Look beyond appearances.
Nature-inspired design begins with understanding how a biological system works. We are interested in the mechanisms behind adaptation, and how those principles might inform buildings and materials.
Back to Biomimicry NZ
A meeting point for disciplines.
Biological knowledge. Architectural enquiry.
A shared ambition for buildings that respond.
About Biomimicry NZ
About Biomimicry New Zealand
Learning from life.
Designing for change.
Biomimicry New Zealand brings people and ideas together around a question: what can the living world teach us about the built environment?
Our focus is the connection between biological strategies and building performance. How organisms regulate heat, manage moisture and respond to their surroundings offers starting points for architectural research, materials development and design.
We want to make those connections useful: opening conversations between researchers and practitioners, sharing knowledge across disciplines, and encouraging work that can be questioned, tested and developed together.
Our approach
From observation
to shared enquiry.
Connecting the question,
the evidence and the people.
Ask what works.
Promising ideas need evidence. Energy use, occupant comfort, durability and construction constraints all matter when considering whether a concept can move from an experiment into a building.
Keep knowledge moving.
Publications, research conversations and education make ideas available for others to build on. We welcome students, researchers and practitioners who want to contribute questions, findings or experience.
Research in context / Biomimetic Buildings
Façades that respond.
Research that connects.
The Biomimetic Buildings project explores how building façades can adapt to changing conditions while supporting energy efficiency and occupant comfort.
Its research brings together AI-controlled shading and 3D printing with plant-inspired materials that change shape in response to their environment. The team is investigating both motorised systems at building scale and responsive material structures made through 4D printing.
A central challenge is understanding how these systems perform beyond a simulation. The programme connects biological research, materials science, building simulation and construction expertise to develop and evaluate adaptive façade prototypes.
The project brings together researchers from Bodeker Scientific, the University of Canterbury and the Bioeconomy Science Institute’s Scion group, alongside industry and international contributors.
Awarded in 2025: MBIE Endeavour Fund / Smart Ideas, $999,999 over three years. Funding recipient: Bodeker Scientific. Principal investigator: Dr Negin Imani.
Origins & an open invitation
An idea to build on.
Biomimicry New Zealand was founded in 2017 by Dr Negin Imani to support research, education and collaboration in nature-inspired building design. That purpose extends an invitation to people across disciplines: help shape the questions and contribute to what comes next.