Evolving Design Through Simulated Evolution

Amazing article from Elisava:

Bionics And Design: Witnesses To The Evolution Of This Approach.

Some quotes from the text:

"[...] Natural history research, even that which seems to be no more than the fruit of pure and empty curiosity, can have very real uses, which would be enough to justify it even to those who only want research into useful things, if before condemning we could have the patience to wait for time to show the use we could make of its [...]."

Rene-Antoine Ferchault de Reaumur, A History of Wasps - 1719.


"It is the story of the development of the branch of mathematics called the calculus of variations, which concerns questions of optimization —finding forms or patterns that maximize or minimize a particular quantity Is the igloo the optimal housing form for minimal heat loss to the outside? Do bees really use the least possible ammount of wax in constructing their hexagonal cells?"

Stefan Hildebrandt & Anthony Tromba - 1985


"The oldest shells in the universe are the crusts of the cooling stars... We can compare them to an egg-shell: they are formed on the surface of moving liquid drops. In long-ago prehistory, about 400 million years ago, living nature took advantage of the fact that a curved structure is 50 to 100 times stronger than a flat structure of the same thickness. This means that the protecting envelope around fragile micro-organisms can as much reduce the expense of material and weight as obtain a greater degree of protection[...]."

Heinz Isler - 1989


"I believe that flowers —vivacious or woody plants— not only present the most frequent type of shell, but that they are also those of the greatest beauty. They offer a complementary perfection: they are kinetic structures. According to need, they can vary their form to open or close the flower, or even to aid the process of pollinization[...]."

Heinz Isler - 1989


"Nature offers us a range of secrets that will not be revealed except with much patience and love [...]."

Le Ricolais - 1935-1969