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Welcome to the Patterns from Nature Wiki


Papers and Presentations

The following paper and presentation were presented on September 21/2007 at Biomimetics 12 in Bath, UK.


The following presentation was presented on March 9/2008 at the IBE 2008 conference in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.


Note: The above files can be downloaded by anyone - other files require login to the Patterns Wiki.


Project Overview

The Patterns in Nature project started out as an attempt to capture recurrent solutions from nature that would be of value to designers developing efficient, effective and sustainable solutions. In addition to providing biological examples, the plan was to explain the patterns by providing technical examples and counter-examples. Since then, the focus has shifted towards systems in general, on the assumption that natural and technical systems follow the same basic principles (to a greater or lesser degree).


Goals

  1. Identify a set of recurrent solutions that reflect innovative ways of solving recurrent problems in both nature and human design
  2. Document these solutions as Patterns, as defined by Christopher Alexander, including a rich set of examples
  3. Define a 'grammar' that links the patterns into a network or Pattern Language


See Discussion with Tom on Project Goals and Deliverables as well as Applications on how this project could relate to sustainable/ecological design.


Assumptions

The Patterns in Nature project is based on the following assumptions:

  • There are really very few 'new' ideas. A lot of innovation involves rediscovering and adapting existing ideas, often from other fields.
  • Good designs are those that 'fit' well within a context. This ties the design to a specific 'place' and a larger system.
  • Designs can deliver powerful and unexpected benefits when the larger system is considered.
  • Systems of even moderate complexity often act in complex and unpredictable ways, through iteration and interaction between components.
  • Although apparently contradictory to the previous assumption, systems are fundamentally simple and based on a relatively small number of principles, otherwise they would quickly self-destruct. This does not imply that we understand how these systems work.


These assumptions suggest a number of implications:

  • Studying effective solutions from other fields can be an effective and efficient way to deliver innovation.
  • 'Good designs' are useful, solving real problems.
  • 'Good designs' reveal themselves over a period of time, due to the unpredictable and dynamic nature of systems. We need to watch how designs are used, fine-tuning them to improve the 'fit'. Great designs build in feedback loops and adaptability.
  • Man-made and natural systems share common underlying principles. Knowledge learned from natural systems can be transferred to man-made systems. A common set of tools and measurements can be used to determine how well our technical systems compare to natural systems.


Benefits

  1. By mapping a domain of knowledge, a Pattern Language provides structured access to that knowledge in as much depth as the Pattern Language allows. It can suggest fruitful avenues for individual analysis and solution development, and can help focus attention on the root problems.
  2. By using a common, jargon-free language at all levels, the Pattern Language can encourage communication and collaboration between diverse disciplines. It provides a common framework for both describing the problem and identifying solutions, facilitating the transfer of knowledge across disciplines. In this case, "Patterns in Nature' will help make biological information available to designers. It can also incorporate technical solutions, supporting their integration into sustainable designs.
  3. By arranging patterns in a network or hierarchy, a Pattern Language encourages a 'systems approach' to a problem. Christopher Alexander recommends diving into a Pattern Language at a level that appears appropriate to the problem. Identifying relevant patterns at that level and studying them in detail encourages a deeper understanding of the problem. Moving up in the network ensures that the larger (super-system) context is explored, potentially opening up new solution pathways. Moving down in the hierarchy identifies component patterns that need to be analyzed and incorporated into the 'whole' solution.


What Is a "Pattern"?

Christopher Alexander described patterns and Pattern Language in The Timeless Way of Building as a reaction to trends in architecture that focused more on style than useability. He developed a set of 253 patterns that he believed captured the key aspects of buildings that were 'alive', in the sense that they directly enhanced the experience of the people who interacted with the building. Many of the concepts come from 'vernacular' architecture that is not directly designed, but grows over a period of time out of the needs of people.


The patterns were arranged in a spatial hierarchy, from regions through towns/communities and buildings to the design and ornamentation of rooms in buildings. Christopher Alexander called this structured or nested arrangement of patterns a Pattern Language and developed the concept into a powerful tool for accessing the individual patterns, integrating those patterns into a system, and then using the combination to develop great architecture.


Josh Stack mentioned Solving for Pattern from Wendell Berry's The Gift of Good Land. Although I do not think Berry was aware of Alexander's work, the parallels are striking. Berry argues most solutions either create new problems outside the system in question, or even create a vicious circle in the system that is being 'fixed'. We rarely think about how a particular problem fits within the larger context, or even if the problem is completely different from the one staring us in the face. Often the best way to solve a specific problem is to restore or regenerate the system in which the problem is embedded.


I stumbled on Notes on the Synthesis of Form, a 1971 reprint of the 1964 book by Christopher Alexander. Although it predates his more famous books on pattern language, it includes background and insights that were not obvious to me from reading The Timeless Way of Building or A Pattern Language.


See Patterns and Pattern Language for more information.


Deliverables

The output of the project needs to combine both textual material (detailed information on each pattern with lots of images) and graphical (relationship between patterns). Turning patterns into 'stories' may help make them more approachable and easier to apply. A good model for combining graphical and textual content is the Conservation Economy Pattern Language, which includes a nice Pattern Map. I expect that the relationship between the "Patterns in Nature" will be considerably more complex.


Patterns show promise in making knowledge about biological systems available to designers who do not have access to biological expertise. In Holism, Biomimicry and Sustainable Engineering, John Reap proposed "A holistic view of biomimicry [that] involves incorporation of life’s general characteristics in design and application of these characteristics across multiple spatial, temporal and organizational scales of engineering influence." John used the Biomimicry Life's Principles as a methodology - Patterns could add significant content richness while also making the systems implications more explicit. Note: please do not redistributed John's article without his permission. Jeremy Faludi believes that the Patterns could be easily integrated into the Biomimicry Portal.


See Discussion with Tom on Project Goals and Deliverables


Papers

I submitted and presented a paper on behalf of the team at the 2007 SEM Annual Conference & Exposition] as part of the Biological Systems and Materials Technical Division. See SEM2007 Paper for the background, paper and presentation.


I submitted and presented an updated version of the paper at Biomimetics 12 - Experimental Biomimetics on September 21. See Biomimetics 12 for more information.


An abstract was submitted on November 30th for the Institute of Biological Engineering 2008 conference. The team's work was presented at the conference on March 9/2008 (see IBE 2008 for more information).


New.gif During development of the IBE 2008 material, we discussed submitting a formal paper to a peer-reviewed journal such as Journal of Biological Engineering or Bioinspiration and Biomimetics. In addition to further developing a pattern language based on ecosystem principles that had applications to design (see EBBT: Overview for one approach), I believe we have an opportunity to 'return to our roots' and explore ideas around what 'balanced systems' can teach us about problem solving. See Peer Journal to further explore these ideas.


List of Patterns

The List of Patterns page will contain all the patterns developed as part of this project. This page will be the common point for reading, editing and contributing patterns.


Last updated Feb. 1/2007 (added Maibritt's 'Draft Principles of Ecosystems').


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