ELiSE—An Integrated, Holistic Bionic Approach to Develop Optimized Lightweight Solutions for Engineering, Architecture and Design

Abstract

It is generally acknowledged that living organisms have developed powerful solutions for the challenges posed by environmental factors. These solutions are often more efficient than comparable technical solutions, as they are optimized by an evolutionary process (which takes millions of years) and elegantly integrate diverse functions in a single structure. In the case of stable lightweight constructions, such principles can be found among the exoskeletons of diatoms and radiolarians, which are the most prominent components among unicellular planktonic organisms.