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Biomimetic architecture
Biomimetic architecture is a contemporary philosophyof
architecture that seeks solutions for sustainability innature, not
by replicating the natural forms, but by un-derstanding the rules
governing those forms. It is a multi-disciplinary approach to
sustainable design that follows aset of principles rather than
stylistic codes. It is part of alarger movement known as
biomimicry, which is the ex-amination of nature, its models,
systems, and processesfor the purpose of gaining inspiration in
order to solveman-made problems.
1 History
Birdhouse at Casinum
Architecture has long drawn from nature as a source
ofinspiration. Biomorphism, or the incorporation of naturalexisting
elements as inspiration in design, originated pos-sibly with the
beginning of man-made environments andremains present today. The
ancient Greeks and Romans
incorporated natural motifs into design such as the
tree-inspired columns. Late Antique and Byzantine arabesquetendrils
are stylized versions of the acanthus plant.[1]Varros Aviary at
Casinum from 64 BC reconstructed aworld in miniature.[2] A pond
surrounded a domed struc-ture at one end that held a variety of
birds. A stone colon-naded portico had intermediate columns of
living trees.The Sagrada Famlia church by Antoni Gaudi begun in1882
is a well-known example of using natures func-tional forms to
answer a structural problem. He usedcolumns that modeled the
branching canopies of trees tosolve statics problems in supporting
the vault.[3]
Sagrada-familia-arches2
Organic architecture uses nature-inspired geometricalforms in
design and seeks to reconnect the humanwith hisor her surroundings.
Kendrick Bangs Kellogg, a practic-ing organic architect, believes
that above all, organic ar-chitecture should constantly remind us
not to takeMotherNature for granted work with her and allow her to
guideyour life. Inhibit her, and humanity will be the loser.[4]This
falls in line with another guiding principle, which isthat form
should follow ow and not work against the dy-namic forces of
nature.[5] Architect Daniel Liebermannscommentary on organic
architecture as a movement high-lights the role of nature in
building: a truer under-standing of how we see, with our mind and
eye, is thefoundation of everything organic. Mans eye and
brainevolved over aeons of time, most of which were within thevast
untrammeled and unpaved landscape of our Edenicbiosphere! We must
go to Nature for our models now,that is clear![4] Organic
architects use man-made so-lutions with nature-inspired aesthetics
to bring about anawareness of the natural environment rather than
relyingon natures solutions to answer mans problems.
1
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2 2 CHARACTERISTICS
Metabolist architecture, a movement present in Japanpost-WWII,
stressed the idea of endless change in the bi-ological world.
Metabolists promoted exible architec-ture and dynamic cities that
could meet the needs of achanging urban environment.[6] The city is
likened to ahuman body in that its individual components are
cre-ated and become obsolete, but the entity as a whole con-tinues
to develop. Like the individual cells of a humanbody that grow and
die although human body continuesto live, the city, too, is in a
continuous cycle of growthand change.[7] The methodology of
Metabolists views na-ture as a metaphor for the man-made. Kisho
KurokawasHelix City is modeled after DNA, but uses it as a
struc-tural metaphor rather than for its underlying qualities ofits
purpose of genetic coding.Biomimetic architecture goes beyond using
nature as in-spiration for the aesthetic components of built form,
butinstead seeks to use nature to solve problems of the build-ings
functioning. Biomimicry means to imitate life andoriginates from
the Greek words bios (life) and mime-sis (imitate). The movement is
a branch o of the newscience dened and popularized by Janine Benyus
in her1997 book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Natureas one
which studies nature and then imitates or takes in-spiration from
its designs and processes to solve humanproblems.[8] Rather than
thinking of the building as a ma-chine for living in, biomimicry
asks architects to think ofa building as a living thing for a
living being.
2 CharacteristicsBiomimetic architecture uses nature as a model,
measureand mentor to solve problems in architecture. It is notthe
same as biomorphic architecture, which uses natu-ral existing
elements as sources of inspiration for aes-thetic components of
form. Instead, biomimetic archi-tecture looks to nature as a model
to imitate or take in-spiration from natural designs and processes
and appliesit to the man-made. It uses nature as a measure
meaningbiomimicry uses an ecological standard to judge the e-ciency
of human innovations. Nature as a mentor meansthat biomimicry does
not try to exploit nature by extract-ing material goods from it,
but values nature as somethinghumans can learn from.[9]
Architectural innovations that are responsive to architec-ture
do not have to resemble a plant or an animal. Whereform is
intrinsic to an organisms function, then a buildingmodeled on a
life forms processes may end up lookinglike the organism too.
Architecture can emulate naturalforms, functions and processes.
Though a contemporaryconcept in a technological age, biomimicry
does not entailthe incorporation of complex technology in
architecture.In response to prior architectural movements
biomimeticarchitecture strives to move towards radical increases
inresource eciency, work in a closed loop model ratherthan linear
(work in a closed cycle that does not need a
Bioniccar 11
Box Fish on Cobblers Reef
constant intake of resources to function), and rely on so-lar
energy instead of fossil fuels. The design approachcan either work
from design to nature or from nature todesign. Design to nature
means identifying a design prob-lem and nding a parallel problem in
nature for a solution.An example of this is the DaimlerChrysler
bionic car thatlooked to the boxsh to build an aerodynamic
body.[10]The nature to design method is a solution-driven
biologi-cally inspired design. Designers start with a specic
bio-logical solution in mind and apply it to design. An exam-ple of
this is Stos Lotusan paint, which is self-cleaning,an idea
presented by the lotus ower, which emerges cleanfrom swampy
waters.[11]
2.1 Three Levels of Mimicry
Biomimicry can work on three levels: the organism, itsbehaviors,
and the ecosystem. Buildings on the organ-ism level mimic a specic
organism. Working on thislevel alone without mimicking how the
organism partic-ipates in a larger context may not be sucient to
pro-duce a building that integrates well with its
environmentbecause an organism always functions and responds to
alarger context. On a behavior level, buildings mimic howan
organism behaves or relates to its larger context. Onthe level of
the ecosystem, a building mimics the naturalprocess and cycle of
the greater environment. Ecosys-tem principles follow that
ecosystems (1) are dependent
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3.2 Behavior Level 3
on contemporary sunlight; (2) optimize the system ratherthan its
components; (3) are attuned to and dependenton local conditions;
(4) are diverse in components, re-lationships and information; (5)
create conditions favor-able to sustained life; and (6) adapt and
evolve at dier-ent levels and at dierent rates.[12] Essentially,
this meansthat a number of components and processes make up
anecosystem and theymust work with each other rather thanagainst in
order for the ecosystem to run smoothly. Forarchitectural design to
mimic nature on the ecosystemlevel it should follow these six
principles.
3 Examples of Biomimicry in Ar-chitecture
3.1 Organism LevelOn the organism level, the architecture looks
to the organ-ism itself, applying its form and/or functions to a
building.
Gherkin
Norman Fosters Gherkin Tower (2003) has a hexagonalskin inspired
by the Venus Flower Basket Sponge. Thissponge sits in an underwater
environment with strongwater currents and its lattice-like
exoskeleton and roundshape help disperse those stresses on the
organism.[13]
The Eden Project (2001) in Cornwall, England is a se-ries of
articial biomes with domes modeled after soapbubbles and pollen
grains. Grimshaw Architects lookedto nature to build an eective
spherical shape. The re-sulting geodesic hexagonal bubbles inated
with air were
Venus Flower Basket (sponge-labelled)
constructed of Ethylene Tetrauoroethylene (ETFE), amaterial that
is both light and strong.[14] The nal super-structure weighs less
than the air it contains.
3.2 Behavior LevelOn the behavior level, the building mimics how
the or-ganism interacts with its environment to build a
structurethat can also t in without resistance in its
surroundingenvironment.
Termite mounds Namibia
The Eastgate Centre designed by architectMick Pearce
inconjunction with engineers at Arup Associates is a largeoce and
shopping complex in Harare, Zimbabwe. Tominimize potential costs of
regulating the buildings innertemperature Pearce looked to the
self-cooling mounds ofAfrican termites. The building has no
air-conditioning orheating but regulates its temperature with a
passive cool-ing system inspired by the self-coolingmounds of
Africantermites.[15] The structure, however, does not have to
looklike a termite mound to function like one and instead
aes-thetically draws from indigenous Zimbabwean masonry.The Qatar
Cacti Building designed by Bangkok-basedAesthetics Architects for
the Minister of Municipal Af-
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4 5 SEE ALSO
Eastgate Centre, Harare, Zimbabwe
fairs and Agriculture is a projected building that uses
thecactuss relationship to its environment as a model forbuilding
in the desert. The functional processes silentlyat work are
inspired by the way cacti sustain themselvesin a dry, scorching
climate. Sun shades on the windowsopen and close in response to
heat, just as the cactus un-dergoes transpiration at night rather
than during the dayto retain water.[16] The project reaches out to
the ecosys-tem level in its adjoining botanical dome whose
wastew-ater management system follows processes that conservewater
and has minimumwaste outputs. Incorporating liv-ing organisms into
the breakdown stage of the wastewa-ter minimizes the amount of
external energy resourcesneeded to fulll this task.[16] The dome
would create aclimate and air controlled space that can be used for
thecultivation of a food source for employees.
3.3 Ecosystem Level
Building on the ecosystem level involves mimicking ofhow the
environments many components work togetherand tends to be on the
urban scale or a larger project withmultiple elements rather than a
solitary structure.The Cardboard to Caviar Project founded by
GrahamWiles in Wakeeld, UK is a cyclical closed-loop systemusing
waste as a nutrient.[17] The project pays restaurantsfor their
cardboard, shreds it, and sells it to equestriancenters for horse
bedding. Then the soiled bedding isbought and put into a composting
system, which producesa lot of worms. The worms are fed to roe sh,
which pro-duce caviar, which is sold back to the restaurants.
Thisidea of waste for one as a nutrient for another has the
po-tential to be translated to whole cities.[14]
The Sahara Forest Project designed by the rmExploration
Architecture is a greenhouse that aims to relyon solar energy alone
to operate as a zero waste system.[18]The project is on the
ecosystem level because its manycomponents work together in a
cyclical system. Afternding that the deserts used to be covered by
forests,Exploration decided to intervene at the forest and
desertboundaries to reverse desertication. The project mimics
the Namibian desert beetle to combat climate change inan arid
environment.[14] It draws upon the beetles abil-ity to
self-regulate its body temperature by accumulatingheat by day and
to collect water droplets that form on itswings. The greenhouse
structure uses saltwater to pro-vide evaporative cooling and
humidication. The evap-orated air condenses to fresh water allowing
the green-house to remain heated at night. This system producesmore
water than the interior plants need so the excessis spewed out for
the surrounding plants to grow. Solarpower plants work o of the
idea that symbiotic relation-ships are important in nature,
collecting sun while pro-viding shade for plants to grow. The
project is currentlyin its pilot phase.Lavasa, India is a proposed
8000-acre city by HOK (Hell-muth, Obata, and Kassabaum) planned for
a region of In-dia subject to monsoon ooding.[19] The HOK team
de-termined that the sites original ecosystemwas a moist de-ciduous
forest before it had become an arid landscape. Inresponse to the
season ooding, they designed the build-ing foundations to store
water like the former trees did.City rooftops mimic native the
banyan g leaf looking toits drip-tip system that allowswater to run
owhile simul-taneously cleaning its surface.[20] The strategy to
moveexcess water through channels is borrowed from local har-vester
ants, which use multi-path channels to divert wateraway from their
nests.
4 CriticismsBiomimicry has been criticized for distancing man
fromnature by dening the two terms as separate and distinctfrom one
another. The need to categorize human as dis-tinct from nature
upholds the traditional denition of na-ture, which is that it is
those things or systems that comeinto existence independently of
human intention. JoeKaplinsky further argues that in basing itself
on naturesdesign, biomimicry risks presuming the superiority
ofnature-given solutions over the manmade.[21] In idolizingnatures
systems and devaluing human design, biomimeticstructures cannot
keep up with the man-made environ-ment and its problems. He
contends that evolution withinhumanity is culturally based in
technological innovationsrather than ecological evolution. However,
architects andengineers do not base their designs strictly o of
naturebut only use parts of it as inspiration for architectural
so-lutions. Since the nal product is actually a merging ofnatural
design with a human innovation, biomimicry canactually be read as
bringing man and nature in harmonywith one another.
5 See alsoHOK (Hellmuth, Obata, and Kassabaum) Biomimicry
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55.1 Further reading Benyus, Janine. Biomimicry: Innovation
Inspiredby Nature. New York: Perennial, 2002.
Biomimicry 3.8 Institute, Biomimicry 3.8 In-stitute,
http://biomimicry.net/about/biomimicry38/institute/.[]
Pawlyn, Michael. Biomimicry in Architecture.London: RIBA
Publishing, 2011.
Vincent, Julian. Biomimetic Patterns in Archi-tectural Design.
Architectural Design 79, no. 6(2009): 74-81.
6 References[1] Alois Riegl, The Arabesque from Problems of
style:
foundations for a history of ornament, translated by Eve-lyn
Kain, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University, 1992),266-305.
[2] A. W. van Buren and R. M. Kennedy, Varros Aviary atCasinum,
The Journal of Roman Studies 9 (1919): 63.
[3] George R. Collins, Antonio Gaudi: Structure and
Form,Perspecta 8 (1963): 89.
[4] David Pearson, New Organic Architecture: the breakingwave
(Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2001),10.
[5] David Pearson, New Organic Architecture: the breakingwave
(Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2001),14.
[6] Raaele Pernice, Metabolism Reconsidered: Its Role inthe
Architectural Context of the World, Journal of AsianArchitecture
and Building Engineering 3, no. 2 (2004),359.
[7] Kenzo Tange, A Plan for Tokyo, 1960: Toward aStructural
Reorganization, in Architecture Culture 1943-1968: A Documentary
Anthology, ed. Joan Ockman,325-334 (New York: Rizzoli, 1993),
327.
[8] Janine Benyus, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Na-ture.
(New York: Perennial, 2002).
[9] Janine Benyus, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Na-ture
(New York: Perennial, 2002), 2.
[10] The Mercedes-Benz bionic car: Streamlinedand light, like a
sh in water - economicaland environmentally friendly thanks to the
lat-est diesel technology, Daimler, last modiedJune 7, 2005,
http://media.daimler.com/dcmedia/0-921-885913-1-815003-1-0-1-815031-0-1-11702-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0.html.
[11] StoColor Lotusan Lotus-Eect faade paint, StoLtd.,
http://www.sto.co.uk/25779_EN-Facade_paints-StoColor_Lotusan.htm.
[12] Salma Ashraf El Ahmar, Biomimicry as a Tool for
Sus-tainable Architectural Design: Towards
MorphogeneticArchitecture (masters thesis, Alexandria
University,2011), 22.
[13] Ehsaan, Lord Fosters Natural Inspiration: The GherkinTower,
biomimetic architecture (blog), March 24,2010,
http://www.biomimetic-architecture.com/2010/lord-fosters-natural-inspiration-the-gherkin-tower/.
[14] Michael Pawlyn, Using natures genius in architec-ture
(2011, February), [video le] Retrieved
fromhttp://www.ted.com/talks/michael_pawlyn_using_nature_s_genius_in_architecture.html?embed=true.
[15] Jill Fehrenbacher, Biomimetic Architecture:Green Building
in Zimbabwe Modeled Af-ter Termite Mounds, Inhabitat, last modi-ed
November 29, 2012,
http://inhabitat.com/building-modelled-on-termites-eastgate-centre-in-zimbabwe/.
[16] Bridgette Meinhold, Qatar Sprouts a Towering
CactusSkyscraper, Inhabitat, last modied March 17,
2009,http://inhabitat.com/qatar-cactus-office-building/.
[17] Michael Pawlyn, Biomimicry, in Green Design: FromTheory to
Practice, edited byKenYeang andArthur Spec-tor, (London: Black Dog,
2011), 37.
[18] Sahara Forest Project, Sahara Forest Project, Inc,
http://saharaforestproject.com.
[19] Lavasa is Indias planned hill city, Lavasa CorporationLtd,
http://www.lavasa.com.
[20] John Gendall, Architecture That ImitatesLife, Harvard
Magazine, last modied Octo-ber 2009,
http://harvardmagazine.com/2009/09/architecture-imitates-life.
[21] Joe Kaplinsky, Biomimicry versus humanism, Archi-tectural
Design 76, (2006), 68.
7 External linksMichael Pawlyn: Using natures genius in
[email protected]
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6 8 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
8 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses8.1 Text
Biomimetic architecture Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomimetic%20architecture?oldid=620407859
Contributors: Bearcat,ELApro, Joe Decker, Malcolma, Vanjagenije,
LionMans Account, Niceguyedc, Dthomsen8, Citation bot, Vanamonde93,
Beebiene andAnonymous: 2
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License:
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Unknown File:Box_Fish_on_Cobblers_Reef.jpg Source:
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jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original
artist: Johnmartindavies File:Eastgate_Centre,_Harare,_Zimbabwe.jpg
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3.0
History Characteristics Three Levels of Mimicry
Examples of Biomimicry in Architecture Organism Level Behavior
Level Ecosystem Level
Criticisms See also Further reading
References External links Text and image sources, contributors,
and licensesTextImagesContent license
