Nature Lab: Crossroad for Artistic and Scientific Inquiry
Since 1937 the Edna Lawrence Nature Lab at Rhode Island School of Design has supported faculty and students inspired by the patterns, forms, and structures found in the natural world. Housing a lending library of more than 80,000 specimens, the Nature Lab has historically served as a portal to the sciences for the RISD community through object-based inquiry. It hosts science courses offered by liberal arts faculty, offers mentoring on microscopy instruments and geographic information systems, and provides access to specialized equipment such as micro-imaging and high-speed cameras.
Today the Nature Lab is increasingly called on to connect scientists with artists and designers who share common interests around the visualization and representation of the data and processes of science, as well as to support emerging areas of evidence-based art and design studies, including biomimetics and biophilic design. In doing so, it is evolving as a conduit between the art, design, and science communities. This presentation will highlight the ways in which a science resource center, embedded within an art and design school and grounded in natural history, is exploring how the voices, perspectives, and methodologies of artists and designers can potentially integrate with and expand upon traditional scientific approaches to research, communicating discovery, and solving complex problems.
Director, Nature Lab
Rhode Island School of Design
Neal Overstrom is a biologist, designer, educator, and the director of the Nature Lab at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). His work has focused on promoting environmental literacy through informal learning experiences. Prior to coming to RISD he held senior posts for exhibit development and zoological management at the Mystic Aquarium and was a design associate with Kent+Frost Landscape Architecture. He earned a BS degree in biology from the University of Connecticut, an MA in zoology from Connecticut College, and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In 2009 he was named the University of Massachusetts Olmsted Scholar, exploring the intersection of living systems, technology, and aesthetics in designing for sustainability. His current interests involve investigating biological influences on design, particularly the ways in which pattern, form, and living elements in the built environment can reinforce the human-nature connection.
