Glow-in-the-dark trees could replace street lights says Daan Roosegaarde
Channel: Dezeen
Date: 2014-04-23

In this movie, filmed at SXSW in Austin, Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde explains how he is exploring ways of using bio-luminescent bacteria found in jellyfish and mushrooms to create glow-in-the-dark trees that could replace street lights.

"In the last year I really became fond of biomimicry. What can we learn from nature and apply to the built environment, to roads, to public spaces, to our urban landscape?" asks Roosegaarde.

Biomimicry is the method of imitating models and systems found in nature to solve complex design issues. One of the biological phenomena that fascinated Roosegaarde was how animals like jellyfish and fireflies generate their own light.

Studio Roosegaarde are working on a project to use a collection of these for street lighting. "When a jellyfish is deep, deep underwater it creates its own light," he says. "It does not have a battery or a solar panel or an energy bill. It does it completely autonomously. What can we learn from that?"

Read more on Dezeen: www.dezeen.com/2014/03/24/movie-sxsw-daan-roosegarde-glow-in-dark-trees/

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