Skip to main content
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

The plastid skeleton: a source of ideas in the nano range

  • , , , and
Become an author with De Gruyter Brill
Explore this Subject How to publish with us
Biomimetics for Architecture
This chapter is in the book Biomimetics for Architecture

Abstract

All life on earth relies on the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy through the process of photosynthesis, in which the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed and oxygen (O2) is released. The green parts of plants are capable of performing this reaction. This is where we find chlorophyll, the green pigment that captures sunlight. Chlorophyll and all components of the conversion process do not exist freely in the plant cells, but are located in certain “reaction spaces,” the chloroplasts. These are part of what are called organelles, small reaction spaces within the cell that are separated from other cell components by a double membrane of lipids and proteins.

Abstract

All life on earth relies on the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy through the process of photosynthesis, in which the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed and oxygen (O2) is released. The green parts of plants are capable of performing this reaction. This is where we find chlorophyll, the green pigment that captures sunlight. Chlorophyll and all components of the conversion process do not exist freely in the plant cells, but are located in certain “reaction spaces,” the chloroplasts. These are part of what are called organelles, small reaction spaces within the cell that are separated from other cell components by a double membrane of lipids and proteins.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter 1
  2. Contents 5
  3. Preface 6
  4. Why biomimetics? 8
  5. Everything Moves
  6. Introduction 12
  7. Plants In Action 14
  8. Movement Without Joints: (How) Does It Work? 22
  9. No Joint Ailments: How Plants Move And Inspire Technology 32
  10. From Pure Research To Biomimetic Products: The Flectofold Facade Shading Device 42
  11. Lightweight Versatility: Structure Instead Of Mass
  12. Introduction 52
  13. Reliably Withstanding High Loads 54
  14. Freezing: The Right Way 74
  15. Nature As Source Of Ideas For Modern Manufacturing Methods 84
  16. Rosenstein Pavilion: a lightweight concrete shell based on principles of biological structures 92
  17. Elegance And Lightness: Bio-Inspired Domes
  18. Introduction 102
  19. Building principles and structural design of sea urchins: examples of bio-inspired constructions 104
  20. Potential applications of segmented shells in architecture 116
  21. Snails as living 3D printers: free forms for the architecture of tomorrow 126
  22. Evolutive approaches to explorative design methods in architecture 134
  23. Branched Load Support Systems
  24. Introduction 142
  25. From plant branchings to technical support structures 144
  26. New branched loadbearing structures in architecture 153
  27. The plastid skeleton: a source of ideas in the nano range 163
  28. Abstracting instead of copying: in search of the formula for success 167
  29. Functionalist, organic, and biomimetic architecture 172
  30. The biomimetic promise 180
  31. Appendix 188
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783035617917-021

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter 1
  2. Contents 5
  3. Preface 6
  4. Why biomimetics? 8
  5. Everything Moves
  6. Introduction 12
  7. Plants In Action 14
  8. Movement Without Joints: (How) Does It Work? 22
  9. No Joint Ailments: How Plants Move And Inspire Technology 32
  10. From Pure Research To Biomimetic Products: The Flectofold Facade Shading Device 42
  11. Lightweight Versatility: Structure Instead Of Mass
  12. Introduction 52
  13. Reliably Withstanding High Loads 54
  14. Freezing: The Right Way 74
  15. Nature As Source Of Ideas For Modern Manufacturing Methods 84
  16. Rosenstein Pavilion: a lightweight concrete shell based on principles of biological structures 92
  17. Elegance And Lightness: Bio-Inspired Domes
  18. Introduction 102
  19. Building principles and structural design of sea urchins: examples of bio-inspired constructions 104
  20. Potential applications of segmented shells in architecture 116
  21. Snails as living 3D printers: free forms for the architecture of tomorrow 126
  22. Evolutive approaches to explorative design methods in architecture 134
  23. Branched Load Support Systems
  24. Introduction 142
  25. From plant branchings to technical support structures 144
  26. New branched loadbearing structures in architecture 153
  27. The plastid skeleton: a source of ideas in the nano range 163
  28. Abstracting instead of copying: in search of the formula for success 167
  29. Functionalist, organic, and biomimetic architecture 172
  30. The biomimetic promise 180
  31. Appendix 188
Downloaded on 7.5.2026 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783035617917-021/html?lang=en
Scroll to top button