From July 11 to July 20, Città della Scienza hosts the scientific exhibition “Diatom De-Science Intersections between Design and Science“, dedicated to a very special unicellular alga present in aquatic environments. The exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the Second University of Naples, the Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems (IMM), the National Research Council and Fondazione IDIS-Città della Scienza. During the opening meeting were discussed the results of the scientific research “Photonic and micromechanical properties of diatoms” funded by the Ministry of Education and aimed at investigating the relationship between certain optical, structural and morphological features of diatoms, their biological motivations and the opportunities of biomimicry transfer to design and engineering.
The application of the multidisciplinary methods, tools and languages of biomimicry has in fact offered the opportunity to initiate a new processes of “virtuous cooperation” between science and design components, in order to achieve shared outcomes of common interest that could result in the design of new products aimed at developed companies or emerging scenarios of self-manifacturing.
The exhibition on Diatoms, visited by appointment until July 20, has seen the participation of 30 international artists and designers, creating an evocative experience into the fascinating world of diatoms. The exhibition is also intended as an opportunity for international investigation on the relationships between design and science from the point of view of biomimicry, a discipline that deals with inspiration from principles, logical structures and morphologies observed in nature in order to bring innovation to the development of new products and improving existing ones.
