Page 148 - Biomimetics: Technology Imitates Nature

Biomimetics: Technology Imitates Nature

From the Water Lily to the Crystal Palace

Built for the first World’s Fair in London in 1851, the Crystal Palace
was a technological marvel of glass and iron. Some 35 meters (108 feet)
high and covering an area of approximately 7,500 square meters (18
acres), it featured more than 200,000 panes of glass, each 30 by 120 cen-
timeters (12-by-49 inches) in size.
The Crystal Palace was designed by landscape designer Joseph
Paxton, who drew inspiration from Victoria amazonica, a species of water
lily. Despite its very fragile appearance, this lily possesses huge leaves

that are strong enough for people to stand on.
When Paxton examined these leaves’ undersides, he found they
were supported by fibrous extensions like ribs. Each leaf has radial ribs
stiffened by slender crossribs. Paxton thought these ribs could be dupli-
cated as weight-bearing iron struts, and the leaves themselves as the glass
panes. In this way, he succeeded in constructing a roof made of glass and
iron, which was very light yet still very strong. 98
The water lily begins growing in the mud at the bottom of
Amazonian lakes, but in order to survive, it needs to reach the surface.

The structure of the wa-
ter lily was used when
building the Pan Am
Terminal at New York’s
John F. Kennedy Airport.

The diagram to the left
shows how a roof de-
signed along the lines of a
water lily leaf distributes
the load.

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