Bionic Partition (Slime Mold Growth) | Nature–Design Triennial
Channel: Cooper Hewitt
Date: 02/07/2019

On view in "Nature–Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial" through January 2020.

Two nature-informed algorithms underlie the design and manufacturing of an essential airplane part: the partition separating the cabin from the galley. One mimics the growth of slime mold, an organism that efficiently connects disparate points; the other replicates the growth properties of mammal bones by removing mass where strength is not needed. The resulting partition is lightweight, strong, and made with very little waste.

This video is audio described to make it more accessible.

Produced by Toshi Nakagaki; Courtesy of Toshi Nakagaki

Bastian Schaefer (German, born 1980), Airbus (Leiden, Netherlands, founded 1970); David Benjamin (American, born 1974), The Living (New York, New York, USA, founded 2008); Autodesk (San Rafael, California, USA, founded 1982) and AP Works (Taufkirchen, Germany, founded 2013)