As seen in previous posts, nature and sea creatures can offer us incredible inspirations, so let's continue the thread by looking at intriguing shapes linked to marine creatures.
Let's start from this alien looking thing you may stumble upon on beaches. This enigmatic rectangular creature with horn-like projections at each corner is actually not a creature, but an egg case or capsule, also known as "mermaid's purse".
This casing surrounds the eggs of catsharks, skates and rays (not manta rays, though) and varies depending on the species. Typically containing one embryo, in some cases, like those of the big skate and mottled skate, can house up to 7 embryos.
Made from collagen protein strands, these cases often have a rough and leathery texture. Some feature fibrous coverings, aiding attachment to substrates, while others may appear striated, bumpy, or smooth and glossy.
When washed ashore, these egg cases can become dry and flat (see first picture in this post), so, to properly identify them (Download Eggcase ID Key), it's advisable to soak them in water, allowing them to rehydrate and regain their original dimensions.
In my case I found a Thornback Ray case and soaking it in water allowed me to explore its original shape in a better way and have a lot of fun as well, as the egg casing looked like a rather bizarre creature having a nice and relaxing bath. As you examine the egg case, the notion of using its shape to create an accessory becomes apparent - could this be used as the starting point for a handbag or, even better, a rucksack? After all, it's supposed to be a "mermaid's purse", so why not creating a purse for ourselves moving from this shape? (Get your thinking caps on, come on!)
If you stumble upon ray egg cases, you can maybe extend the discourse to other types of rays: these creatures hold incredible inspiration and, in a previous post, we explored a fashion hoax involving stingray sneakers.
These creatures also provided inspirations for architects and designers: in 2015, French architect and oceanographer Jacques Rougerie, known for his underwater researches, designed a vessel shaped like a manta ray.
This visionary creation, named the "City of Mériens" ("mériens" is a word Rougerie came up with himself to describe people who "belong to the sea”) consists in a self-sustaining structure powered by marine energy and producing no waste.
With a total length of 900 meters and a width of 500 meters, this mobile city is designed to accommodate in its interior lagoon research vessels of different sizes (up to 90 meters long).
Equipped with laboratories, classrooms, lecture halls, living quarters, and recreational spaces, it stands as a floating city dedicated to oceanic exploration and study.
At the lowest level (120 meters deep) it could indeed accommodate up to 7,000 people, among them researchers, professors, and students. According to its designer, the City of Mériens is conceived to understand and protect the marine environment, but it also champions environmental consciousness by minimizing its impact.
Looking for a design object that still gets its main inspiration from marine creatures, but that is also simpler than a utopian vessel-cum-floating laboratory?
Check out the the glazed ceramic tray designed in 2006 by Cinzia Ruggeri for Atelier Franco Bucci. Shaped like a manta, the tray featured a cute tail made of perfectly spherical ceramic beads evoking the fashion and interior designer's passion for pearls.
In Ruggeri's imaginative universe, nothing is what it seems, so one side of the manta was black and mysterious and under a certain light you almost got the impression the material employed to make it is leather rather than ceramics.
Yet that's just one side of it as, underneath, the tray is white and hides a shoal of fish, hinting at the fact that fish usually clinging to the manta ray's body for protection, easy transportation, and nourishment as the manta ray glides into plankton-rich waters (this surprising twist in this otherwise simple tray is the same technique Ruggeri used when she hid objects, pearls or messages in her clothes so that the wearers could find them when a hole opened in the lining).
The manta ray tray is also known as "Calma piatta", which literally means "flat calm", but in English it can be translated as "dead calm", indicating in nautical language the condition of a perfectly flat sea with no waves and no wind.
Though it retains some connections with the sea through the nautical language connotations, the name of this design is a departure from more literal marine inspirations, hinting maybe at a moment of relaxation, inviting us to escape the chaotic modern world we live in to take a break and maybe use the tray to serve a snack, a coffee or a drink.
As we observe the shapes of mermaid's purses and the fluid elegance of manta rays, we're reminded that nature's design holds both functionality and aesthetic wonder.
In a world where chaos and routine often vie for our attention, the sea provides a sanctuary of inspiration inviting us to pause, reflect, and embrace the beauty that thrives beneath the waves.
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