Blog

Biomimetic Glass Architecture

 

Following up on a previous post about bird-friendly design – did you know that one of the most high-profile solutions to the problem of birds flying into glass has been inspired directly by nature? Biomimetic glass architecture examines natural phenomena, like the techniques spiders use to keep birds from flying into their webs, in order to forge new best practices in design.

Ornilux Mikado is a Red Dot award-winning ultraviolet coating that directly draws on the expertise of spiders. Created by the German company ArnoldGlas, it was developed in conjunction with the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology and is produced here in the U.S. through a partnership with Glasswerks. NY architect Guy Maxwell has deemed it “the closest thing we have right now to that miracle glass.” The concept was sparked by research that observes how spiders incorporate strands of UV-reflective silk in their webs in order to deter birds from flying into and destroying them. Ornilux Mikado glass similarly incorporates a chaotic pattern of UV-reflective lines, which can be easily seen by birds but are barely visible to the human eye. It reduces bird strikes by 75% and even helps with insulation.

While the solution isn’t wholly perfected yet, I’m increasingly inspired by the field of biomimicry and enjoy mulling how it might influence my own work.