Materials design inspired by nature : function through inner architecture The inner architecture of a material can have an astonishing effect on its overall properties and is vital to understand when designing new materials. Nature is a master at designing hierarchical structures and so researchers are looking at biological examples for inspiration specifically to understand how nature arranges the inner architectures for a particular function in order to apply these design principles into man made materials. Materials Design Inspired by Nature is the first book to address the relationship between the inner architecture of natural materials and their physical prope