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