Architects, engineers, and other researchers and practitioners in a number of fields explore how design reflects or is inspired by natural structures. The 53 papers consider such topics as
structural morphology and self-organization, characteristic equations with solutions that contain nature's golden ratio, analyzing the stability of slopes reinforced by roots, a case study from
Taiwan demonstrating rainwater retention capacity of green roofs in subtropical monsoonal climatic regions, the material design of a biomimetic composite material used for a wooden building
joint structure, electroactive polymer artificial muscles, the comparative analysis of technological and biological functions targeting energy efficient facade systems, invaders decreasing the
structural complexity of the indigenous community of Chozas Lake, archetypes of art and concepts of science as pathways from natural to engineering design, and natural and artificial helical
structures. The US office of WIT Press is Computational Mechanics. Annotation 穢2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
