Submission: March 11, 2017
Registration: March 11, 2017
Language: English
Location: Concept
Prizes: Winners £2000 / Runner Up £400 / People’s Choice £100 / x6 Honourable Mentions
Type: Open
We invite you – thinkers, architects, designers, artists, academics and visionaries from around the world – to imagine innovative projects in the fields of Architecture, Technology, Design, and Fashion inspired by Nature.
INTRODUCTION
Nature is the ultimate designer.
Resourceful, ingenious, sustainable, beautiful; Nature is a true teacher in innovation.
Some of the brightest minds in history – from Leonardo da Vinci to Albert Einstein – have been inspired and guided by its systems and creations. Some of mankind’s biggest inventions have come from observing nature’s variety and insightful ways of working and solving problems.
Today, we face a world of challenges in our society. For designers, challenges become opportunities to innovate. But in an era of renewed urgency towards a more sustainable future, how can nature inspire the next generation of designers?
This is where Biomimicry in design really comes into its own.
Defined by the Biomimicry Institute as; “an approach to innovation that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies”, Biomimicry can be seen as one of the most fascinating and important methodology a designer can adopt today.
Nature is a balanced ecosystem. By studying its designs, one can extract clever ways of problem solving, which we – as humans – can then translate into our own contexts. Because this is a way of emulating natural processes, Biomimicry assures a more sustainable approach to man-made change; one that is much more in sync with the world we inhabit.
Flight, aerodynamics, green energy, fractal designs and advances in material technology are but a small fraction of things we have learnt from studying nature’s creations and the systems behind them.
Inspiration is everywhere in nature. Whether we can seek it in its beauty or find it in its functionality, Biomimicry in design always leads to fascinating outcomes!
FOCUS
You are in control to determine what this represents to you.
Here are some guidelines to get you started in the right direction…
1) Designs should showcase Biomimicry practices in either form, function or both.
2) Projects should clearly show the link between the outcome and the natural inspiration behind it.
3) Entries are not limited to conceptual ideas. They can also be works in progress or prototypes
which the entrant is currently developing or has recently produced.
4) You can chose to work in multiple fields (architecture, product design, fashion, technology,
materials, etc) and scales (from tiny to extra large) for your entry.
5) Think outside the box! Your design has to be inspired by nature – true – but this does not
necessarily mean it has to look like the object. An example would be Photovoltaic Cells, inspired
by leaves and their power to transform solar energy into food through photosynthesis.
SUBMISSION
x2 A1 sheets and 500 words explanatory text per team. Physical models are optional but encouraged. Projects to be submitted online by Saturday 11th February 2017 by 11AM (UK Time).
REGISTRATION
Early Bird: £60 GBP
Standard: £80 GBP
Late Bloomer: £100 GBP
AWARDS
Winner: £2000 GBP + induction into Eleven’s Hall of Fame + invited to join the jury for Eleven’s next competitions.
Runner Up: £400 GBP
Honourable Mentions (x6): no cash prize (boo!) but lots of glory nonetheless (yay!)
In addition to the jury determined prizes, the general public will be able to vote for their favourite entry online, who will win the People’s Choice Award.
People’s Choice Award: £100 GPB + Induction into Eleven’s Hall of Fame (this award is voted by the public online)
All our awarded teams will be published in Eleven Magazine and Eleven’s media partners, and will receive one free pass voucher to join future competitions by Eleven.
SCHEDULE
11 November 2016: Registration opens. Early Bird fee applies.
1 December 2016: Standard Fee applies
1 March 2017: Late Bloomer fee applies
11 March 2017: Registration Closes. Projects submission deadline.
14 March 2017: Public online voting for People’s Choice Award opens.
9 May 2017: Public online voting for People’s Choice Award closes.
11 May 2017: Winners Announced and published!
