Lilian van Daal - Biomimicry Design
Through her biomimetic approach, Lilian van Daal collaborates with scientists and researchers to study, imitate and adapt natural structures.
"When I understood that I could combine design, biology, and environmental responsibility in one practice, it stopped being a question. I knew this was my path."
Drawn to nature from a young age, Lilian was always fascinated by the ways things grow and how biological systems function. Her curiosity about the natural world continued throughout her studies in Industrial Product Design and later during her postgraduate education at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, Netherlands, where she was introduced to the principles of biomimicry. This discovery would go on to shape her design practice.
"The moment I started reading and learning about biomimicry, something clicked. I realised this was the direction I wanted to take and it was a way to bring together my creativity, my love for nature, and my desire to contribute to a healthier planet."
While working part-time as a designer, Lilian became increasingly aware of the waste generated by an industry driven by constantly changing trends and the resulting demand for new products. This led her to question a system in which environmental impact is often embedded from the moment something new is introduced. Rather than continuing within this cycle, biomimicry opened up new possibilities. An approach that looks beyond trends towards the interconnected systems found in nature. These reflections informed her first biomimicry focused project, the Biomimicry 3D Printed Soft Seat.
The project explored how a single-material, 3D-printed structure could offer an alternative to the highly resource intensive, multi material production methods commonly used in upholstered seating.
Drawing on the ways natural structures distribute forces, create softness without added materials, and optimise strength through geometry, the design demonstrates how performance can emerge from form rather than added components. By combining biological principles with emerging manufacturing technologies, the project's aesthetic emerged as a natural outcome of the process rather than a predetermined objective.
Today, the Biomimicry 3D Printed Soft Seat is frequently referenced by educators and lecturers of biomimetic design worldwide as a tangible demonstration of systems-based and sustainable thinking.
Later, through the interior design project for the prominent network of co-working spaces, Silversquare, Lilian began to explore nature not only as a system but also as an aesthetic reference. She developed a co-working space grounded in biophilic design principles.
During her research, she found that the benefits of biophilic design extend beyond direct contact with nature. Showing that simply engaging with natural materials, patterns and structures can positively influence human wellbeing. Eventually influencing how people experience space.
In her co-working project for Silversquare, she redesigned elements like a phone booth, using 3D printing technologies to optimise form and performance. The designer also developed lighting creations inspired by natural structures, aiming to strengthen the user’s sense of connection to nature through spatial experience.
As her understanding of wellbeing deepened, her approach expanded to include both the direct use of natural aesthetics and nature as a conceptual framework, depending on the intent of each project.
Lilian van Daal’s practice sits at the intersection of biomimicry, product design and environmental responsibility. Guided by a curiosity about natural systems, her work explores how nature can inform more efficient and sustainable approaches to design. By integrating emerging technologies with nature-inspired principles, she develops objects and spaces that respond to material limits and ecological considerations. Leading her practice to ultimately point towards a more regenerative approach to design, grounded in systems thinking, material awareness and ecological responsibility.
If you're interested in learning more about Lilian van Daal or exploring a potential collaboration, visit her website to discover upcoming projects, ongoing research and the vision driving her work.
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PROJECT DETAILS
Location: Netherlands
Product Designer: Lilian van Daal
Photography: Martin Jansen, Safe as Studio, Marthe Hoet, Studio Synergy, Fayette Reynolds, Manon van Daal, Lilian van Daal
