6-Week Course

The Built World - Single Session (Design Inspired by Nature)

Hygge at Clifton Bay

Hawkes Bay

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25 Feb 2027, 10:00am–12:00pm

Thursday, 10:00am to 12:00pm

$85 per person

You are invited to enjoy a lively session with Mazin Bahho, Design Inspired by Nature.

Design Inspired by Nature (Biomimicry) is a design approach that emulates the strategies and solutions found in nature to solve human problems. The idea behind this strategy is that nature has already solved many of the problems we face, and we can learn from it to create better solutions for us. It is not just about copying nature, but about understanding the underlying principles behind the methods and solutions found in nature.

This presentation looks at design inspirations by nature and provides examples that explain the underlying concepts. It discusses these topics:.

Analysing natural forms that have inspired design concepts.
Design looking for biology.
Biology influencing design
A framework for understanding levels of natural inspirations:

Organism level

Behaviour level

Ecosystem level

A biomimetic approach to design and architecture could become a vehicle for creating an environment that goes beyond simply sustaining current conditions to become a restorative practice where the human environment becomes a vital component in the integration with and regeneration of natural ecosystems.

Date: Thursday 25 th February

Time & format: The course will start at 10am, with a coffee and tea break followed by a lively facilitated discussion to answer all your curious questions. The course will finish at 12pm each week.

About the expert

Mazin Bahho

Mazin Bahho is a retired academic formerly affiliated with IDEAschool at the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT), New Zealand, as a senior lecturer of Design. He completed his PhD Degree in Architecture in 2018 from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

His research is grounded in design education, with particular emphasis on interdisciplinary pedagogy, practice-led inquiry, and community-engaged learning. Identity and sense of place are also paramount to his process, focusing on the significance of history and culture as a way of exploring patterns that can be expressed in the contemporary.

Following his retirement, he remains actively engaged in research and publication, continuing to contribute to scholarly discourse in design education and sustainability.