Beetle elytra as role models for lightweight building construction

Being natural lightweight constructions, elytra of beetles constitute promising role models for biomimetic development. In 2014, a multi-disciplinary team led by scientists from the University of Stuttgart constructed a research pavilion in order to evaluate fi ber composites for architecture and to develop fabrication methods for fi ber-reinforced polymer structures. Functional principles of the elytra of the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) and the Green tortoise beetle (Cassida viridis) were analyzed, abstracted and transferred into a modular pavilion. Two collaborating industrial robots were employed to wind 36 individual glass and carbon fi ber-reinforced elements, which were assembled into the fi nal prototype.

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