Learning from Plants: Aeronautics
Plants have evolved a multitude of ways for the airborne dispersal of their descendants, sending them out as fluffy clouds, in winged vessels, propelling husks, or catapulting them away from the mother plant with intricate mechanisms.
In this class we will look at the flight technology of plants to think up and build practical and imaginary structures for air travel, wind powered flying apparatuses, catapulting machines, pollen based mailing systems, floating leaf garments…
Starting with a tour at the Stuttgart Natural History Museum’s Herbarium to study archived plant specimen that feature flight technology, we will take-off in the end with plant inspired flying models at a launch-pickinick on a hang gliding airport.
With students of the Department of Integral Studies at Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design, campus Waiblingen.
Year:
2012
