The Built Environment reimagined: What trees can teach us about design

Everything humans build, from homes and cities to vehicles and bridges, comes from the Earth. Yet, our construction methods often extract far more than they give back. What if, instead, our Built Environment mirrored the intelligence of natural systems, where nothing is wasted and every form serves a purpose?

That question guided a recent AskNature Hive conversation hosted by the Biomimicry Institute, featuring Andrés Mitnik, CEO and Co-founder of Strong by Form. His Chilean-based company is pioneering wood-based composites that mimic how trees grow, combining nature’s design principles with cutting-edge engineering to create lightweight, low-carbon materials for buildings, furniture, and even vehicles.

“Trees are amazing structures, and they are super optimized. They consume as little resources they can, but  create something that is as stiff and as strong as possible.”

Learning from trees: Materials that do more with less

Strong by Form’s breakthrough material, Woodflow®, mimics how trees grow and distribute stress through their structure. Using digital modeling and robotic forming, the team creates three-dimensional wood composites that are 90% natural material yet rival steel in performance per unit of weight.

Each design is guided by two key lessons from the forest. The first is shape. Trees rarely grow in straight lines because curvature increases strength without adding mass. “You’ll never see a straight line in a tree,” Mitnik explained. 

The second lesson is direction. Fibers in a tree follow the flow of stress, ensuring that every part of the trunk serves a purpose. Strong by Form’s software mirrors this process, mapping the flow of forces and aligning wood fibers accordingly.

The result is a thin yet powerful composite that can replace carbon-intensive materials in buildings, furniture, vehicles, and infrastructure. One of the company’s recent projects, a canopy for a train station in Berlin, was modeled after the ribs of tropical leaves. The installation demonstrates how natural geometry can span long distances using very little material.

Woodflow shows that wood is not a relic of the past but a frontier for the future. By rethinking how we use natural materials, we can create structures that are not only lighter and stronger but also designed to endure.

Collaboration as a design principle

For Mitnik, the success of Strong by Form depends on collaboration. “We’re in the world of the Built Environment, and trying to contribute to make the green environment better isn’t a silver bullet,” he said. “It's going to need a combination of multiple entities and multiple people working together.”

The company’s work involves partnerships with scientists, engineers, and architects across multiple countries. Collaborators include the Fraunhofer research institution, BMW, and Vinci, one of the world’s largest construction firms. Each partner brings specific expertise, from material chemistry to fire safety, helping ensure that new technologies can be safely scaled and adopted.

This collaborative mindset mirrors how ecosystems function. Forests thrive through interconnectedness: trees share nutrients, fungi communicate underground, and diversity strengthens the whole system. The same pattern applies to innovation. When designers, scientists, and community leaders work together, solutions multiply.

Mitnik also credits his Latin American roots with shaping the company’s values. “We have few resources,” he said, “but that limitation pushes us to be creative and to stay connected to nature.” In regions like the Andes, where Pachamama, Mother Earth, is deeply woven into daily life, sustainability is not a concept but a practice. That lived connection to the natural world drives much of Strong by Form’s ingenuity and sense of purpose.

The AskNature Hive: Where ideas evolve

The conversation with Andrés Mitnik took place as part of the AskNature Hive, an initiative of the Biomimicry Institute that brings together scientists, innovators, educators, and everyday people to explore how nature can guide innovation.

Through this global community, the Institute fosters the kind of cross-disciplinary dialogue that sparks new ideas like those behind Strong by Form’s wood-based composites. Each Hive event focuses on a theme that connects biology with real-world problem-solving, from sustainable materials and climate adaptation to water stewardship and urban design.

Members join live talks, book discussions, and collaborative “social swarms” that encourage creative exchange. A forest ecologist might inspire an architect to rethink the shape of a roof, or a product designer might apply insights from coral reefs to improve city water systems.

In the Hive, learning from nature is not just a metaphor. It is a shared practice that connects living systems thinking to the way we design, build, and care for the world around us. Conversations like the one with Mitnik demonstrate how innovation flourishes when we look to nature as both teacher and collaborator.

Building a future that works with the Earth

The Built Environment is part of the One Earth Solutions Framework, a science-based roadmap that outlines more than 75 solution pathways for transforming our world through three pillars of action: Energy Transition, Nature Conservation, and Regenerative Agriculture.

Built Environment focuses on creating spaces that are energy-efficient, low-carbon, and restorative to both people and the planet. This includes using bio-based materials like responsibly sourced wood, bamboo, or hemp; planning compact, connected cities that reduce energy demand; and promoting urban design that mimics natural ecosystems.

A bioregional approach is key. Every landscape has unique ecological and cultural conditions that can guide sustainable design. When local materials, traditional knowledge, and renewable energy come together, cities can thrive within their natural limits rather than beyond them. Projects like Strong by Form’s Woodflow® exemplify this thinking, bridging technology and ecology to reshape how we build.

Learning from nature, together

In early 2026, Justin Winters, One Earth’s Co-Founder and Executive Director, will join the AskNature Hive for a conversation on scaling equitable climate solutions across bioregions. The event will continue the dialogue between One Earth and the Biomimicry Institute, exploring how collaboration across science, design, and local action can accelerate progress toward a thriving planet.

At its heart, this partnership reflects a shared belief: the solutions we need already exist in nature. By listening closely and learning from the living systems around us, we can build cities, communities, and economies that sustain life rather than deplete it.

The future of the Built Environment will not be defined by what we extract, but by how we work together, with each other, and with the natural world that makes all life possible.

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