Biomimicry Changemakers

How can nature guide us into a sustainable future?

October 21- 23, 2022 | Granada, Spain

For any questions, email us at biomimicrygranada@gmail.com

Join us in Granada for a transformative weekend as we venture into the unique and exciting world of biomimicry. During this 2.5 day course, we will explore nature and learn to seek design inspiration in her survival strategies and mechanisms.

Biomimicry is a cross-disciplinary methodology which is especially relevant to those looking for new ways to approach technical innovation and sustainability. We welcome designers, engineers, biologists, policy-makers, educators, architects, entrepreneurs, business-people… and learners of all backgrounds.  Our participants will learn about sustainable innovation inspired by nature while interacting within an interdisciplinary cohort of individuals.

We will be apprentices of ecosystems, reconnecting with the principles of adaptation and resilience that make them function. Learn biomimicry and become part of a growing community of regeneration change agents.

What Will You Learn?

Explore the foothills of the Sierra Nevada region of Spain as you learn about the design strategies of nature and how to use them as an inspiration for your own innovations.

Upon completing this 2.5 day course, you will be primed to integrate biomimicry into your work. During the weekend you will:

  • understand what biomimicry is and why biomimicry is important
  • spend time learning from the local ecosystem
  • learn to associate functional objectives to the shapes, textures, smells, tastes, structures and behaviors of plant, animal and fungi life
  • translate biological strategies into relevant and applicable design principles
  • learn how frame a design brief in natural terms and search the world’s broad library of organisms for solutions to your challenge
  • work together in interdisciplinary teams to come up with nature-inspired solutions to the real-world problems
Crawl

Get your feet on the ground with biomimicry thinking methods

Walk

Gain a systems-level understanding through immersions in nature.

Run

Perfect your skills with mini-challenges in a cross-disciplinary cohort.

Instructors

Biomimicry Changemakers is taught in English and led by a global team of Biomimicry professionals and educators who have co-created this course for you. The organizing team has extensive experience applying, teaching and sharing biomimicry.

Dr. Laura Lee Stevens

Dr. Laura Lee Stevens

Senior lecturer – Industrial Design Engineering at The Hague University of Applied Sciences

Dr. Laura Lee Stevens is an architect, engineer, Biomimicry Expert and nature lover of the great outdoors. She holds two MS degrees in the fields of Architecture from Delft University of Technology (DUT) and Biomimicry from Arizona State University (ASU). She completed her PhD at DUT where she researched how students were enriched through learning to translate analogies from biology to design using biomimicry. She is a professional biomimicry design educator in her role as a professor in the Industrial Design Engineering program at The Hague University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. Her goal is to enhance circular, systems-thinking solutions in design by learning from time-tested biological strategies and mechanisms found in nature. She has become enthralled by the technical elements these translations bring, but understands that without ensuring ethical design decisions and without reconnecting to nature itself, she would be missing the point of biomimicry design to contribute to the sustainability of solutions.

Theresa Millard

Theresa Millard

Creative Director and cofounder – TrueNorth Collective, Cofounder – Biomimicry Granada

UK born, trained as an artist, Theresa has 30+ years of corporate experience working in Design, Product Development, Manufacturing, Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility.

In 2005, after exposure to Biomimicry – Design inspired by the natural world, Theresa realized that she could no longer design “things” without thought to the unintended environmental consequences that a global manufacturer can have on the world.

She is an experienced developer and facilitator in the field of Design for Sustainability and experiential learning. Co-founder of the Kohler WasteLAB, Theresa believes that taking a nature based abundant view rather than a “lean” approach to waste streams can change how everyone looks at resources as we begin our necessary journey to a circular economy.

Alessandro Villa

Alessandro Villa

Founder and CEO - Planet, Nature Inspired Technology

Alessandro Villa is Planet CEO and Co-Founder with more than 12 years of experience in Business Development and Product Industrialization. He has a Masters degree in Cognitive Science and is certified Biomimicry Specialist (Biomimicry 3.8). Since 2016, he is committed to the technology maturation of Mangrove Technology Platform, a bio-inspired, systemic solution to enable dryland reforestation. Co-Founder of several start-ups active in the digital fabrication (Opendot, Ultrafab and Digital University), he is today Board Member of Novobiom, start-up committed to myco-remediation and soil restoration.

Asha Singhal

Asha Singhal

Lead designer and researcher - Hybrid Futures

Asha K. Singhal MS | B.Arch is a Biomimic, Architect, Researcher and Educator specializing in Biomimetic designs bridging the gap between the built and natural environments. Her vision with her work is to create pragmatic narratives of hope inspired by nature empowering people with tangible actions towards creating a climate positive future. Asha’s core is in meaning making, conceptualizing and realizing speculative designs into inspiring and restorative living built environments. She conducts research at the intersection of biology, architecture, art and emergent technologies, and applies that knowledge to the development of regenerative environments at all scales. She has international experience working on projects in Canada, Germany, US & India.

Chris Gauthier

Chris Gauthier

Manager of Environmental Sustainability - KPMG, certified Biomimicry Professional

Chris has followed a winding path throughout his life.  He has done immunology research as a molecular biologist, served in the US Army as a helicopter pilot, worked in other US governmental roles, and provided strategy, business model, and AI & automation consulting services for Deloitte and KPMG.  During this time he had gotten his MSc in biomimicry and is a certified biomimicry professional (2021). He now works as an environmental sustainability professional at KPMG.  Throughout this journey Chris has always felt a call to stay connected to the wonder and insights of the natural world.

To understand this more, Chris recommends Henry Beston’s words: We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals.

Come learn biomimicry with

Biomimicry Granada logo
Esada logo
Planet logo
The Hague logo
GREEN 2021 logo
Hybrid Futures logo

Course Structure

The course is broken down into five separate 4-hour modules, with each module building upon the earlier contents. By the end of the weekend participants will have an good understanding of biomimicry and how to apply use it.

1. Intro to biomimicry

During the first module, a series of activities will help us warm up and meet the group. Our first day is designed to be inspired by the potential of biomimicry, discover beautiful biological models and take stock of the many lessons from Nature. By the end of the day, participants will understand what biomimicry is and why biomimicry is important. We will wrap up the first day by dining together in Granada’s historic quarter.

2. Observation in nature

Perhaps the most important tool in the biomimicry practitioner’s kit is the ability to see beyond the look-and-feel of the other organisms sharing Earth with us, and understand how and why these beings came about as they are. We will explore regional ecosystems and learn to associate function to the shapes, textures, smells, tastes, structures and behaviors of plant, animal and fungi life. ​

3. Applying biomimicry: local challenge

Your first chance to test your recently acquired biomimicry know-how will focus on the challenges faced in a business which is one of the underpinnings of the Andalusian economy. We will travel to an organic olive mill, where you will learn about olive farming and oil extraction. The role of soil and ecosystems in food production will be explored. Finally, the cohort will work together to come up with nature-inspired solutions to the real-world problems of the sector.​

4. Biomimicry deep dive

We get down into nitty, gritty, detailed descriptions of the natural world and how we can learn from this endless complexity and wealth to foster innovation and progress in human society. You will learn how to frame a design brief in natural terms and search the world’s broad library of organisms for solutions to your challenge. Examples and case studies will inspire excitement for the possibilities and underline the method.

5. Applying biomimicry: innovation

One strength of the field of biomimicry is the straightforward application as an innovation methodology. Participants will team up to approach a product brief using biomimicry design thinking. During this session you will discover organisms which face the same issues that you are trying to resolve, and that have come up with efficient, innovative and often surprising solutions. It will then be up to you to extrapolate these lessons into a prototype design, displaying the skills and understanding gained over the course of the weekend.

Pricing

The workshop cost of Biomimicry Changemakers is €650 with participation limited to 20 students. Reserve your spot for only €150.

The price of the workshop includes:

  • Biomimicry training, inclusive of facilities and teacher fees
  • Educational materials
  • One day trip (transportation and entrance fees)
  • Certificate upon completion
  • Welcome dinner on Friday night
  • Group lunches on Friday and Saturday
  • Up to 2 ECTS credits certified by Escuela Superior de Arte y Diseño de Andalucía (subject to acceptance by sending institution)
  • If you require assistance organizing your lodging, other meals and travel to and from Granada, don’t hesitate in contacting us.

Participants are responsible for the cost of lodging during the weekend, travel to and from the workshop location and transportation before and after the workshop.

Please be aware that the Changemakers workshop will officially run from 09:00 on Friday, 21st October to 14:30 on Sunday, 23rd October.

Scholarships

To show our support, we are making available a scholarship to cover Biomimicry Changemakers costs for one Ukrainian student.

 

Registration

Complete registration fee is €650 to be paid by bank transfer. Banking details will be provided upon submission of this form. The fee is to be paid no later than October 10th.  This portion is refundable on request up to 48 hours prior to the start of the event.

Questions or concerns?: Reach out to us at biomimicrygranada@gmail.com

In addition to a transformative experience, workshop participants also receive a certificate upon completion.

Granada Cityscape

Welcome to Granada!

Located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the south of Spain, Granada features ancient magic from the Albayzín, the Arabic quarter, to the Alhambra, an astonishing palace complex whose Islamic decor and landscaped gardens are without peer in Europe.

Changemakers classes will be held at esada design school, a well-equipped official higher education institution housed in a beautiful historic building. Situated on a busy pedestrian street in downtown Granada, from esada many of Granada’s places of interest are accessible by foot or a short bus ride away.

For those wanting to stay a little longer, from Granada you can be in the mountains, or at the beach in less than an hour.

What is Biomimicry?

Through evolutionary R&D, nature has been generating solutions to the never-ending slew of challenges faced on our little blue marble since life emerged billions of years ago.

The field of biomimicry advocates looking to the millions of organisms present on Earth as a library of innovations that have been proven to work.

During this 2.5 day intensive course, you will learn the fundamentals for applying biomimicry thinking in your professional life. Become inspired by the complex simplicity of nature’s problem-solving, while reconnecting with the beauty of life’s genius.

You will develop skill sets for leveraging biological knowledge when redesigning our products, processes, systems and perspectives. Special focus will be given to applying biomimicry to design for a regenerative world.

Think like a biomimic!

What can a banana peel teach us about packaging?

Biomimicry helps us reframe our human design challenges to questions that we could ask nature. For example: ‘How would nature package?’

 

Banana functions
  • Protect – Hard yet elastic waxy shell keeps fruit safe from the elements.
  • Transform – Easy opening, but only when it’s ripe and ready.
  • Communicate – Changes color from green to yellow as it becomes ready to eat.
  • Regenerate – Quickly biodegrades after use.

What people are saying

2022 marks the first Changemakers cohort, but here is what people thought of our recent GREEN 2021 conference on biomimicry.

“High standard of organization – quality team, getting to the ripple effect. Thankful and grateful, flexibility. Feels like part of beautiful family. Respect was so high.”

Marieke

“My heart is full from this experience. Had not grasped all the planning, workshops, graphics, organization. Felt like we had known each other for a long time. Could not have had a better experience.”

Amaya

“Really nice! Was able to get some new ideas and methods for refreshing myself. Connecting people together… was really great to see the in-person interactions.”

Kathy

“Spending 18 months working alone from my garden shed had left me… doubting the value of my own ideas and questioning my right to be a part of the global biomimicry community. This weekend changed all that!”

Lucy

Symbiosis

© Biomimicry Granada 2022