We don't ask how a paper wasp nest can have the same insulating value as 16 inches of solid masonry wall and be a thousand times lighter. Well, we have to ask these kind of questions, find the answers and then apply this information to our own buildings. I find ways of applying nature's principles to create new kinds of building materials and new, more sensible, more imaginative buildings. Sometimes I start by deciding what it is I want to achieve and then start calling manufactures, contractors and fabricators to locate a material. Usually within six to ten calls the material is found.
New materials lead to new possibilities in creating architecture.
The material was Polygal. It's made in Wisconsin, is UV treated so it doesn't break down in sunlight and gives off an incredibly beautiful shimmering effect. You cannot evolve, you cannot originate ideas in design if you do not apply yourself to research. And we had better start understanding the intelligence, wisdom and imagination within nature in order to have solutions to very desperate and dangerous problems that are plaguing human beings all over the world. It is comprehending and seeing the tremendous beauty and intelligence in a blade of grass.