Biodesign, Contribution #2014-03

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INTRODUCTION The Nature Lab has served as inspiration for many generations of RISD students and faculty. Begun

by Edna Lawrence in 1937 as an assemblage of specimens to inspire her drawing students, the collection has grown to include more than 80,000 natural science objects. The Nature Lab regularly hosts tours for prospective students, visiting professionals and members of industry who look to RISD for inspiration in their commercial endeavors. The popularity of the Nature Lab can be gauged by the number of specimens checked out per year (in excess of 7,000), the number of drawing and design classes using the Nature Lab (approximately 2000 hours of scheduled classroom use) and the frequency with which alumni cite the Nature Lab as formative to their development as artists, designers and problem solvers (Appendix A).

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We are now entering a new era in the history of the Nature Lab where its role as a source of inspiration from nature is not enough. Issues such as population growth, pollution, and climate change threaten the resilience of processes that yield life on Earth as we know it. Making for the future must mean ethical making, making sustainably, making in ways that are informed by natural systems, making in response to the urgent needs of people and our environment. The Nature Lab can help RISD significantly address these challenges particularly within the life sciences, which are rapidly emerging as critical areas of technological development potentially rivaling the digital revolution in their influences on society.

The role of the Nature Lab and the demand to provide resources and develop content have grown exponentially over the past three years. Requests for demonstrations, tours, lectures, workshops and individual student mentoring have been skyrocketing. The Nature Lab is part of several recent interdepartmental initiatives and

Mycellium sculpture

collaborations (Appendix B).

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Substantial funding from both the National Science

Through these resources and initiatives we are building

Foundation (NSF) and RISD has yielded a micro-imaging

our capacity to not only explore the natural world but

lab unparalleled in an art and design school: twenty six

to contribute to research involving the intersection of

student-grade stereomicroscopes; twelve compound

science and art.

microscopes; four hand-held video microscopes for quick image capturing; three professional grade microscopes, including an inverted compound microscope capable of fluoroscopy investigations; and a scanning electron microscope capable of magnifications up to 45,000x.

These resources are complemented by still and video cameras that allow students to capture and manipulate images at the Lab’s six computer workstations; three high-speed cameras for slow-motion imaging; a state-ofthe-art 3D scanner; and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) capabilities.

In addition, two 150-gallon marine aquarium units feature a living collection of vertebrate and invertebrate animals collected from Narragansett Bay. Complementing the work done in the nine studio courses sponsored by NSF’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), we are conducting studies on Narragansett Bay plankton, propagation of marine organisms and the visualization of data through NSF SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship) and Rhode Island STAC (Science and Technology Advisory Council) grants.

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CONTENT DEVELOPMENT Historically the Nature Lab has been viewed as a resource provider supporting content offered by courses from many departments. Roughly one-third of the formal courses taught in the Nature Lab are related to Foundation Studies; another third are Continuing Education (CE) and the Pre-College Program; and the last third from across the institution, including science- and nature-related courses taught through Liberal Arts. In some cases the Nature Lab simply provides meeting space; however, more often, we are actively helping faculty with both classroom materials and fieldwork (Appendix C).

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At this point in time, the Nature Lab is well positioned

By using the term “biodesign” we seek to capture the

not only to support these types of courses, but also

variety of ways in which the natural world can inform

to expand and enhance the context and the content

art and design projects and the use of natural materials

we are able to provide. “Context” we define as the

in design. We also aim further, to address the notion of

physical setting that will both inspire and provide the

nature as designer and to promote understanding of the

tools and materials for inquiry into the forms, patterns,

processes, materials, and organizing principles that

textures, structures, colors and relationships found in

result in the myriad forms, patterns, and relationships

nature. “Content” we define as delivery of workshops,

we see in the living world. It is only by seeing ourselves

demonstrations, and faculty-led classes to deepen

and our work as fundamentally integrated with nature

the understanding of the natural world and inspire

that we will be able to achieve true sustainability.

students and faculty to incorporate this understanding into their work.

Our vision includes continuing to build our research capacity and facilitating the piloting of a curriculum based on Nature Lab content and situated in its context.

We also envision providing a venue and forum for exploring concepts that are grounded in an updated view of the Nature Lab’s mission. Fundamental to this vision are emerging areas of design that include biomimetics, bio-inspired design, biophilic design, and the application of living materials in architecture and building systems. These explorations we combine under the term: “biodesign.”

Closed system nutrient cycling

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BELIEFS The Nature Lab is inspired by the following core beliefs:

5. Art and design students can benefit from multiple modes of inquiry, and scientific inquiry

1. Understanding, exploring, and being in relationship with the natural world are innate human desires and needs.

2. Artists and designers are an important resource of creative problem-solving intellects who can provide innovative solutions to problems threatening the health of people and the environment.

3. Students graduating from RISD should have a fundamental understanding of nature’s systems and processes in relation to art and design practices.

4. Artists and designers interpret, communicate

should be made readily accessible to them.

6. Artists and designers should engage in ethical, sustainable making, enhancing the viability and respecting the integrity of organisms and ecosystems.

7. The Nature Lab is uniquely positioned to facilitate linkages between the science and art communities, fostering understanding and collaboration between the two.

8. Scientists and artists/designers are expert observers and investigators. Instead of maintaining the silos of these disciplines, the Nature Lab is a place in which the lines

and invoke meaning within a societal context.

between scientists and artists/designers

Allowing them access to explore science and

can blur.

the human-nature connection is critical to creating a new paradigm for living gracefully on this earth.

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MISSION Under the umbrella of biodesign the mission of the Nature Lab expands to the following: 1. Provide students and faculty with an engaging place to explore the natural world with a wide array of specimens, habitats and dynamic displays.

2. Collaborate in developing content to equip students and faculty with a systematic understanding of nature.

3. Provide a laboratory setting in which an array of experimental possibilities and tools of inquiry

into the natural world are presented.

Moth flight pattern captured with high speed camera (Dennis Hlynsky)

4. Inspire students and faculty to: explore the natural world and make previously invisible connections visible; consider the links between and among constituents of the natural world, including humans; and create manifestations of these insights through their art and design work.

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GOALS 1.

Encourage a sense of place.

3. Explore the human-nature connection.

Provide exhibits, field trips and classroom

Encourage exploration of biophilic design and

experiences that encourage our community of

incorporate it into the Nature Lab context. Biophilia

artists and designers to understand the local

is the instinctive bond humans feel with other living

ecosystem and their place in it. This deeper

systems. It is deeply encoded in our biology, and we

understanding of the connections between natural

respond positively to characteristics of our

and human systems would begin with our local site

environment such as foliage, flowers, moving water,

in the coastal zone of the upper reaches of

organic forms and sunlight.

Narragansett Bay. Through this experience students would develop a model to guide

understanding of their home regions, and other

places they may come to inhabit.

2. Cultivate a systematic understanding of nature.

Support teachings on the latest thinking in living

systems theory, combined with the fields of ecology

and evolution, to give art and design students a well

rounded understanding of the biotic and abiotic factors, as well as the forces, processes and flows

that define life on earth.

Beach seining at Tillinghast Farm, Barrington RI

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4. Employ scientific research into the natural world

to inform design solutions. This approach includes

the field of biomimetics, which looks to nature and

its 3.8 billion years of research and development, as the ultimate design process. We foresee this

approach as having broad applications in the fields

of sustainability and design futures.

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Illuminate the facets of nature’s design – form,

detail, color, pattern, texture, space and

relationships.

This goal encompasses the traditional methods of

natural history inquiry, including the visual inspiration

historically associated with the Nature Lab, with

the advanced visualization possible through our

micro-imagining facilities. GIS capabilities enhance

visualization of land forms and features at multiple

scales. Data visualization, through computer

modeling and graphic design, is also a strong

The shell of the Namib desert beetle combines texture and structure to efficiently harvest water from early morning fog

component of this goal.

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ENHANCING THE CONTEXT We are re-imagining the Nature Lab space to incorporate biophilic design and biomimetic principles, projecting a visually inspiring and engaging setting. Room 22 has been an alluring space for generations of artists, and we look to create similarly inspiring new spaces for our biodesign agenda. We envision a context not just for research and classes, but for helping to redefine the relationship between humans and their environment, one that would expand the understanding of the ecosystem of which we are a part.

Living green wall design

Constrained to our current location within 13 Waterman, there is much that can be done that would not only improve the current space, but also inform the broader understanding of how existing buildings, including those in an urban setting, can be retrofitted with biophilic design.

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Our initial focus would be on the appropriation of Room 11 downstairs to be used primarily as a wet lab facility and biodesign showcase. New acquisitions for the space would include: • Additional aquaria, including small displays for cultivation of sensitive specimens that also allow enhanced viewing, as well as “refugia” tanks that would contain dense substrate and plant assemblages for nutrient uptake, highlighting species relationships and nutrient cycling.

• Lab tables, glassware, appliances and other resources for experiments.

• Hydroponics: ideally a hydroponic wall that would exemplify biophilic and biomimetic design as well as provide material for understanding plant physiology and growth.

• Grow tables, equipped with grow lights sufficient to carry out small-scale botany or horticulture experiments.

Aquaculture systems

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Further expansion of the Nature Lab, either through

Consideration of these program elements should not

added space in 13 Waterman or at a new location could

be considered in isolation of other elements of the

allow for dedicated and separate lab, studio, classroom

emerging campus master plan. Rather, we believe they

and display spaces. Ideally, we would be looking for the

should be explored in association with and integral to

following, to enhance our own offerings and to supplement

other facility improvements, bringing exciting natural

the resources available for other departments:

and bio-inspired resources in proximity with new studio

• Dedicated aquatics lab.

spaces. In this way the Nature Lab can leverage further investment in the campus as a whole.

• Dedicated living materials lab.

• Flexible, multipurpose exhibition, classroom and exploration space.

• Expanded bio-imaging and visualization resources.

• Greenhouse/botanical space.

• Space for faculty, visiting scholars, and fellows/ designers/scientists in residence.

• Additional technical staff to provide expertise and quality service for optimizing these new resources.

• Funding to refurbish existing areas and improve the quality and management of the natural science collections.

Eden Project, Cornwall, England

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CREATING THE CONTENT As previously noted, an increasing number of science

In turn, we would provide enhanced lab space and

courses are already being taught at RISD, including

equipment for these classes to bring the lab culture

botany, geology, entomology, ecology and evolutionary

to artists and designers. These courses would provide

biology. Currently, these courses are offered both through

students with experience and comfort in working in a

the Liberal Arts division and under the aegis of the

laboratory setting. Students would also gain experience

Nature, Culture and Sustainability Studies concentration.

conducting research in the field while developing a

Acknowledging the remarkable progress that has been

strong understanding of the scientific method.

made in making science-related course options available to RISD students, we believe an opportunity exists to encourage the development of a new, overarching framework that reimagines what science might look like at an art and design school. Viewed as a campuswide resource and forum for exploring the biological influences on art and design, the Nature Lab could serve as a hub for supporting science at RISD, with the aim of equipping students with a deeper understanding of the natural world in courses designed specifically for artists. Working in concert with faculty from Liberal Arts and NCSS, we could provide a platform where students could meet their coursework requirements, while working towards a more structured understanding of biodesign.

Biophilic interior space

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We hope to support faculty in piloting a series of

In addition to the format of traditional 3 or 6 credit

biodesign courses. We could begin with those

courses, we would like to support lecture series by

that already exist in the RISD curriculum and have close

visiting scientists and artists, and single credit

alignment with these content goals, and then work

mini-courses in topics such as color, pattern, form,

towards new core courses in Ecological Literacy and

texture and light in nature.

content specific to emerging areas of research.

Students could choose to build their biodesign skills at varied levels of involvement:

We also see fellowships and residencies as key opportunities to advance research in these emerging areas of design. Therefore a critical component of

1. Attending workshops, or winter/summer sessions

creating content for RISD students and faculty will

that allow them to have a specific biodesign

be in fostering connections with area institutions.

experience.

Other institutions can provide materials, expertise

2. As with the development of the NCSS

concentration, following a defined suite of courses that would allow them to build advanced knowledge in biodesign.

and opportunities for students to engage in their particular biodesign interests. For example, partnering with institutions exploring green chemistry can lead to innovations in design fields, such as adhesives for use in furniture making, or creating biomimetic materials for

3. Engage in biodesign research at the Nature Lab,

textiles or architectural applications. Ideally, students

including areas of biomimicry, biophilic design and

of biodesign at RISD could be placed in science and

scientific data visualization.

technology institutions or within industry as Artist/ Designer at the Table, to provide their unique insights in the intersection of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and art, fostering collaborations between the disciplines.

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NATURE LAB AND THE RISD STRATEGIC PLAN How would this expanded mission of the Nature Lab fit

How might this fit in with Foundation Studies ideas

in with the RISD strategic plan?

about a graduate research program?

The plan to expand our offerings into new curriculum

Foundation Studies is currently re-evaluating both their

and research in the realm of biodesign perfectly

name and their role within the college. Recent discussions

dovetails with the school’s strategic plan, including the

on trying to rename the critical experience fostered for

development of dynamic, innovative academic programs,

first year students have yielded the term “experimental

a distinctive culture of research and connecting to

inquiry.” They are also proposing a graduate research

society in meaningful ways. We would be uniquely

program that “would provide a platform for graduate-

“preparing our students to be thinkers, makers and

level, arts-based research, promoting rigorous

innovators in a world of increasing volatility, uncertainty,

investigations that do not presume or assume boundaries

complexity and ambiguity. Implementation of this Nature

often inherent in discipline-focused or medium-specific

Lab mission would expand our role as cultural leaders in

curricula.” The Nature Lab could provide the resources

the greater Providence community, across the country

and space for graduate students to explore human-nature

and throughout the world.” It would help fulfill the

connections and applied research within the realms of

RISD mission, in a meaningful way, of “making lasting

biophilic design, biomimetic design and data visualization.

contributions to a global society through critical thinking, scholarship and innovation.”

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How would this development enhance the Nature Lab’s

What in this approach will set RISD apart as first, best,

service to other RISD departments?

or unique?

We would support all departments in being engaged

RISD is already considered a top art and design institution

in research and exploration of biodesign at the Nature

of higher education, perhaps the best. Other schools

Lab. We envision partnering with Global Partners

are exploring the fields of BioArt (such as SymbioticA

and Programs in achieving our “sense of place” goal,

and SVA), using biological tools and experimentation as

broadening the materials and understanding to

new media for art forms. While intriguing on some levels,

provide for an ecological as well as cultural sensitivity

these programs raise serious ethical questions. They also

when abroad. We have already begun providing the

seem to ignore the possibilities inherent in a program

opportunity for FAV students to gain documentary

that acknowledges humans as interdependent with all

experience in creating a record of classes, research

life on earth. This approach of seeing other life forms as

and studio outcomes of biodesign endeavors, and

fodder and/or expendable in our endeavors has led us

would like to continue providing settings and

into the current crises we are now facing on this planet.

subjects, even equipment for FAV projects. Liberal

Our approach will address, rather than add to these

Arts and NCSS would be naturally linked to the Nature

problems. The Cooper Union, on the other hand, created

Lab through course offerings and overlapping goals.

an Institute for Sustainable Design in 2012, with the aim

Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Industrial

of providing its artists, architects and engineers with the

Design, Interior Design, Furniture, Apparel and Textiles

knowledge and skills necessary to create a sustainable

are all disciplines that already have applications for

society. Grounded in practical applications, their work is

biodesign principles and research. We would seek to

currently confined to working on creating sustainability

encourage faculty in fine arts courses as well, through

within a particular block in Manhattan.

explorations of the human-nature connection.

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While laudable, their program does not at present have

The Nature Lab is delighted to host the Brown-

the scope of the approach we have outlined, nor the

RISD STEAM club events and to support the many

diversity. Our approach fosters inquiry into not only

graduate students who come to the Nature Lab with

how design can help resolve our current environmental

interest in STEAM. We would love to see RISD provide

dilemmas, but also help reconnect humans in our culture

curriculum content to foster the inclusion of art into the

to the natural world that would sustain them. We believe

STEM disciplines; however, we would need additional

that this approach is unique in its comprehensiveness, and

funding and personnel to make this a seriously focused

with adequate resources devoted to its implementation,

endeavor.

we know we can continue in the RISD tradition of being the best in this field.

What about STEAM – why isn’t that specifically one of your goals?

Our focus at the Nature Lab is on bringing science and technology into the art studio, in service of RISD students and faculty. Students in this pilot biodesign program will exemplify the enhanced capacity generated by this interdisciplinary approach.

EPSCoR studio, student work examples “Oystertecture”

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What key actions are needed to advance this initiative?

First, we need to build formal relationships with faculty interested in advancing these fields of study. To that end we would request the assignment of Teaching Units in support of three courses, one in association with the Liberal Arts science curriculum, one in Design, and one in Fine Arts. We also request one TU to pilot three 1-credit workshops in content areas specific to biodesign. Second, the hiring of a permanent administrative coordinator to interface with RISD offices and manage both new funding opportunities and the placement of students and faculty in new learning and research settings, enabling the Director to spend more time building internal and external partnerships. Finally, we need to work with administration to strategize broader technical support for the Lab, in order to help manage our growing computer, microscopy and imaging resources so we can better serve the RISD community.

Vascular plant stem viewed with flourescence microscopy

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SUMMARY At this moment in time the Nature Lab is uniquely positioned

Expanded investment in Nature Lab resources can

to support an innovative research and education initiative

influence prospective students of the highest caliber to

exploring the biological influences on art and design and

choose RISD over other options for their graduate or

our human-nature connection. Many efforts to promote and

undergraduate education.

develop these fields elsewhere have been theoretical. But RISD, with its pedagogical focus on Critical Making and the Nature Lab, could pioneer advancements in immediately notable ways. Substantial investments have already been made in research equipment and infrastructure; new partnerships have been established with faculty both from across campus and from other institutions of higher education in Rhode Island. Through our participation in Federal and State grant opportunities such as NSF Rhode Island EPSCoR, the NSF Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program, and the Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council Collaborative Research Program, we have built capacity in the acquisition and administration of grants supporting research by faculty as well as graduate and undergraduate students. Mindful of its high visibility and uniqueness among art and design schools, the Nature Lab can make substantial contributions to RISD’s goal of recruiting, retaining and preparing top students for success in future careers.

Biodigital chair

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APPENDIX A

APPENDIX B

Quotes from RISD Alumni and the Internet:

Recent Interdepartmental initiatives and collaborations with the Nature Lab:

“ …this (the Nature Lab) was my FAVORITE place to be while studying at RISD!” “ …this place speaks to the uniqueness, fragility, power and value of the natural world that still remains on this planet.”

• A recent (April 2014) biomimicry education roundtable with the Biomimicry Institute (BI) and members of the packaging industry, along with Peter Dean (Furniture| NCSS), Stephen Metcalf (Board of Trustees) and Amy Leidtke (Industrial Design). This collaboration

“ As a former art student and teacher I am amazed at the treasure and

is potentially panning out into several new avenues of collaboration

opportunity of object and study that exists in RISD’s Nature Lab.”

between the BI and RISD.

“ …one of my all time favorite places.”

• The biennial Design Science Design Symposium (February 2014) with Carl Fasano (Foundation Studies), Stephen Metcalf, Amy Leidtke and

“ I can’t get over how much I miss having that kind of resource right

Peter Dean.

at my fingertips. I’ve never found a substitute, not even close.”

• Collaboration with Eduardo Duarte (Interior Architecture) and “ Regretting deeply not ever applying to RISD…I’m now dreaming of

other INTAR Faculty in framing the (Summer 2014) Master of Design

butterflies, beetles and monkey skulls.”

Adaptive Reuse program to focus on the Nature Lab and the nature of

“ For a moment I was 19 again with charcoal smeared on my

its collections.

clothes and hands, sketching in that wonderful space. A priceless

• Work on a Science Technology Advisory Council (STAC) grant (Summer

collection indeed.”

2014) visualizing data with Raphael Attias (Digital +Media |Illustration|

“ It made a huge impact on my art and the way I find inspiration.”

Graphic Design) and two Graphic Design graduate students.

• Ongoing work with the National Science Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) (2010-2015), involving faculty from Foundation Studies (Cynthia Beth Rubin), Landscape Architecture (Scheri Fultineer), Industrial Design (Charlie Cannon), FAV (Dennis Hlynsky), Graphic Design and Illustration (Rafael Attias)and many others.

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APPENDIX C Classes utilizing Nature Lab resources: • Multiple, ongoing Foundation Studies courses.

• Introduction to Insect Morphology and Ecology; LAEL LE89, Maria Aliberti Lubertazzi.

• Introduction to Botany; LAEL-UKN, Hope Leeson.

• Ecology: Microbes to Manatees; LAEL-LE80, Juliet Simpson.

• Drawing from Nature: Form + Structure; NATUR 2287 CE, Amy Bartlett Wright.

• The Artful Insect: Entomological Illustration; NATUR 2285 CE, Amy Bartlett Wright.

• The Artful Bird, Ornithological Illustration; NATUR 0918 CE Amy

Bartlett Wright.

• Nature Inspired Design Innovation; classroom support and logistics for Nature Lab installations as final project in ID2016, Amy Leidtke.

• Environmental Disasters; LAEL-LE68, Bonnie Epstein.

• Introductory Geology: Dinosaurs to Diamonds, LAEL- LE95 Bonnie Epstein.

• Art of Communicating Science; LAEL 1513, Lucy Spelman and Susan Doyle.

• Scientific Illustration; ILLUS 5262, Jean Blackburn.

• Final Projects Studio, Natural Science Illustration; NATUR 0928, Amy Bartlett Wright.

• Stem to Steam mini-institute for K-12 educators, Amy Leidtke.

• Biodesign Workshop Series - RISD/Brown Steam Club.

Northern Lined Seahorse, native to Narragansett Bay

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