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Biomorphic 
Structures:
 Architecture Inspired by Nature
ASTERIOS AGKATHIDIS
L AURENCE KING PUBLISHING
Published in 2017 by
Laurence King Publishing Ltd
361–373 City Road
London EC1V 1LR
United Kingdom
email: enquiries@laurenceking.com
www.laurenceking.com
© text 2017 Asterios Agkathidis
Asterios Agkathidis has asserted his right 
under the Copyright, Designs, 
and Patents Act 1988 to be identified 
as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this 
publication may be reproduced or 
transmitted in any form or by any means, 
electronic or mechanical, including 
photocopying, recording or any information 
storage or retrieval system, without 
permission from the publisher.
A catalogue record for this book 
is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978 1 78067 301 1
Original concept design by & SMITH
Layout design by the Urban Ant
Cover design by Pentagram
Printed in China
1.0 
BIOMORPHIC DESIGN 
1.1 Introduction and terminology ........ 8
1.2 A historical review: from Art Nouveau 
 to algorithmic design ................12
1.3 The approach of this book ........... 22
2.0 
WATER, EARTH AND GEOLOGICAL 
FORMATIONS
2.1 Hill and valley ............................ 26
2.2 Influx ........................................ 40
2.3 Caves and erosion ...................... 48
2.4 Liquid contours .......................... 58
3.0
PLANTS AND BRANCHING 
SYSTEMS 
3.1 Branched blocks ........................ 70
3.2 Tree-structure canopy ................. 80
3.3 Callipod .................................... 90
3.4 Rose pavilion ............................. 98
4.0 
ANIMAL STRUCTURES 
AND PROPERTIES
4.1 Gradient transparency ...............108
4.2 Snakeskin ................................. 114
4.3 Bird’s nest ................................124
4.4 Error as optimization ..................130
4.5 Dream vaults .............................142
5.0
CONCLUSION
Index ...............................................154
Bibliography ....................................156
Credits ............................................158
Acknowledgements ..........................160
CONTENTS
BIOMORPHIC 
DESIGN
1
8 9B I O M O R P H I C D E S I G N I N T R O D U C T I O N A N D T E R M I N O L O G Y
INTRODUCTION AND 
TERMINOLOGY
The concept of ‘biomorphism’ came originally from 
Goethe, although the term itself was first introduced by 
the British poet and writer Geoffrey Grigson in 1935, 
in reference to the work of the sculptor Henry Moore 
(Kosinski 2001). Derived from the Greek words βίος (life, 
living) and μορφή (form), it described a creative synthesis 
bridging the gap between Surrealism and abstract art, 
and it has been associated ever since with fluid, organic 
shapes in art, architecture and design. In architecture in 
particular, the term is often used to describe forms and 
patterns inspired by nature. 
The theory of organicism promotes harmony between 
architecture and nature to the point where form and natural 
context merge into one. Key proponents have included 
Imre Makovecz (Kuhlmann 1998) and Frank Lloyd Wright, 
who, as Aldersey-Williams (2003) points out, took the 
approach to new heights. Even though organicism and 
biomorphism are related (and are often used – incorrectly 
– synonymously), there are significant differences between 
them. Organic architecture, as Wright himself defined it, 
does not necessarily resemble natural forms, but rather 
relates to materiality and integration into a natural context.
The term ‘bionics’ – combining ‘biology’ and ‘technics’, 
or ‘electronics’ – was invented by US Air Force colonel Jack 
Figure 01: Golden ratio 
diagram
Figure 02: The 
Parthenon of Athens
E. Steele and presented at a 1960 ‘Bionics Symposium’, 
entitled ‘Living Prototypes – The Key to New Technology’ 
(Nachtigall 2005). Aiming to inform engineering and 
technology with knowledge and aspects of performance 
as they have evolved in nature, bionic design can be 
seen as an aspect of biomorphism. However, bionic, 
or biomimetic, architecture implies not only the form-
related aspects of mimicry, but the inherent qualities of 
construction as well (Gruber 2011). Gruber also points out 
that Frei Otto’s research studies on membrane surfaces, 
and Buckminster Fuller’s tessellation techniques for 
dome geometry, were most probably the first attempts 
to integrate bionics into architectural design. It is in the 
last ten years – by incorporating emerging technologies 
and tools, such as parametric, algorithmic and generative 
design methods – that architects and engineers claim 
to have moved beyond a mimicry of geometry and 
order, and into enhancing environmental, structural and 
material performance by learning from the mechanisms 
and properties found in nature. New terms such as 
zoomorphism, geomorphism and anthropomorphism 
have arisen in order to specify the particular source of 
inspiration or mimicry in each case (in these instances, 
animals, geology and humans, respectively).
Even though the concepts of biomorphism, organicism 
and bionics appeared in the twentieth century, nature has 
10 11B I O M O R P H I C D E S I G N I N T R O D U C T I O N A N D T E R M I N O L O G Y
always been a model for artists and architects. Looking 
back to the origins of Western architecture, such as the 
design of ancient Greek temples, nature has always 
played an important role, not only influencing shape and 
appearance, but also defining proportions and structure. 
The golden ratio, for instance (figure 01) – as discovered 
by the ancient Greek mathematician Pythagoras, and later 
described by Vitruvius in his Ten Books of Architecture 
(reprinted 1998) – is the form-giving algorithm that occurs 
in spiral structures such as snail shells and flower heads, 
and has been used to establish the proportions of many 
man-made structures, such as the Parthenon (figure 
02). The Erechtheion, nearby on the Acropolis (figure 
03), incorporates human-esque shapes as structural 
columns. Thus, nature, architecture, art, engineering and 
mathematics are at once embodied in a single work: the 
caryatid statue. Similar attempts to incorporate nature-
inspired components into architecture appear in the 
capitals of the Ionian and Corinthian orders (figure 04), as 
well as capitals dating back to ancient Egypt (figure 05) 
and Mesopotamia (Stevenson Smith 1999).
In studying the golden ratio, Vitruvius developed the 
notion of the so-called Vitruvian Man (figure 06) – 
illustrated many centuries later by Leonardo da Vinci 
(Feuerstein 2002) – or ideally proportioned human 
body, principles that Vitruvius believed also related 
to architecture. Then, in the twentieth century, Le 
Corbusier’s exploration of the golden ratio and the 
proportions of the human body inspired his ‘Modulor’ 
measurement system (Le Corbusier, reprinted 2000), 
which he applied to many of his designs, including the 
Unité d’Habitation in Marseilles, and the Notre Dame du 
Haut Chapel in Ronchamp.
Numerous other attempts to incorporate nature into 
design and architecture have been made, dating back 
to ancient times, and occurring in almost all architectural 
movements, beginning with early traditional architecture 
around the world, followed by such examples as Arabic 
ornamentation, the architects and designers of the Art 
Nouveau and Art Deco periods, the work of Antoni 
Gaudí at the beginning of the twentieth century, that of 
Oscar Niemeyer and Frei Otto in the 1950s and ’60s, and 
continuing with the structures being built by Santiago 
Calatrava and Norman Foster in the twenty-first century.
Figure 03: Caryatid 
statues, Erechteion of 
Athens
Figure 06: Vitruvian Man
Figure 04: Corinthian 
capital, temple of 
BacChus, BaLlbek, 
Lebanon
Figure 05: Egyptian 
capital
22 23B I O M O R P H I C D E S I G N T H E A P P R O A C H O F T H I S B O O K
1.3 / THE APPROACH OF 
THIS BOOK
This book investigates a range of contemporary 
biomorphic techniquesby looking at 13 case studies, 
which demonstrate approaches and methods practised 
by academic institutions and professional architects. 
Some of these case studies were developed as projects 
by undergraduate students at the University of Liverpool, 
carried out at Studio 04, a research-led unit run by the 
author. Studio 04 is one of five graduate-year design 
studios at the Liverpool School of Architecture, consisting 
of approximately 60 international students. The studio 
encourages the use of digital design and fabrication 
tools, as well as physical modelling and drafting 
techniques, and the cohort size is large enough to 
provide representative outputs and results.
Other case studies were developed at the Architectural 
Association (AA) Visiting School – a three-week-
long design and fabrication workshop, open to 
undergraduates, graduates and young professionals – or 
in a PhD research framework at schools like the Bartlett, 
the National Technical University (NTU) of Athens and the 
Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich. 
Continuing with the design method introduced in 
Generative Design (Agkathidis 2016), these case studies 
are examined in terms of three main design phases: 
their starting point (Analysis), their morphogenetic 
methodology (Morphogenesis) and their potential 
for transformation into architectural solutions 
(Metamorphosis). The objective was to answer the 
following questions in particular:
Which of the different approaches to biomorphic design 
have been applied?
How can biomorphic design methodology be integrated 
into architectural education?
What is the potential for design innovation offered by 
biomorphic methods?
The case studies are presented in three chapters, 
according to their starting point – Water, Earth and 
Geological Formations; Plants and Branching Systems; 
and Animal Structures and Properties – and combined 
they offer an assessment of the approaches and 
possibilities of biomorphic design today, while also 
highlighting the potential of its application in architectural 
education and practice.