Vision for an experimental live-work R&D incubator embedded in the natural environment
The Living Lab: a Biomimicry Innovation Center
Embedding innovation into natural ecosystems
CHALLENGE: [Proactive Project] Create the future vision for an interdisciplinary biomimicry innovation center—a purposeful and sustainable community embedded in nature—also serving as the central hub connecting biomimicry practitioners across all disciplines and locations.
PROPOSED APPROACH, PHASE 1: Initial research and discovery will span industries and history to understand ecological and philosophical perspectives on the relationship between humans and earth, as well as the factors that create the conditions for successful innovation. We’ll tap into our networks and engage a wide range of perspectives (futurists, founders, scientists, anarchists, government leaders, city planners, historians, and more) for interviews, discussions, and ideation activities around the inception of new societies and complex human systems.
To design everything from business models to water filtration systems, we’ll engage the public in co-creation using digital platforms, social media, public engagements, and live test sites. Social media provides a platform to demonstrate ideas and raise awareness: Eco-pioneers will document short stays at communes and in the wild. We’ll spend time with students to understand how young people want to work, create, and live in the future. We’ll engage with the elderly to understand how life purpose is realized, and how the American Dream has evolved. We’ll look throughout time, species, and disciplines to understand how societies and communities form, and what allows them to thrive. Phase 1 goals: Discover guiding insights. Build awareness and presence. Find collaborators and potential partners. Generate 3 to 5 variations of a roadmap and strategic vision based on feasible resourcing strategies.