Anya Freeman [Photo: Kind Designs]
Miami’s coastlines are uniquely beautiful, but they’re similar to those of major cities around the world in one worrisome way: They’re at existential risk from sea level rise. Yet the standard approach for cities—constructing a concrete seawall—is expensive and often causes further environmental problems, including erosion and habitat degradation.
Now, Miami-based Kind Designs is using 3D printing to manufacture seawalls designed to benefit ecosystems while costing less. A 10-foot-tall robot arm produces the walls in layers, creating the contours and textures meant to simulate a more natural environment—a process called “biomimicry design.” It’s the winner of Fast Company’s 2024 World Changing Ideas Award for companies that have been in business between one and four years.
Anya Freeman [Photo: Kind Designs]
“In Florida, a natural marine habitat is mangroves,” explains Kind Designs CEO Anya Freeman. “The mangrove roots create caves where sea life can hide from predators. So we created a mangrove root design on the face of our seawalls, which creates holes for sea life to hide from predators and has a smaller texture for organisms to attach.”
Freeman founded Kind Designs in 2020, after moving to Miami to study law. She had no professional background in engineering, marine biology, or construction, but was inspired to start the company after experiencing sea level rise at her home in South Beach, her street repeatedly flooding to knee-deep levels.
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By the time Kind Designs raised $5 million in seed funding in 2023, Freeman said the company had $4 million in orders. Freeman sees Kind Designs’ solution as one that could potentially scale worldwide because its installation procedure is easily integrated into existing construction processes. “Miami will be an example for the rest of the world, or it will be a lesson,” says Freeman. “I want to make sure it’s an example.”
Explore the full list of Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas, 281 projects that are making the world more accessible, equitable, and sustainable for everyone. We’ve selected the companies, organizations, and nonprofits making the biggest impact across 50 categories, including architecture, energy, finance, transportation, and more.
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