In Wild Design, environmental designer and scientist Alan Marshall
presents a manifesto on nature-inspired designs, including visionary
concepts as well as exhibits of actual products, landscapes, and artwork
from around the world. With elegant photographs and drawings, the book
incorporates the ethos of sustainability by documenting many of the
results of the Ecomimicry Project, an international experiment in
ecodesign that marries the skills of local artists and ecologists from
Western Australia and the Carpathian mountains in Eastern Europe.
All the designs treat nature as an inspiration for ecofriendly
innovations. Among the fascinating possibilities: a bike helmet based on
the crustacean exoskeleton, a heliotropic house, and a car fueled by
algae. Marshall argues that design should be the responsibility of all,
not just a technological elite, and it is in this spirit that he offers
this timely, important book.