With the onward march of science and technology, and the continuing quest for improvement, there is a growing curiosity about the world around us. Close examination of structures in nature can be rewarding and surprising. Nature has shown an extraordinary capacity to develop dynamic structures and systems over many millions of years and there is still much to be learnt.

Aimed at providing researchers in this subject with fresh impetus and inspiration, this book consists of papers presented at the First International Conference on Design and Nature. The contributions reflect the rich variety of work currently taking place around the world and cover topics within shape and form in engineering and nature, solutions from nature, design and sustainability studies, nature and architectural design, mechanics and thermodynamics in nature, biomimetics and materials, and vision in science and nature.