Neri Oxman Quotes

Powerful Neri Oxman for Daily Growth

About Neri Oxman

Neri Oxman is a visionary architect, designer, and Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab, where she directs the Mediated Matter Group. She is renowned for her pioneering work in computational design, digital fabrication, and biotechnology. Born in 1978 in Haifa, Israel, Oxman's childhood was filled with a love for nature and science. This fascination with the natural world would later become the foundation for her innovative approach to design. She earned a Bachelor of Architecture at Cornell University and a Master of Architecture in Design Computing at MIT. Oxman's career has been marked by groundbreaking contributions to the field of architecture and design. In 2014, she co-founded The Material Ecology Institute (now part of the Mediated Matter Group), which seeks to develop design strategies that emulate nature's efficiency and sustainability. One of her most notable works is "The Shima Seiki Fabrication Project," a collaboration with a Japanese knitting machine manufacturer, where she explored the possibilities of digital knitting for architectural applications. In 2019, Oxman published "Regenerative Design: A New Lens for Architecture" with co-author Michael Hansmeyer. The book outlines their vision for a design process that mimics nature's regenerative capabilities, using computational tools and digital fabrication techniques. Oxman's influence extends beyond academia. She has been featured in numerous publications, including Wired, Forbes, and The New York Times, and has delivered TED Talks on the future of design and architecture. Her work has also garnered several awards, including the World Technology Award for Arts and Innovation in 2013 and the Design of the Year award from London's Design Museum in 2016. Neri Oxman continues to challenge traditional notions of architecture and design, pushing the boundaries of what is possible through her innovative research and groundbreaking creations.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Nature is our greatest ally."

The quote by Neri Oxman, "Nature is our greatest ally," emphasizes the importance of utilizing nature's designs, principles, and processes as a source of inspiration and innovation for human-made structures, materials, and systems. By studying natural phenomena, we can develop sustainable, efficient, and resilient solutions that work harmoniously with the environment, rather than against it. This perspective encourages biomimicry in design, engineering, and architecture, promoting a more holistic, ecological approach to human creations and fostering a greater appreciation for nature's wisdom and ingenuity.


"Design in nature is not just about aesthetics; it's also about function and sustainability."

This quote by Neri Oxman emphasizes that designs found in nature serve a dual purpose, combining aesthetic appeal with functional efficiency and sustainability. It underscores the importance of considering both practicality and environmental impact when creating designs, suggesting that we should strive to emulate nature's harmonious balance between form and function as a guiding principle for human-made creations.


"The future of design is symbiotic with the natural world."

This quote suggests that the future of design, or the creation of human-made artifacts, should be harmonious and mutually beneficial with nature. It implies a shift towards a more sustainable approach to design where we learn from and mimic nature's principles, rather than exploiting natural resources. This symbiotic relationship aims to create designs that not only meet human needs but also contribute positively to the environment. In essence, it advocates for a holistic approach to design that prioritizes ecological balance and long-term sustainability.


"We need to learn from nature, not just copy it."

The quote emphasizes the importance of learning and understanding the principles that govern natural systems, rather than simply mimicking their appearances or structures. By learning from nature, we can apply those insights to create innovative solutions in fields such as architecture, engineering, design, and technology, while maintaining harmony with our environment. This approach encourages the development of sustainable, efficient, and adaptive designs that are inspired by nature but not limited by it. In essence, the quote suggests that we should leverage the wisdom of nature to solve complex human problems in a way that respects and preserves our planet.


"Nature's algorithms can help us find solutions to some of our most pressing challenges, like climate change and resource scarcity."

This quote suggests that studying and understanding the natural processes and patterns (algorithms) found in nature can provide useful solutions for contemporary issues such as climate change and resource scarcity. In essence, it proposes learning from the efficiency and sustainability of natural systems to design human-made solutions for environmental and resource challenges.


I loathe categorization. I cherish my independence, and I treasure chivalry. I live just fine with ambiguity, and I welcome a good quarrel about all things designed or grown - except for when men misnomer 'confident' with 'poised' and 'passionate' with 'feisty.' I work hard.

- Neri Oxman

Passionate, Confident, About, Feisty

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, hand-production methods were abundant. Craft defined everything. The craftsman had an almost phenomenological knowledge of materials and intuited how to vary their properties according to their structural and environmental characteristics.

- Neri Oxman

Vary, Methods, Almost, Materials

Although I often find that the feminist rhetoric - not feminism - can come across as simple-minded, self-regarding, nuance-averse and reductive - biology to physiology, history to psychology, procreation to gynecology, and so on - I have come to realize that we should all be feminists.

- Neri Oxman

Biology, Often, Physiology, Feminist

There is a very beautiful expression in the Hebrew language that's borrowed from spoken Torah... 'All is predicted, and permission is given at any point to change anything.' I think I live by this idiom in the sense that there is always a goal; there is always something to look forward to in life and my creative search, and that goal is there.

- Neri Oxman

I Think, Very, Hebrew, Torah

Nature is a brilliant engineer and builder. It knows how to create seashells that are twice as strong as the most resistant ceramics human beings can manufacture, and it produces silk fibers five times stronger than steel. Nature also knows how to create multipurpose forms.

- Neri Oxman

Strong, Steel, Fibers, Resistant

I like to think of synthetic biology as liquid alchemy, only instead of transmuting precious metals, you're synthesizing new biological functionality inside very small channels. It's called microfluidics.

- Neri Oxman

Small, Think, New, Metals

Could we design an all-glass building with internal channels and networks for airflow and water circulation? Can we surpass the great modern tradition of discrete formal and functional partitions and generate an all-in-one building skin?

- Neri Oxman

Could, Internal, Functional, Generate

Craft meets the machine in rapid fabrication. We can generate craft with the help of technology.

- Neri Oxman

Help, Machine, Meets, Generate

The second-most abundant biopolymer on the planet is called chitin, and some 100 million tons of it are produced every year by organisms such as shrimps, crabs, scorpions, and butterflies. We thought if we could tune its properties, we could generate structures that are multifunctional out of a single part.

- Neri Oxman

Some, Butterflies, Scorpions, Generate

In the United States alone, 450 billion square feet of glass facade is produced every year. What if we could take this chance to use the glass to harness solar energy and allow the architecture to respond to the light and heat of the sun, to create photosynthesis and generate solar energy?

- Neri Oxman

Heat, Feet, Allow, Generate

In traditional 3D printing, the gantry size poses an obvious limitation for the designer who wishes to print in larger scales and achieve structural and material complexity.

- Neri Oxman

Achieve, Limitation, Larger, Scales

Our facial skins are thin with large pores; our back skins are thicker with small pores. One acts mainly as filter, the other mainly as barrier. And yet, it's the same skin, no parts, no assemblies. It's a system that gradually varies its functionality by varying elasticity.

- Neri Oxman

Small, Other, Elasticity, Thicker

I grew up in a modernist house, in a modernist culture. There was a love for modernism everywhere - the furniture, the books, the food, even the cutlery. So I learned very early to appreciate the value of design and the value of architecture.

- Neri Oxman

Love, Very, Modernist, Modernism

We've managed to motion-track the silkworm's movement as it is building its cocoon. Our aim was to translate the motion-capture data into a 3D printer connected to a robotic arm in order to study the biological structure in larger scales.

- Neri Oxman

Aim, Study, Larger, Arm

In nature, there is no separation between design, engineering, and fabrication; the bone does it all.

- Neri Oxman

Nature, Separation, Does, Fabrication

I object to the hegemony of form in contemporary architecture. We have very advanced technological tools, but ultimately, we create buildings exactly like we used to before: We send the drawings to an engineer and let him struggle with figuring out how to build it.

- Neri Oxman

Before, Very, Advanced, Struggle

In the end, it's clear that the incorporation of synthetic biology in product and architectural design will enable the transition from designs that are inspired by nature to designs made with and by nature to, possibly, designing nature herself.

- Neri Oxman

Product, Biology, Will, Possibly

At least since the Industrial Revolution, the world of design has been dominated by the rigors of manufacturing and mass production. Assembly lines have dictated a world made of parts, framing the imagination of designers and architects who have been trained to think about their objects as assemblies of discrete parts with distinct functions.

- Neri Oxman

Been, Trained, Functions, Manufacturing

The world of design has been subjugated by the rigors of manufacturing and mass production.

- Neri Oxman

World, Been, Production, Manufacturing

If you think about it, the printing press allowed everyone to print books - it democratised the printing of information. For the first time, we could all print.

- Neri Oxman

Think, Printing Press, Printing

How can we reinterpret 3-D printing in a way that suggests a new design language?

- Neri Oxman

Design, New, How, Printing

I don't think I would have made for a good doctor. It was not meant to be, and it took me a long time to realize that.

- Neri Oxman

Think, Meant, Took, Meant To Be

Forms in nature are a byproduct of a reciprocal action between a given material and the conditions of the environment. But in architecture, the process is the direct opposite: First you decide on the form, and then you think how to build it in reality.

- Neri Oxman

Process, Think, Given, Forms

If you believe in Cinderella, and if you can suspend your disbelief at midnight, then you can believe in the interdisciplinary midnight, the 'in-betweens,' and become fortunately entangled, moving from art to science.

- Neri Oxman

Art, Midnight, Suspend, Disbelief

Look at spiders. They use about eight different properties of silk for different functions. The spider is like a multimaterial 3D printer.

- Neri Oxman

Like, Silk, Functions, Spiders

I am equally fascinated and awed by visiting an Alexander McQueen show as I am looking under a microscope.

- Neri Oxman

Show, Visiting, Equally, McQueen

To wear a beautiful new garment is like wearing a new idea, and I see them as the same thing. Opening my closet is a form of meditation. I pick whatever I feel is right for the day.

- Neri Oxman

Idea, Wear, Same Thing, Garment

I am inspired by alchemy and all things continuous, uninterrupted, and effortlessly fused into wholes.

- Neri Oxman

Inspired, Alchemy, Am, All Things

The future of design is a future where anything material in the environment - whether it's wearables, cars, buildings - can be designed with this variation of properties and relationship with the environment that can take part in the natural ecology.

- Neri Oxman

Natural, Part, Variation, Designed

All great cinema has the sense of the dynamic, the transitional, mixed with the mythical and the sense of ritual.

- Neri Oxman

Sense, Transitional, Ritual, Mythical

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