The University of Dammam in Saudi Arabia is hosting a conference entitled “Sustainability Through Biomimicry” at their main campus next November. They are currently looking for submissions and their themes and topics seem very interesting. You can visit the conference website here.
The text from the website explaining the conference:
“The effects of our present lifestyles on the environment are leading towards drastic conditions of major climatic changes as well as the depletion of earth’s natural resources. The way to address this situation is to either sustain natural resources or emulate nature which is already sustainable. Even though much emphasis is placed on matters of sustainability, very few lessons from nature, which is inherently sustainable, find their way into design.
The process of biomimicry also known as biomimetics or biologically inspired designs, involves finding solutions to design problems by emulating the natural world. This is done through the imitation of nature‘s forms, processes and ecosystems to more effectively and sustainably meet design challenges. It also provides potential frameworks to understand how nature works as a system and is therefore a productive and insightful tool for re-imagining the built world.
We invite researchers, educators and professionals from various fields such as architecture, urban design, engineering, design, biology, chemistry, physics and geology to cross their disciplinary boundaries, explore fields of cooperation and share their knowledge and experiences to achieve the ultimate goal of a sustainable built environment.”
These are the 4 themes they have singled out for discussion:
1. Intersections between the sciences and the design industry
2. The relation between sustainability and biomimicry
3. Philosophies, theories and concepts of biomimicry/ sustainability
4. Biomimetic and sustainable futuristic approaches and applications in architecture and design