![exterior of a biomimetic shell](https://interiordesign.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Interior-Design1-livMatS-Biomimetic-Shell-Germany-idx240201_ctrf07-1024x546.jpg)
A Sea Creature Informs the Design of This Biomimetic Pavilion
An urchin inspired a resource-efficient biomimetic pavilion in Freiburg, a joint effort between two German universities using new forms of human-machine interaction.
![an early diagram shows the sea urchin–inspired livMatS Biomimetic Shell, a pavilion at Germany’s FIT Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies](https://interiordesign.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Interior-Design-livMatS-Biomimetic-Shell-Germany-idx240201_ctrf01-1024x576.jpg)
Made with Rhinoceros, Grasshopper, and Sofistik software, an early diagram shows the sea urchin–inspired livMatS Biomimetic Shell, a pavilion at Germany’s FIT Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, a collaboration between the University of Freiburg’s Cluster of Excellence Living, Adaptive, and Energy-Autonomous Materials Systems and the University of Stuttgart’s Cluster of Excellence Integrative Computational Design and Construction of Architecture, two research groups co-investigating construction techniques that reduce environmental impact.
![the formation of the modules for a sea-urchin inspired shell](https://interiordesign.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Interior-Design-livMatS-Biomimetic-Shell-Germany-idx240201_ctrf02-1024x576.jpg)
The hollow modules forming the structure were prefabricated in a Blaustein factory using new forms of robotic manufacturing that are more efficient than conventional wood construction.
![workers using AR headsets and a robot to build modules for an exhibition](https://interiordesign.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Interior-Design-livMatS-Biomimetic-Shell-Germany-idx240201_ctrf03-1024x576.jpg)
To form the modules, workers used AR headsets and a seven-axis robot that sandwiched together milled spruce panels, insulation boards, waterproofing membranes, lighting and acoustic elements, and larch cover plates.
![a robotic spider crane with a vacuum gripper lifts the modules of a research pavilion](https://interiordesign.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Interior-Design-livMatS-Biomimetic-Shell-Germany-idx240201_ctrf04-1024x683.jpg)
On-site, a robotic spider crane with a vacuum gripper lifted the modules, which measure 52 by 54 feet, while a second screwed them in place.
![a person holds biobased hygroscopic materials to be used in a pavilion's glass clerestory](https://interiordesign.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Interior-Design-livMatS-Biomimetic-Shell-Germany-idx240201_ctrf05-1024x576.jpg)
![the pavilion’s glass clerestory](https://interiordesign.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Interior-Design-livMatS-Biomimetic-Shell-Germany-idx240201_ctrf06-1024x576.jpg)
Biobased hygroscopic materials are incorporated into the pavilion’s glass clerestory, a weather-responsive shade system that was modeled on the moisture-controlled opening and closing of pine cones.
The Stats Behind the Making of the livMatS Biomimetic Shell
- Dozens of students, researchers, and engineers led by professors Jan Knippers and Achim Menges
- 2,152 square feet of floor
- 127 prefabricated wood modules
- 10+ years of sea-urchin research
![prefabricated modules inspired by the plate skeleton of the sea urchin with integrated LEDs](https://interiordesign.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Interior-Design-livMatS-Biomimetic-Shell-Germany-idx240201_ctrf08-768x1024.jpg)
The curved geometries of the prefabricated modules are inspired by the plate skeleton of the sea urchin and integrate LEDs.
![The interior of livMatS Biomimetic Shell, which is 33 feet high and being used as a space for free thinking](https://interiordesign.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Interior-Design-livMatS-Biomimetic-Shell-Germany-idx240201_ctrf09-1024x768.jpg)
The interior of livMatS Biomimetic Shell, which is 33 feet high and being used as a space for free thinking, has a thermally activated floor slab of recycled concrete, making it comfortable year-round without additional heating or cooling.
![the exterior of the livMatS Biomimetic Shell, a pavilion at Germany’s FIT Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies](https://interiordesign.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Interior-Design-livMatS-Biomimetic-Shell-Germany-idx240201_ctrf07-1024x768.jpg)
Compared to a typical timber building, the pavilion’s material consumption was reduced by more than half.
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