UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF Ar. HIMANSHU YOGI ( Department of Architecture & Planning )
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE & PLANNING
MALAVIYA NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY JAIPUR
SUBMITTED BY KEYSANG WANGMO 2017UAR1700
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF Ar. RAM NIWAS SHARMA (DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE & PLANNING)
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the work embodied in the thesis preparatory report titled “Biomimicry in Architecture”, in partial fulfillment for the requirement of the award of the Degree of Bachelor of Architecture and submitted to the Department of Architecture and Planning, Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur, is an authentic record of my own work carried out under the supervision of Ar. Ram Niwas Sharma, Department of Architecture and Planning, Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur.
The matter embodied in this thesis has not been submitted to any other university or institution for any other degree or diploma.
Keysang Wangmo Student ID: 2017UAR1700 Department of Architecture and Planning Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur.
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the thesis preparatory report titled “Biomimicry in Architecture” submitted by Keysang Wangmo in partial fulfillment for the award of the Degree of Bachelor of Architecture, to the Department of Architecture and Planning, Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur is a record of his own work. The matter embodied in this thesis has not been submitted to any other university or institution for any other degree or diploma. This is to certify that she has completed this thesis under my guidance and supervision.
Ar. Ram Niwas Sharma
Thesis Coordinator
Associate Professor
Department of Architecture and Planning
MNIT Jaipur
Dr. Nand Kumar
Head of Department
Associate Professor Department of Architecture and Planning
MNIT Jaipur
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis guide, Ar. Ram Niwas Sharma for providing his invaluable guidance, comments and suggestions throughout the course of this report.
I would also like to appreciate the guidance given by Ar. Sangeeth S Pillai, part of my thesis panel, in improving the quality and content of my report by their skilled comments and advices.
I am highly grateful to Dr. Nand Kumar, our Head of the Department, who helped me to carry out my study in a better way and making me work towards correct approach.
I would also like to thank Ar. Ram Niwas Sharma, our thesis co-ordinator, for giving us directions regarding the approach to the project.
Lastly, I would like to thank my parents and friends who gave me constant encouragement and moral support towards my study.
Keysang Wangmo Student ID: 2017UAR1700 Department of Architecture and Planning Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur.
ABSTRACT
Biomimicry is an applied science that derives inspiration for solutions to human problems through the study of natural designs, systems and processes. This dissertation represents an investigation into biomimicry and includes the development of a design method based on biomimetic principles that is applied to the design.
For centuries, architects and designers have been searching for answers from nature to their complex questions about different kinds of problems, and they have mimicked a lot of forms from nature to create better and more efficient structures for different architectural purposes.
Biomimicry presents itself as a basis, foundation of a new research methodology instead of mere serendipity. Biomimicry has to be approached in a multi-disciplinary order of thought in order to understand the principles of nature to achieve a hostile design solution.
TABLE OF CONTENT
1 Introduction
1.1 Need for study
1.2 Aim
1.3 Objective
1.4 Scope
1.5 Limitation
1.6 Research question
1.7 Research framework
1.8 Methodology
2 About
2.1 Introduction
2.2 History
3 Design Approach
3.1 Approaches to Biomimicry
3.1.1 Problem driven design approach
3.1.2 Solution driven design approach
3.2 Framework for application
3.2.1 Organism Level
3.2.2 Behavior Level
3.2.3 Ecosystem Level
4 Case Study
4.1 The Eden Project
4.2 30 St. Mary Axe
4.3 Kalundborg Eco-Industrial Park
4.4 Analysis
5 Inspiration
5.1 Structure
5.2 Water Management
5.3 Thermal Environment
5.4 Keeping cool
6 Conclusion
6.1 Findings
6.2 Limitation
7 Reference
01 INTROD UCTION
1.1 Need for study
The term “biomimicry” refers to the imitation of the functional basis of biological forms, processes, and systems (ecosystem). The advantage of earning from biological examples is that they have gained from over 3.8 billion years of evolutionary research and testing. It enables us to build a better future and transition from the industrial to the ecological era of humanity.
1.2 Aim
To study how biomimicry can be incorporated into architecture in order to inspire more environmentally friendly design.
1.3 Objective
• To investigate the impact of biomimicry on modern technology and architecture.
• To determine the potential benefits that biomimicry can provide.
• To have a better knowledge of how biomimicry is used in architecture.
• To have a better understanding of the design process from biomimicry to architecture.
1.4 Scope
The research will focus on the relationship between biomimicry and architecture.
1.5 Limitation
• Restrictng the research to architecture
• Lack of Indian context
1.6 Research questions
• What does biomimicry entail, and what does it not?
• What can we learn from nature in order to create more environmentally friendly architecture?
• What is the best way to approach biomimicry design?
• In the future years, what new directions will biomimicry take?
Background Study
Research
Table. 1. Research Framework
1.8 Methodology
To study the role of Biomimicry in Architecture
Three Levels of Bomimicry
Organism Level
Behavior Level
Ecosystem Level
Practical Application
Literature Review Case Studies Inspiration
Table. 2. Methodology
Approaches to Biomimicry
Solution driven Dsign Approach
Problem driven Dsign Approach
To analyze architecture with respect to Biomimicry
Historical Study
Literature Review
02 ABOUT
BI-O-MIM-IC-RY
[ From the Greek bios, life, and mimesis, imitation ]
1. Nature as model. Biomimicry is a new science that studies nature’s models and then imitates or takes inspiration from these designs and processes to solve human problems, e.g., a solar cell inspired by a leaf.
2. Nature as measure. Biomimicry uses an ecological standard to judge the “rightness” of our innovations. After 3.8 billion years of evolution, nature has learned: What works. What is appropriate. What lasts.
3. Nature as mentor. Biomimicry is a new way of viewing and valuing nature. It introduces an era based not on what we can extract from the natural world, but on what we can learn from it.
(Benyus, 1997:2002)
2.1 Introduction
Biomimicry is one of the best sources of solutions that will allow us to create a positive future and make the shift from the industrial age to the ecological age of humankind. Through analyzing the biological examples, we can develop a true synchronization between man and nature.
The term ‘biomimicry’ first appeared in scientific literature in 1962, and grew in usage particularly among materials scientists in the 1980s. The term ‘biomimicry’ was preceded by ‘biomimetics’, which was first used by Otto Schmitt in the 1950s, and by ‘bionics’, which was coined by Jack Steele in 1960. The only significant difference between ‘biomimetics’ and ‘biomimicry’ is that many users of the latter intend it to be specifically focused on developing sustainable solutions, whereas the former is often applied to fields of endeavor such as military technology. (Pawlyn, 2011)
The massive increase in interest over the last 15 years, fueled by significant and widely published personalities such as biological sciences writer Janine Benyus, Professor of Biology Steven Vogel, and Professor of Biomimetics Julian Vincent defines the discipline as ‘the implementation of good design based on nature’, while Janine Benyus defines it as ‘the conscious emulation of nature’s genius’.
2.2 History
Designers and philosophers have looked to natural species for aesthetic and practical inspiration since the dawn of humanity. This connection between building and nature can be traced back to ancient civilizations including Egyptian, Incan, Polynesian, and Mayan etc.
Since Stone age the nomads mimicked the animals; way of feeding, shelter and living for a better and safer livelihood. Even in the Renaissance period, Leonardo Da Vinci was influenced by the ability of birds to fly even during the Renaissance period, and made designs of machines that depicted the flapping techniques. Tree-inspired columns were also created by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Antonio Gaudi’s work was recognised for its architectural form, which was influenced by nature, throughout the Art Nouveau period, which spanned the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The architect designed sophisticated structural systems that were inspired by natural shapes. He created ‘equilibrated’ structures with catenary, hyperbolic, and parabolic arches and vaults, inclined columns, and helical (spinal cone) piers (which stand like a tree, requiring no additional supports such as internal bracing or external buttressing), after cleverly predicting complex structural forces using string models suspended from weights. ( his findings are now verified by computer analysis).
The invention of reinforced concrete, which became one of the most important aspects of twentieth-century architecture, occurred at the turn of the century. Felix Candela, like one of the architects, used reinforced concrete to take a geometrical approach to the architectural form. He was inspired by the geometric hyperbolic paraboloid for this structure. The Los Manantiales restaurant is made up of eight hyperbolic forms that are connected by a shared valley joint form. (Aziz and Sherif, 2016)
Figure. 1. Top: Los Manantiales Restaurant ; Bottom: Diagram of Hyper Form
03 DESIGN APPROACH
When biomimicry is employed as a design tool, the end outcome and the degree to which it mirrors its biological source may be traced back to the initial design method. These two categories are classified by Zari as ‘design influenced by biology’ and ‘design influenced by biology’. Identifying a particular characteristic, behaviour, or function in an organism or ecosystem and translating that into human designs, referred to as biology influencing design, or defining a human need or design problem and looking to the ways other organisms or ecosystems solve it, referred to as design looking to biology. (Biomimicry Guild, 2007). (Zari, 2017)
In addition, in 2006, actual trials for biologically inspired design were done at Georgia Tech in the United States. A class of 45 students was divided into four groups of 4-5 students with the purpose of creating a biologically informed design and report (Helms, 2008) The study’s main focus was on the initial design approach and how it influenced the final result. When the method was solution-driven, the results showed that design had a structural focus 100% of the time, while biological functions and behaviours were the focus 60% of the time when the approach was problem-driven. (Helms, 2008) The diagrams below summarise the two major design approaches.
3.1 Approaches to biomimicry
3.1.1 Problem driven design approach
The designer must first establish the problem before re-framing or rewording it so that it may be associated with species that have solved comparable challenges in the problem driven design approach. The behaviour and functionalities of the biological solution to the problem should be specified after it has been obtained, since this will aid in the isolation of problems through attribute extraction from the answer. Following the application of the answer to the problem, it aids in the creation of a new design or the enhancement of an existing design. Designers who specify initial design priorities and parameters benefit from this method. The biological solution’s behaviour and functions are then defined. (Harris, 2016)
Figure. 3. Solution driven design approach
3.1.2 Solution driven design approach
The designer initially selects a specific biological source and analyses its behavioural functions as answers to the unknown challenge in the solution driven design approach. The extracted solution is further investigated, broken down, and purified into a simpler form. After that, each component of the solution is separated and re-framed as an open system for a more straightforward approach. The designer begins by looking for an issue that is related to the solution that has been discovered. After the problem has been broken down and refined, the refined extracted principles are applied to the refined problem. (Harris, 2016)
In both circumstances, each step is dynamic in the sense that it can be fine-tuned on the fly and impact subsequent steps as part of a larger non-linear process. The mindset and initial pathway are two important distinctions that determine the ultimate design. As a result, the biological source’s level of effect on a design is determined by the design team’s chosen path and the collective process dynamics. (Harris, 2016)
Figure. 2. Problem driven design approach
3.2 Framework for application
Form, process, and ecosystem are the three levels of biomimicry that can be applied to a design problem in the two ways outlined. (Biomimicry Guild, 2007) Form and process are elements of an organism or ecosystem that can be reproduced in the study of an organism or ecosystem. The ecosystem, on the other hand, may be investigated in order to find specific elements to duplicate. At many levels of organism, behaviour, and ecology, they can be measured.
The essential parameters in figure 4 are colour coded according to their amount of biomimicry and are weighted accordingly based on the area of scope the parameter is tested against (i.e. the ecosystem level covers a wider area of mimicry than the organism level). To obtain a design solution, this diagram can be utilised in conjunction with both biomimicry design methodologies. (Harris, 2016)
A further five additional dimensions to the imitation exist inside each of these levels. For example, the design could be biomimetic in terms of how it looks (shape), what it’s made of (material), how it’s built (construction), how it operates (process), or what it can do (function).
The differences between each kind of biomimicry are described below. (Zari, 2017)
Organism level (Mimicry of a specific organism)
• Form- The building looks like the organism.
• Material- The building is made from the same material as the organism.
• Construction- The building is made in the same way as the organism.
• Process- The building works in the same way as the individual organism.
• Function- The building functions like the organism in a larger context.
Behavior level (Mimicry of how an organism behaves or relates to its larger context)
• Form- The building looks like it was made by a the organism.
• Material-The building is made from the same material as the organism builds with.
• Construction- The building is made in the same way as the organism builds in.
• Process- The building works in the same way as the organism lives in would.
• Function- The building functions in the same way that it would if made by that organism
Figure. 4. Parameters of biomimicry
Ecosystem Level (Mimicry of an ecosystem)
• Form-The building looks like an ecosystem (like the organism would live in).
• Material- The building is made of same kind of material that (the organism) ecosystem is made of.
• Construction- The building is assembled in the same way as a (organism) ecosystem.
• Process- The building is assembled in the same way as a (organism) ecosystem.
• Function- The building is able to function in the same way that a (organism) ecosystem would ans forms parts of a complex system by listing the relationships between processes.
It is envisaged that multiple types of biomimicry will overlap in some way, and that each type of biomimicry will not be mutually exclusive. At the ecosystem level of biomimicry, for example, a collection of systems that can interact in the same way that an ecosystem does would be operating. Individual details of such a system may be based on a single organism or behaviour mimicry, but a biological ecosystem is made up of the complex relationships between multitudes of single organisms, just as a biological ecosystem is made up of the complex relationships between multitudes of single organisms. (Zari, 2017)
3.2.1 Organism Level
Species of living animals have evolved for millions of years on average. Those species that have survived and adapted to constant changes on Earth now have survival strategies that have withstood and adapted to constant changes over time. ‘The research and development has been done,’ writes Baumeister (2007). As a result, humans have a large pool of examples from which to draw in order to tackle societal problems that creatures may have already solved, usually in energy and material efficient ways. This is beneficial to people, especially as access to resources changes, the climate changes, and more is learned about the ramifications of current human activities’ detrimental environmental impact on many of the world’s ecosystems. (Harris, 2016)
However, simulating an organism without also simulating how it interacts with and contributes to the greater context of the ecosystem in which it exists might result in designs that are conventional or even below average in terms of environmental effect. Because mimicking organisms tends to be of a single feature rather than a whole system, the risk of biomimicry becoming a technology that is added on to buildings rather than integrated into them remains, especially if designers have little biological knowledge and do not collaborate with biologists or ecologists during the early stages of design. While this strategy may result in new and inventive building technologies or materials, it does not necessarily examine ways to improve sustainability. (Zari, 2017) (Harris, 2016)
3.2.2 Behavior Level
A significant number of organisms suffer the same environmental challenges as humans do, and they must overcome similar problems as humans. As previously stated, these species tend to operate within a certain location’s environmental carrying capacity as well as energy and material availability restrictions. These constraints, as well as the forces that drive ecological niche adaptations in ecosystems, ensure that not just well-adapted organisms, but also well-adapted organism behaviours and patterns of relationships between organisms or species, will continue to evolve.
Organisms that are able to directly or indirectly control the flow of resources to other species and who may cause changes in biotic or abiotic (non living) materials or systems and therefore habitats are called ecosystem engineers. Ecosystem engineers modify habitat by their own structure (such as coral) or through mechanical or other techniques (such as beavers and woodpeckers).Humans are unquestionably good ecosystem architects, but studying how other animals change their habitats while increasing the potential for life in that system may provide useful insights. The creatures alter their own habitats while promoting the existence of other species, enhancing nutrient cycling, and forming mutually beneficial partnerships. Other species’ building behaviour is known as ‘animal architecture,’ and it may provide more examples of ecosystem engineers. (Zari, 2017)
It is the behaviour of the organism that is mimicked in behaviour level biomimicry, not the organism itself. In a similar way, it may be possible to mimic the relationships between organisms or species. Mick Pearce’s Eastgate Building in Harare, Zimbabwe, and the CH2 Building in Melbourne, Australia, are architectural examples of process and function biomimicry at the behaviour level (described in details in case study section). Both buildings use passive ventilation and temperature regulation techniques similar to those found in termite mounds to create a thermally stable interior environment. Water extracted (and cleaned) from the sewers beneath the CH2 Building is used in a similar way that certain termite species use aquifer water as an evaporative cooling mechanism. (Zari, 2017) (Harris, 2016)
3.2.3 Ecosystem Level
This level of biomimicry can be used in tandem with other biomimicry levels (organism and behaviour). Existing sustainable building methods that are not specifically biomimetic, such as interfaced or bio-assisted systems, where human and non-human systems are merged for mutual benefit, can also be incorporated. (Harris, 2016)
Another benefit of using an ecosystem-based biomimetic design approach is that it can be applied to a variety of temporal and spatial scales, and it can be used as a starting point for determining what constitutes truly sustainable or even regenerative design for a specific location.
The most significant benefit of such a biomimetic design approach may be the potential for improved environmental performance. Biomimicry based on ecosystems can work on both a metaphorical and a practical functional level. On a metaphorical level, designers with little specific ecological knowledge can apply general ecosystem principles (based on how most ecosystems work). Pedersen Zari and Storey detail a set of ecosystem principles derived from comparing these cross-disciplinary understandings of how ecosystems function (2007). If the built environment was designed as a system and expected to behave like an ecosystem, even if only metaphorically, the built environment’s environmental performance could improve. (Zari, 2017)
On a functional level, ecosystem mimicry could imply that an in-depth understanding of ecology informs the design of a built environment capable of reinforcing rather than damaging the planet’s major biogeochemical material cycles (hydrological, carbon, nitrogen, and so on).
04 CASE STUDIES
3.1 The Eden Project
Location : Devon, South West England
Client : Eden Project Limited
Project Type : Culture and Exhibition Hall
Architect : Grimshaw
Client : Eden Project Limited
Area : 23,000 sqm
Date of construction : 1998-2001
Site : The Bodelva pit
Budget : £100 million
Figure. 5.. Top : Section ; Bottom : Plan of Biomes
Site advantages
• It receives lots of sunlight
• It has a south-facing slope
• It’s relatively easy to get to.
Site disadvantages
The soil in the ground pit was mostly clay, which does not support a lot of flora. So they had to create a nutrient-rich soil before they could build the greenhouse.
Inspiration
The structure was inspired by a variety of biological structures, including soap bubbles, carbon molecules, and radiolaria. Every step of the process was inspired by nature, from the form of clusters of bubbles to the structure of a dragon fly wing to resolve the way steel members intersected at junctions.
Design
The clay pit’s ever-changing ground surface necessitated an uninterrupted ground space, which was a design consideration. They needed a self-contained, stable structure that was light and easy to maintain for this.
Figure. 6. Left : Before Construction ; Right : After Construction
Figure. 7. Bio dome sectional sketch
Material
The covered biomes are made of tubular steel (hex-tri-hex) with mostly hexagonal ETFE external cladding panels. The team chose ETFE for the enclosing membrane because it is a high-performance polymer that is assembled in triple-layer ‘pillows’ and then inflated for structural rigidity. ETFE had a number of advantages that resulted in a virtuous cycle of efficiency: the ETFE pillows could be made much larger than glass and were only 1% of the weight (a factor 100 saving in embodied energy). This resulted in a significant reduction in the amount of steel required while also allowing more light into the structure.
Form
The Grimshaw team came up with the concept of a string of bubbles. The diameter of the bubbles could be varied to provide the various growing heights required in various parts of the building, as well as the necklace line, which could be arranged to suit the approximate topography of the site, reducing the amount of ground shaping required and optimising the building’s solar orientation.
Structure
Buckminster Fuller, a visionary architect, demonstrated that a geodesic arrangement of hexagons and pentagons is the most efficient structure for a spherical surface. We got the first image that looked like a building by cutting away the parts of the bubble model that would be below ground and applying a geodesic structure to the surface. The end result was a radical reinterpretation of the greenhouse: an extremely light enclosure that is self-heating for the majority of the year thanks to passive solar design principles. The weight of the Humid Tropics Biome’s superstructure is less than the weight of the air it contains. After going through the design process, it is now possible to create an even lighter structure.
Figure. 8. Left : Section ; Right : The formation of Hex-Tri-Hex structure applied
The Eden project comprises of three biomes that are designed to represent three distinct climates from around the world.
The Humid Tropics Biome
The multi-domed greenhouse, which recreates the tropical rainforest, is 240 metres long, 55 metres high, and 110 metres wide. Hundreds of trees and other plants from South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia are housed in the warm, humid enclosure.
The Warm Temperate Biome
Plants from temperate rainforests around the world, such as tropical rainforests and temperate rainforests that receive a lot of rain every year, are housed in this biome, making it an ideal environment for a diverse plant life from temperate rainforests.
The Roofless Biome
An open area with a diverse plant life from Cornwall’s temperate climate, as well as climates in Chile, the Himalayas, Asia, and Australia. Nature trails winding over 30 acres of land provide opportunities for visitors to learn about plants.
Figure. 9. Plan of Biodome
The Core building
The Core Building, which is the fourth phase of the Eden Project, houses the education centre. Exhibitions, films, and children’s workshops are all held there. The design concept was inspired by natural geometries, with the roof serving as the focal point, with pinecone’scales’ formed by a grid of timber panels and insulated with recycled newspaper. Copper panelling with a standing seam system is used for the cladding.
The roof is clad with copper panels set in a layout which reflects the lamella grid below and is similar to the pattern of pine-cone scales. A series of openable windows and upstanding pyramids are strewn across the roof, providing natural ventilation and light to the exhibition hall below and the cafe. This form’s mathematical foundation is based on the Golden Section and the Fibonacci number sequence.
The building has three levels, which help to separate the public and educational areas by creating a natural division of use. The exhibition hall is a double-height space that reaches a height of 21 metres. Classrooms are located on the middle level, and a cafe and terrace with views of the central core are located on the upper level.
Figure. 10. The Core Exterior
Figure. 11. Left : The Core during construction, showing glulam structure ; Right : Computer model showing the double helix structure
Design
3.2 30 St. Mary Axe
Client -
Architect - ICD/ITKE University Suttagart
Year - 2015
Location - Stuttgart, Germany
Area - 40 sqm
Volume - 130m3
construction Weight - 260kg
The Swiss Re Tower, also known as the 30 St Mary Axe, stands 180 meters tall holding a total of 40 floors. Its steel exoskeleton has navy-colored stripes and diamond-shaped prefabricated glass panels. The panels form a swirl of windows that wrap around the building.
The structure has a circular plan that widens in profile and tapers at the top, giving it the recognizable ‘gherkin’ shape. The need for reinforcement to stiffen the structure and resist wind loads is reduced due to the shape of the building. The floor column inside the building is free of columns because of the diagonal braces around the perimeter.
Instead of redirecting the wind to the bottom, Norman Foster designed an aerodynamic shape that allows wind to flow around the building and its facade.
• The improvement of the general public environment at street level, including new views across the site to the frontages of adjacent buildings and easy access to and around the new development.
• Maximum use of transport for the occupants of the building.
• Flexible serviced, high specification ‘user-friendly’ column-free office spaces with maximum primary space adjacent to natural light are available.
• Good physical and visual inter-connectivity has been provided between floors.
• Use of natural ventilation, low facade heat gain, and smart building control systems help to reduce energy consumption of the building.
Figure. 12. The 30 St Mary Axe
Inspiration
The venus flower basket is a special type of sponge with a glassy exoskeleton that glows in its underwater environment. The fibrous latticework helps to disperse stresses on the organism, and the round shape helps to reduce the force of strong water currents. This is reflected in the design of the 30 St. Mary Axe.
Material and Structure
The steel exoskeleton of the 30 St. Mary Axe is modeled after the Euplectella’s hexactinellid lattice. The building’s windows allow natural light and fresh air to penetrate into the structure The building’s shape allows wind to easily whip around it. The street-level vents also collect wind by sucking it in and swirling it upwards. Each floor is supported by beams that radiate from the structure’s center. The beams are exposed through an atrium in each floor, which reduces the air conditioning bill by nearly half compared to a similar building with normal facade.
Figure. 13. Left : Diagram depicting the windflow around the 30 St Mary Axe and a normal building without aerodynamics ; Right : The exoskeleton of Venus flower basket
Figure. 14. Floor and Elevation of the buildng
3.3 Kalundborg Eco-Industrial Park
Location : Copenhagon’ Denmark
Project Type : Industrial Park
Date of construction : 1980
The Kalundborg industrial ecosystem establishes a network of beneficial relationships in which one company’s waste product becomes a valuable resource for another. The Kalundborg Eco-Industrial Park has grown into a “complex network ofcompanies” built from the ground up over the last three decades. In the same way that organisms rely on other organisms, this example of industrial symbiosis mimics nature in the sense that companies rely on other companies within the system. Similarly, it has slowly evolved from a small collaboration of a few companies to a complex system of integrated establishments, much like an ecosystem.
The Kalundborp Eco-Industrial Park is made up of nine core systems that work together to convert waste products into useful resources and to achieve “greater efficiencies in the use and reuse of energy, water, and materials.” When these businesses operate in isolation, they face issues such as “manufacturing bi-products and material efficiency.” Traditionally, businesses would spend a significant amount of time, money, and energy collecting materials and water, then disposing of the waste. As a result, the core elements of this industrial ecosystem: material, energy, and water, determine the relationships within it.
Figure. 15. Aerial view Kalundborg Eco-Industrial Park showing the different industries
Material conservation
Materials are conserved throughout this ecosystem: DONG Energy’s Asnces power plant, for example, “removes over 98 percent of sulphur within its flue gas through a desulphurization process.” This sulphur is then combined with calcium and recycled wastewater to create industrial gypsum, which is used to replace imported natural gypsum. Gyproc uses this industrial gypsum to make plasterboard, which is then collected by Kara/ Noveren and returned to Gyproc for reuse. “This closed cycle replaces tonnes of natural gypsum that would have been imported otherwise”
By reusing materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill within the ecosystem, the Kalundborg Eco-Industrial Park has created a closed loop solution to this linear problem. This eliminates the need for natural gypsum imports, saving companies money and allowing them to develop environmentally sustainable solutions.
Energy conservation
DONG Energy’s coal-fired power plant “produces 10% of the electricity consumed in Denmark and operates at about 40% thermal efficiency”. The factory’s surplus heat is used to generate steam, which is used by Novozymes, Novo Nordisk, and Statoil. Excess heat is also used to provide central heating, which is used to heat homes throughout Kolundborg. Surplus energy from the Kolundborg Eco-Industrial Park is used to power other parts of the ecosystem.
Water conservation
Excess heat from the power plant, for example, is used to sterilise wastewater. This water is then recycled throughout the industrial ecosystem in order to reduce the amount of water drawn from nearby Lake Tisso. Take, for example, the water required to cool the power plant. The Kalundborg Eco-Industrial Park has solved this linear problem by treating and recycling grey water using excess energy from the industrial ecosystem.
The ability to reuse and recycle these three elements has reduced pollution, sewage, and waste material while also providing revenue to the system’s businesses. This bionetwork resembles a natural ecosystem in which organisms benefit from one another’s waste.
The Kalundborg Eco-Industrial Park, according to Suarez (2012), is a successful example of a biological model that “delivers both environmental and economic benefits.” He believes that the pork’s general concept is simple: one corporation’s waste becomes another’s valuable resource, resulting in “reduced resource consumption and a significant reduction in environmental strain.” As a result, each component has the opportunity to produce products more efficiently without “increasing the use of energy, water, and raw materials”.
Figure. 16. Diagram showing Kalundborg Eco-Industrial Park ecosystem
3.4 Analysis
Parameters:
Janine Benyus’ Biomimicry Resource Handbook was used to help develop the case studies. (Baumeister et al., 2014) Her list is divided into six categories, each of which has subcategories that further define the criteria for applying biomimicry in design.
These six principles are defined below :-
1. Evolve in order to Survive (Progressive)
Incorporate and embody information on a regular basis to ensure long-term performance.
◦ Replicate Successful Strategies.
◦ Repetition of Successful Approaches
◦ Integrate the Unexpected into your design.
◦ Incorporate errors in new ways to create new forms and functions.
◦ Information should be reshuffled.
To come up with new options, you’ll need to swap and change information.
2. Be Flexible in the Changing Condition (Entrepreneurial)
Appropriately respond to changing circumstances.
◦ Incorporate a diverse range of perspectives.
◦ To meet a functional need, include multiple forms, processes, or systems.
◦ Maintain Integrity by Practicing Self-Renewal.
◦ Continue to add energy and matter to the system to heal and improve it.
◦ Embrace resiliency by incorporating variation, redundancy, and decentralisation.
Maintain function after a disruption by using a variety of duplicate forms, processes, or systems that aren’t all in the same place.
3. Be Locally Attuned and Responsive (Native)
Integrate and blend into the surrounding environment.
◦ Utilize Cyclic Processes.
◦ Take advantage of phenomena that occur repeatedly.
◦ Use Materials and Energy that are readily available.
◦ Build with abundant, easily accessible materials while utilising free energy.
◦ Use feedback loops to your advantage.
◦ Participate in cyclic information flows to appropriately modify a reaction.
◦ Develop Collaborative Relationships.
Discover value in win-win situations.
5. Be Resource Efficient: Material and Energy (Smart)
Take advantage of resources and opportunities with skill and caution.
◦ Low-energy processes should be used.
◦ Reduce the required temperatures, pressures, and/or reaction time to reduce energy consumption.
◦ Multi-Functional Design should be used.
◦ Meet multiple requirements with a single elegant solution.
◦ All Materials Should Be Recycled
◦ Maintain a closed feedback loop for all materials.
◦ Adapt the form to the function.
Choose based on the shape of the object.
6. Use Life-Friendly Chemistry (Clean)
Use chemistry that aids in the natural processes of life.
◦ Break Products Down Into Beneficial Constituents
◦ Use chemistry that produces no harmful by-products during decomposition.
◦ Building with a small subset of elements selectively.
◦ Assemble a small number of elements in an elegant manner.
◦ Perform chemistry experiments in water.
Using water as a solvent
This criterion was organized through a checklist that analysed each of the case studies. Each category’s subsections were rated on a four-point scale to determine a site’s level of biomimicry application success, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
• None (0): There were no biomimicry principles in this category, and there were no biomimicry principles in other categories.
• Minimal (1): This category contained only the most basic biomimicry principles, but they were vague or incorrectly applied, resulting in only partial or inaccurate biomimicry linkages in other categories.
• Partial (2): This category contained biomimicry principles, but they were either not fully apparent or not concretely applied: it provided biomimicry linkages to other categories.
• Extensive (3) This category included clear biomimicry principles as well as biomimicry principle linkages to other categories.
THE EDEN PROJECT
APPROACH Biology influenced design
Organism
Behavior
FRAMEWORK
Replicate Successful Strategies.
EVOLVE TO SURVIVE
Integrate the Unexpected into your design.
Information should be reshuffled.
Incorporate a diverse range of perspectives
ADAPT TO CHANGING CONDITIONS
LOCALLY ATTUNED AND RESPONSIVE
Maintain Integrity by Practicing Self-Renewal.
Incorporating variation, redundancy, and decentralization
Use of accessible Materials and Energy
Developing Collaborative Relationship
INTEGRATE DEVELOPMEN T WITH GROWTH
Combine Modular and Nested Components
RESOURCE EFFICIENCY
LIFEFRIENDLY CHEMISTRY
DESIGN APPLICATION
Adapt the form to the function
Use of non harmful byproducts
PROBLEM SOLVING
Table. 2. Analysis of case study : The Eden Project
Bubbles. honeycomb
Sheets made of ETFE are self-cleaning.
The roof is light weight (geodesic hexogonol) and has a minimal impact on site.
Greenhouse with a geodesic dome, water collection. Uses the clay mine's inherent shape as a structural support. The Biomes' ETFE sheets and steelbeams offer rigidity to the flexible foundation.
The biome's self-cleaning ETFE sheets are minimal maintained. External maintenance is required for steel beams and the Core's sheet metal roofing. The ETFE sheets are modular and may be removed totally from the hex-tri-hex steel beams.
Temperature, humidity, and water indexing are all controlled by automated systems. However, they are trained to respond in a predictable manner. Materials that are easily accessible were employed. However, outsourcing steel and plastics was required.
The biomes' intricate structure is made up of basic materials like ETFE plastic and steel beams, functioning together as a multifunctional system. The biomes and Core were constructed independently throughout the two development periods, allowing development to react to previously built circumstances.
Materials that can be recycled. Steel beams have been outsourced. ETFE plastics are totally recyclable materials that have a high post-use value. The clay mine's 26 natural conditions: biomes exploited the mine's walls for structural support, and light was efficiently employed for its photovoltoic cells in the Core.
Site development, structure (heavy impact o site), roofing material (glass would be heavy and dangerous) large span, electrical
Inspired by bubble’s shape. Geodesic hexagonal structure (leightweight + long span), ETFE sheets: 1% weight of glass + translucent for green house effect, geothermal plant; generates 4MWe supply eden + 5000 households
EVOLVE TO SURVIVE
ADAPT TO CHANGING CONDITIONS
Replicate Successful Strategies.
Integrate the Unexpected into your design. Information should be reshuffled.
Incorporate a diverse range of perspectives
Maintain Integrity by Practicing Self-Renewal. Incorporating variation, redundancy, and decentralization
LOCALLY ATTUNED AND RESPONSIVE
Use of accessible Materials and Energy
Developing Collaborative Relationship
INTEGRATE DEVELOPMEN T WITH GROWTH
Combine Modular and Nested Components
RESOURCE EFFICIENCY
LIFEFRIENDLY CHEMISTRY
DESIGN APPLICATION
PROBLEM
SOLVING
Adapt the form to the function
Use of non harmful byproducts
Table. 4. Analysis of case study : 30 ST. Mary Axe
Its spherical shape reduces forces (strong wind currents). Venus Flower Basket has a hexoctinellid lattice like exoskeleton. Stresses are dispersed in a variety of directions at various levels.
The building disperses the wind load through its shape and provides ventilation and natural light to all levels, using the natural form of the sponge as structural design.
The building is made up of a series of fl triangles that combine gravity and lateral support into one, making it more staff, efficient, and lighter than a traditional high-rise.
Conical shape: wind turbulence, doubleglazed: insulation and passive solar heating, blinds: double skin- stop solar radiation, organic form: natural light in the interior, glass windows open (even up high), shafts between each floor for ventilation (lightwells)
Every element responds to comprehensive challenges like environment control and energy efficiency. In terms of functionality, the elements are nested within each other. Beams radiate supports each floor from the centre of the structure.
The design cuts 40% on mechanical cooling and ventilation. About 1/3 energy than normal building.
Construction process uses intensive energy and concrete production and installation. Maximum visual and functional experience.
The Venus flower basket has various levels of lattice work to help disperse stress under the sea. Vents at street level harvest wind by sucking it in and swirling the air upwards
EVOLVE TO SURVIVE
ADAPT TO CHANGING CONDITIONS
Replicate Successful Strategies.
Integrate the Unexpected into your design.
Information should be reshuffled.
Incorporate a diverse range of perspectives
Maintain Integrity by Practicing Self-Renewal. Incorporating variation, redundancy, and decentralization
LOCALLY ATTUNED AND RESPONSIVE
INTEGRATE DEVELOPMEN T WITH GROWTH
Use of accessible Materials and Energy
Developing Collaborative Relationship
Combine Modular and Nested Components
RESOURCE EFFICIENCY
LIFEFRIENDLY CHEMISTRY
How multiple organism works and forms ecosystem. It has a variety of innovative clean technology systems that work together like an ecosystem
The Kalundborg Eco-industrial park creates a network of beneficial relationships in which one company's waste product becomes a valuable resource for another which took three decades.
The building is made up of a series of fl triangles that combine gravity and lateral support into one, making it more staff, efficient, and lighter than a traditional high-rise.
DONG Energy's coal-fired power plant : electricity and steam used to filter water, heat homes and other companies. Asnces power plant : sulphur waste is made into industrial gypsum used by Kara/ Noveren.
The Industrial park was founded in 1961. It slowly evolved from a small collaboration of a few companies to a complex system of integrated establishments.
The coal fired plant produces 10% of the electricity consumed in Denmark, along with the heat that is used to make steam and heat people houses. Adapt the form to the function
Use of non harmful byproducts
The Kalundborg Eco-industrial park uses one industry waste to another industry material. Like this the waste is reduced along with the need for raw material. DESIGN APPLICATION PROBLEM SOLVING
Table. 5. Analysis of case study : The Kalundborg Eco-Industrial Park
In an ecosystem every organism relies on one another, like a terrarium.
05 INSPIRATION
When biomimicry is used as a tool for design, the resulting solution and the level at which it mimics its biological source can be drawn back to the original approach to the design. Zari classifies these two categories as ‘design looking to biology’, or ‘biology influencing design’ ; Defining a human need or design problem and looking to the ways other organisms or ecosystems solve this, termed here design looking to biology, or identifying a particular characteristic, behaviour or function in an organism or ecosystem and translating that into human designs, referred to as biology influencing design (Biomimicry Guild, 2007). (Zari, 2017)
Furthermore, practical experiments for biological influenced design was conducted at Georgia Tech, USA in 2006. A class of 45 students were broken into teams of 4-5 with the goal of producing a biological influenced design and assumptive report. (Helms, 2008) The focus of the study was the initial design approach, and how it influenced the end solution. The results proved that design had structural focus 100% of the time when the approach was solution-driven, and biological functions and behaviors were the focus 60% of the time when the approach was problem-driven. (Helms, 2008)
Structure
More shape, Less material and greater responsiveness
Trees
The root forms of trees could also inspire new approaches to creating foundations for buildings. In rainforests, where soils can be relatively shallow and therefore cannot provide the same resistance as those in temperate climates, trees have evolved pronounced buttresses which actually work in tension to prevent overturning. The formation of a wide, stiff base effectively moves the pivot point some distance from the trunk and, on the opposite side, a branching network of roots mobilises a vast amount of soil as ballast to resist overturning.
Bamboo
The species can reach 40m in height. Bamboo solves collapsing by interrupting smooth tubular growth with regular nodes, which act like bulkheads. The nodes provide great resistance to structural failure, and are part of what has facilitated bamboo’s lofty accomplishments.
Abalone
These shells have evolved a shell that electron microscopy reveals to be made of polygonal plates of calcium carbonate, bonded together with a flexible polymer mortar. The result is a material 3,000 times tougher than the chalk that makes up 95 per cent of its bulk. It has evolved a matrix of hard platelets with phenomenal resistance to cracking. Each platelet creates a point at which a crack stops and must then start afresh on a new platelet if it is to continue through the material. A degree of flexibility in the polymer helps to spread concentrated loads over a larger area of shell.
Figure. 17. Showing the section of bamboo
Figure.18 . Rainforest Tree
Figure. 19. Microscopic picture of abalone sheels
Bone
Avian skulls, such as those of crows and magpies, are little short of engineering miracles. The effective thickness of the skull is increased while weight is decreased. The structure is similar to a space-frame in which two layers of structural members are connected with struts and ties. The bird skull goes one step further in forming a dome shape, with the associated efficiency benefits.
Nest
Weaver Birds make reciprocal structure in which the overall span is longer than that of its individual members and each beam supports, and is supported by, the other beams in the structure. Short lengths of stick can be used to successively bridge the distance between two adjacent members that are at an angle to each other, eventually spanning the desired area as a base for the nest.
Webs / Tension Structure
Webs built by spiders have inspired a number of modern architects and engineers. Their forms range from the commonplace webs created by household spiders to the remarkably architectural tension structures of the grass spider (genus Agelenopsis) and the bizarre constructions of the bowl and doily spider (Frontinella communis) and the female bauble spider (Achaearanea globispira).
The creature climbs on top of sand dune at night and, because of its matt black colour, it is able to radiate heat to the night sky (the heat sink is actually outer space which is at a temperature of -273 °C) and become slightly cooler than its surroundings. When the moist breeze blows in off the sea, droplets of water form on the beetle’s back. Then, just before sunrise, it tips its shell up, the water runs down to its mouth, it has a good drink and goes off and hides for the rest of the day. The effectiveness of this beetle’s adaptation goes even further because it has a series of bumps on its shell that are hydrophilic and between them is a waxy finish that is hydrophobic.
Elephant Foot Plant
(Discora elephantipes) have swollen bases for water storage and can store water from six months to a year. It does this by retaining water within its root structure and base of the stem. The root structure does this by expanding and contracting according to the amount of water stored through the transfer of water from the soil. In general, the older the plant, the larger the base will become.
Figure.23 . Elephant foot plant
Figure. 24. Sketch of water condense on their shell
Thermal Environment
Homeostasis – the tendency for living organisms to maintain steady conditions
Keeping cool
Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae) flower
The Strelitzia flower has a kind of perch for the birds that pollinate it and, when they land, the perch bends and the petals flap outwards to expose the anthers, which dust the bird’s feet with pollen. From the understanding of the flower was the idea of a flap that could be moved through 90 ° – a very useful characteristic for solar shading on buildings where the ideal solution is a shade that provides minimal obstruction to the view when shading is not required and full protection when the sun comes out.
Keeping warm
Penguins have evolved feathers that allow them to respond to two very different conditions. While swimming, the bird’s feathers are held flat against the body for optimum streamlining; on land, the penguin lifts its feathers so that the mass of downy filaments at the base of each form millions of pockets of trapped air for effective nsulation. The bird is able to maintain a temperature difference of 60 °C between its body and the exterior with just a 20 mm thick layer of feathers.
BioTRIZ
The thesis/antithesis defined by Salmaan Craig was a roof that was insulated against the sun but that allowed infra-red heat to radiate at night. This led to a method of structuring a layer of insulation on top of a concrete roof that blocked most of the sunlight while funnelling the long-wave radiation using reflectors towards transparent apertures. Test panels demonstrated that the roof temperature could drop as much as 13 °C below ambient by entirely passive means. The concrete would act as a heat store so that it would radiate this coolness to the rooms below during the day. Craig estimates that the biomimetic roof would maintain the concrete at an average of 4.5 °C cooler than a standard roof in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Figure.25 . Close-up of penguin fur
Figure.26 . Illustration showing how the petals open up
Figure. 27. Roof section
Sessile Barnacles
In a space-constrained environment, the relationship between individual mass and population density is primarily that as density rises, the average mass of the individual decreases. This relationship is similar to the exponential constant of 3/2, which barnacles also use.
Compass termites (Amitermes meridionalis)
The compass termites’ tower forms a flattened almond shape in plan, with the long axis aligned perfectly north–south. The long, flat sides present a large absorbing area which catches the warmth of the morning sun after the cold night, while in the middle of the day the minimum surface area is presented to the midday sun. Ventilation tubes within the walls can be controlled by the termites, so it was hypothesised that, if the temperature inside rises too high, vents can be opened and the warm air rises by stack effect.
Turrets’ Tunnel
During the summer, surface winds draw air from the nest mound’s central tunnels to provide ventilation. Two functionally distinct tunnels: outflow tunnels in the upper, central region and inflow tunnels in the lower, peripheral region of the nest mound, according to the predominant air flow direction. The central tunnels’ outflow was followed by a delayed inflow through the peripheral tunnels.
Figure. 28. Mud towers formed by compass termite
Figure. 29. Multiple Sessile Barnacles together
Figure. 30. Air flow shown in Turrets’ Nest
06 CONCLUSION
6.1 Findings
The built environment is increasingly being blamed for global environmental and social problems, with large amounts of waste, material, and energy use, as well as greenhouse gas emissions, being attributed to the habitats humans have created. It’s becoming clear that there needs to be a change in the way the built environment is created and maintained.
Mimicking life, including the complex interactions between living organisms that make up ecosystems, is both a practical example for humans to learn from and an exciting prospect for future human habitats that could be entwined with the habitats of other species in mutually beneficial ways. It is hoped that by using the framework proposed in this paper, distinctions between different types of biomimicry and their regenerative potential will be easier to make.
Despite the fact that many ideas related to ecosystem-based biomimicry and architectural biomimicry in general have yet to be tested in the built form, design that mimics how most ecosystems are able to function in a sustainable and even regenerative way has the potential to positively transform the built environment’s environmental performance. This could be improved if a systems-based biomimicry approach, which mimics how mature ecosystems work, is incorporated into the initial design parameters and used as a benchmark for evaluation throughout the design process.
6.2 Limitation
When researching a topic like biomimicry, it’s important to keep things in perspective, as it’s easy to overlook flaws. How biomimicry design works at the three levels of organism, ecosystem, and society. The reason why the way these three levels of the design network work is so important is that when this design becomes unbalanced, the results can be disastrous.
The study concludes that, regardless of the site area, when the technique is applied to the design, the process can be difficult. If the design fails, the inspiration used can have a significant positive or negative impact on the building. Understanding and testing all of the requirements is critical to the design’s success because it increases the likelihood of the design succeeding.
07 BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLOGRAPHY
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M. Helms, S.V. Swaroop, A.K. Goel. (2009). Biology Inspired Design : Process and Products
Oguntona, Olusegun and Aigbavboa. Clinton (2016). Promoting Biomimetic materials for a sustainable construction industry
Elghawaby Mahmoud. (2010). Biomimicry: A New Approach to Enhance the Efficiency of Natural Ventilation Systems in Hot climate
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David Harris. (2016). How can biomimicry be used to enhance the design of an architectural column
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