how design is inspired by nature to surpass it

What does mimesis mean, this Platonic concept applied to living design, the title of a river exhibition at the Center Pompidou-Metz? Art is imitation of nature. And modern design has extended, even exceeded, this definition, to arrive at a co-creation with the living. Digital technologies at the turn of the 21st century^e century, opened the way to a dynamic transformation of forms, according to the principles of growth of nature, to create objects in the manner of living organisms. And research on biomaterials made from biological organisms (algae or mushroom mycelium) has given rise to durable and biodegradable objects, alternatives that are required with climate change.

The exhibition makes the big difference between generations, currents and countries. We start from the pioneers: in 1920, the Finn Alvar Aalto explores the relationship between humans and nature, with his bent and glued wooden furniture. In 1930, the Frenchwoman Charlotte Perriand collected…