Designing with Nature

The BIOPIC project represented a significant opportunity to develop and formalise a Design-Driven methodology for bioinspired design, integrating knowledge and tools from five heterogeneous disciplines: design, chemistry, biology, engineering, and agronomy. The project aimed not only to develop sustainable and circular bioinspired solutions but also to experiment with a collaborative model that could make interdisciplinary complexity operational. The methodology, grounded in a Research Through Design approach, positioned design as an epistemic coordinator between Hard and Soft Sciences, enabling a reflective, iterative, and inclusive process. Through tools like the Round Table and ‘Google Form’, the project activated a pragmatic interdisciplinarity that supported the emergence of shared design strategies and a common metalanguage. The outcomes, including Proofs of Concept developed for the Camper, Furniture, and Nautical Sectors, confirmed the feasibility of bioinspired strategies oriented towards sustainability and circularity. While challenges remain - particularly in terms of industrial scalability and integration levels between disciplines - BIOPIC proposes a replicable model for interdisciplinary collaboration in design research. Ultimately, the project reinforces an epistemological perspective of design as a transformative agent that generates new knowledge by mediating between scientific, technological, and cultural domains. It highlights the centrality of design in activating innovation processes grounded in heterogeneous disciplinary collaboration.