Observations: on movement and adaptive design

By midsummer, a pinecone resting on dry ground has done its work: every scale is spread open and every seed has been dispersed. This process is made possible by a mechanism that is as precise as it is simple. The fibres that make each scale’s two layers run in different directions. As the pinecone dries in the heat, one layer shrinks faster than the other, bending the scale outward. If the pinecone gets wet, the scales close, just as precisely. This movement is a property of the structure itself, not of anything living, and it happens automatically every time the surrounding air changes.
Designed spaces can borrow the same wisdom, incorporating self-adjusting lighting, self-moving blinds… Structures and solutions that change with outdoor conditions, making buildings and interiors flow with their surroundings.

The Observations grow from a daily habit of noticing details in nature and drawing design insights from them. A habit behind A Biophilic Year and the studio’s work. Collected in a monthly digest as part of anooi’s newsletter.