Biomimicry, the new buzzword
Lucknow: Every morning, going to work at Teams Design excited about what new learning and experience the day will hold. A childhood dream which became a passion at DJ academy of design where I explored different materials and honed my skills. Moved to the iconic School of Art- Institute of Chicago which gave me a global perspective. Now I have the opportunity to be my creative self and make new products that are user-centric, eco friendly and sustainable.
Biomimicry is a design approach that takes inspiration from nature to search for solutions or solve problems. To design creative products that are sustainable and efficient. It can be applied to many fields like engineering, furniture, architecture, product design and material science. For example the Wright brothers took inspiration and learnings from the flight of birds to make the first airplanes.
Dhool is a project that has evolved multiple times to reach where it is now. The word Dhool means “Dust” in Hindi, I wanted to create a product that uses dust to be a key element of the product. It all started as I explored materials and how wasteful we are. So this sparked an idea to use 100% of the material used to be a part of the product while it initiates conversation on dust and material wastage.
Taking inspiration from tornadoes and how they are formed due to change in wind currents and how human interaction has increased its occurrence. Deforestation is one of the major factors causing tornadoes due to loosening of topsoil and increase of wind speeds. Taking all these factors in mind, Vasisht Rajani created “Dhool” which is a side table product that uses the process of updrafts of airflow to mimic tornadoes. It is a product that is artistic and a conversation starter, as its aim was to initiate conversation on how human beings interact with nature and how it affects our lives a lot more than we realize. Vasisht’s focus on product waste and product afterlife helped in creating this sustainable artistic piece by aiming to give the dust a second chance by reusing wood dust and shavings as the main ingredient in creating Dhool.
Dhool is a product that focuses on change and development of materiality. It initiates thoughts on sustainability and safer ways to use natural limited resources more sparingly and not waste any resources that mother earth lends us.
