: So what are the barriers that you see and how do we get past them?

Speaker C: Yeah, that's a really good question. So I would start by saying what is not a barrier is the inspiration piece. There are billions of examples out there of whatever challenge or whatever goal you have looking to nature and finding hundreds and hundreds of examples. Now, when it comes to actually converting inspiration into design that exists in our world and putting things on the market, it requires time and patience. So, uh, typically, these are truly innovative concepts that require months or years of really intentionally designing it the right way. So there's also that ethical component. We really want to design in the way that nature would do it, in a way that we're giving back. So being careful with the design in that way and then figuring out how you can really, I think you have to be patient with it. Nature has had billions of years to do that. We don't have that much time. But it's not something that's going to happen in a month. So I think that does add some level of complexity. When organizations feel like they have to put in more time, effort, it amounts to more risk, I suppose. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker B: What are the biggest opportunities in hospitality that you think?

Speaker C: I think there are a lot of opportunities within interiors, I think. I mean, some of the exterior examples we looked at were really inspirational, but that kind of does feel like a whole task. Where you're looking at interiors, you can really figure out specific things. What I like to think about is biomimicry doesn't have to be this huge undertaking where you have to invest all of this time and effort into new ideas. Biomimicry also includes social innovation. So, like, imagine if you could study different ecological habitats. In any habitat, you find places where organisms go for refuge or where they go for connection and building mutualisms. So what if we could design hospitality spaces through the lens of social innovation and biomimicry and have specific places for specific things the way that other species are doing it.

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Now, I think that also lends into some of the principles that we see with biophilic design. When you have those inspirations of refuge, uh, and respite and why you feel comfortable in, like, a nook. Right, right. And so there's a lot of connections between those biophilic patterns and how we can apply them to systems thinking in biomimicry.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: You know, uh, I think this will be my last question. What is your takeaway that you want everyone to sort of think about? Biophilia, Biomimicry? What do you think everyone should take away? And maybe an action they can do upon their real jobs?

Speaker C: So probably not what I should do at the end, but that makes me think of something new I haven't talked about.

Speaker B: No, that's fine.

Speaker C: So in biomimicry, there are multiple things. There's the, uh, mimicking nature part, which we call emulate. That's all about innovation and design. But another huge part of biomimicry is what we call ethos, and that's the ethical side of biomimicry. So you could think about that as our philosophy. And that basically speaks to how can we really build regenerative designs that are not just good for the human species, but that also give back? So we don't want to just be extracting, you know, we don't want to just be designing, you know, learning from nature or extracting ideas and not giving anything back. I think in this day and age, we can't afford to do things that way.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: So I think what I'd like to leave everyone is this incredible potential with innovation. And there is potential to really live more harmoniously with the other species that we exist amongst. And I think to keep that component of ethos embedded in the work that we all do, I think is very important.

Speaker B: Well, thank you for that inspiring conversation invitation.

Speaker C: Thank you.

Speaker A: That's a wrap on this episode of Hospitality Unpacked powered by New Age. If you enjoyed the conversation, be sure to follow and subscribe to Hospitality Unpacked by newh. Wherever you get your podcasts, stay connected with our global community of hospitality leaders by following us at hospitalityimpact or visiting Hospitality unpack. Com. Until next time, stay inspired, stay curious, and keep unpacking hospitality.