The aerospace sector is targeting significant efficiency increases, reducing fuel consumption and emissions while enhancing safety. Smart and adaptive morphing wings are designed to seamlessly change shape during flight to minimise drag and enhance efficiency. One structural phenomenon that has long been considered undesirable is buckling, which leads to instability and even failure. The ERC-funded NABUCCO project sees buckling as a design opportunity with potentially pioneering capability. It will harness buckling phenomena in the design and realisation of adaptive composite structures and aircraft morphing wings. Significantly enhanced analytical, optimisation, simulation and test methodologies will account for the expanded design space and ensure safety.