For too long, human design has treated nature as something separate—a canvas to control, manipulate, and dictate rather than a living system we belong to. But what if we designed with the understanding that we are nature? Our breath feeds the trees, our bodies return to nourish the soil, and yet our buildings and cities remain disconnected, consuming resources rather than contributing to the ecosystems they inhabit.

November 30th 2023, marked the second anniversary of B+H Biomimicry. To celebrate, we thought it’d be a good opportunity to reflect on our journey so far by sharing some highlights and painting a picture of our vision for the future.

Through the Living Story Methodology, Biomimicry is being integrated into master plans around the world.

The new age of biology is upon us and it is radically transforming the way we think, behave, and create.

A Living Story Site Assessment at Métis Crossing - uncovering what is here, what the land wants to do, and what it will support us in doing in order to create a more harmonious, and therefore more resilient and cost-effective design strategy.

Biomimicry Frontiers proudly partners with the global design group, B+H Architects, growing the firm’s Global Sustainability + Resilience Platform

A biomimicry excursion in Canada’s most beautiful and remote country. Come and learn how to practically harness the genius of nature to solve some of our biggest challenges. This is truly a once in a lifetime experience.

Help execute and manage the Biomimicry Commons - a “world-changing idea”. Help sustainable leaders tap into the genius of nature to transform the way we think, behave and create, in a way that is in harmony with nature.

Life is cyclical. As it grows, it eventually decays. As it lives, it must also die. And it is through this cycle of release that things can be reconfigured and regenerated.

Biomimicry was a part of the design concept from the very beginning. In collaboration with OCAD students, we reimagined the FORM building using our Design Fiction methodology. As part of this process, students created various designs ranging from an air-filtering building facade inspired by the lungless salamander and the sea sponge to heat loss detection and response system inspired by the human blood vessel and wood frogs.

Why can’t we have high-rises in our cities that are built out of wood?

Biomimicry connects us to a library of time-tested ideas that will teach us how to thrive on this planet. The best way to engage with this textbook? Start by adopting a biomimetic mindset. A biomimetic mindset can transform all aspects of your life as it transforms the way you view the world.

At Biomimicry Frontiers, we believe that in order to successfully perform biomimicry, we have to begin by understanding how we solve problems (or what we call inner biomimicry). This requires looking critically at our assumptions, our beliefs, our biases and our paradigms for they are at the root of how we behave, how we innovate and how we can create. We have inherited a set of systems that are born out of ideas from the past - including outdated ideas about our relationship with nature. How can we begin to rectify these?

2020 tested our resilience, urging us to rethink the way we live, work, create and behave. It has also shown how quickly we can change our behaviour if we really want to. As we step into the new year of 2021, we inevitably have a lot of hopes and expectations. But we may also be questioning our responsibility of designing our world for both ourselves and future generations.