TED Community » Michael Pawlyn

More About Me

I'm passionate about

Biomimicry and radical solutions to global challenges

Comments

• TEDCred score: +3.00 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• +1

  A reply on Talk: Michael Pawlyn: Using nature's genius in architecture

  Aug 7 2011: Hi John
  
  Thanks for your kind words. There are quite a lot of good resources on biomimicry such as the following books: 'Bulletproof feathers' edited by Robert Allen, 'Biomimicry - Design Inspired by Nature' by fellow TED speaker Janine Benyus, 'Cats paws and catapults' by Steve Vogel. There are lots of more detailed academic papers by Steve Vogel and by Julian Vincent. Last but not least there is a great book due out in September this year under the title 'Biomimicry in Architecture' written by someone called, err, Michael Pawlyn and its already available for pre-order on amazon!
  
  All the best
  
  Michael

• A reply on Conversation: How do you envision "Biomimicry" will change our future?

  Feb 24 2011: I am a little surprised by your comment about the eden project. The ETFE membrane had roughly 1% of the embodied energy of a glass solution and the lightness of the enclosure led to huge savings in steel weight. Steel is indeed a higher embodied energy material than, say, wood but wood simply would not work structurally on a building of that scale.
• +2

  A reply on Conversation: How do you envision "Biomimicry" will change our future?

  Feb 24 2011: Agreed. There are many valid moral arguments for preserving biodiversity but for those of a sceptical or anthropocentric view I find it can be more persuasive to look at nature as a phenomenal source-book of solutions for future medecines, technologies, materials, etc.
• +6

  A reply on Talk: Michael Pawlyn: Using nature's genius in architecture

  Feb 21 2011: There is a good quotation that is relevant here “The innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new”. This is all true but I do not share the view that these obstacles are insurmountable and it is worth reflecting on some aspects of the current situation that are different to those described in the quotation. Firstly the Sahara Forest Project (SFP) does not involve a sole innovator – we have a whole multi-disciplinary team working on it. Secondly, the old conditions (fossil fuels) are becoming increasingly unacceptable both publicly and in various legal respects. Thirdly we have more than just lukewarm supporters – the Norwegian and Jordanian governments recently signed a deal that will fund three feasibility studies for the SFP in Jordan and we have a number of other negotiations that are looking promising. I hope these points will be enough to persuade you why I feel optimistic.
  The quotation by the way is from Macchiavelli who has a negative reputation that is not entirely deserved as he certainly offers some pearls of wisdom.
  All the best
  Michael Pawlyn

• A reply on Talk: Michael Pawlyn: Using nature's genius in architecture

  Feb 20 2011: As others have commented, it is more correctly referred to as 'The Persian Gulf' or simply 'The Gulf'
• +6

  A comment on Conversation: How do you envision "Biomimicry" will change our future?

  Feb 18 2011: Peter Head at Arup thinks that biomimicry will be the main tool that helps us make the transition from the industrial age to the ecological age of mankind. I think in many ways biomimicry represents the conclusion of a shifting mindset that has moved from thinking that we can dominate nature, then simply trying to preserve bits if nature and now a realisation that our best chance of a healthy and abundant future lies in reaching a reconciliation with nature in which are able to retain some of the brilliant things we have developed and completely rethink the things we have developed that have proved to be poorly adapted to the long term
• +5

  A reply on Talk: Michael Pawlyn: Using nature's genius in architecture

  Feb 17 2011: Hello Raven
  Fair point! It is difficult not to feel a certain amount of time pressure when there is a clock ticking down in front of you but, as it turned out, I spoke unnecessarily quickly and finished a minute early. The TED format does encourage speakers to think very carefully about what they want to say and to condense their ideas into a talk that is likely to be viewed by more people because it is succinct.
  I will be teaching for two days on a course at Schumacher College in June with a much more relaxed pace!
  All the best
  Michael

• A reply on Talk: Michael Pawlyn: Using nature's genius in architecture

  Feb 15 2011: Hi Alicia
  Thanks for that link - I will definitely have a look
  All the best
  Michael

• A reply on Talk: Michael Pawlyn: Using nature's genius in architecture

  Feb 14 2011: Hi Peter, Tao, Harald and Khalil
  Thanks for the comments. I think the whole issue of 'time' is an important part of the debate. Some people like to define sustainability as 'delivering the maximum long-term value for the minimum long-term cost' and I think this captures it quite well. Traditional approaches to economics often overlook this issue or discount it because it is too difficult to quantify.
  All the best
  Michael
• +5

  A reply on Talk: Michael Pawlyn: Using nature's genius in architecture

  Feb 13 2011: Hi Sam and Liz (and others that have raised similar points)
  Thanks for the comments. There are some companies that are already pursuing these ideas and realizing the commercial advantages of treating waste as a resource (Interface would be a good example). Nevertheless I think it is important to ask “How can these transformations be accelerated?” A lot could be achieved if governments shifted taxation away from employment and towards our use of resources. This would reward exactly the same sort of efficiency and ‘waste entrepreneurship’ that nature has developed (with evolution as the driving force). There is also a lot that would be achieved if the full costs of burning fossil fuels were internalized. Government action on this front is frequently blocked by fossil fuel companies that fund political parties (such activities are in direct conflict with democracy) but there is a lot that progressive companies can do by pursuing biomimicry opportunities and reaping the rewards that often come to early-movers. There is a certain amount that individuals can do by investing in ethical pensions / savings funds or investing directly in renewable energy (I appreciate that this option is not a possibility for some in the current financial circumstances).
  All the best
  Michael Pawlyn