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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. 4
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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.
5.
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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