Eastgate Mall
The first case study uses passive ventilation and temperature regulation as the driving elements of creating a comfortable interior environment derived from the basic chimney effect used by termite mounds. By far the best solution to reduce the effects of climate change is by cutting emissions. It is important to briefly outline that we are focusing on carbon emissions which has two types - embodied carbon and operational carbon. Embodied Carbon are the emissions or energy from manufacturing, transportation, and installation of building materials. (e.g. Local materials, use less energy). Operational Carbon are the emissions from a building’s consumption that includes people (e.g. using a kettle) 2
Fig. 1 Right: shows 11% of Global CO2 emissions by sector come from Building materials & construction and 28% from Building operations 3
Figs 2–4 Below: shows cool-air and warm-air shafts rising through the building out the chimneys 4
2 CarbonCure “what is Embodied Carbon?”
Mick Pearce’s Eastgate Mall in Harare, Zimbabwe, 1996, is an example of biomimicry applied to architecture.5 The intention and challenge of this project was to create a building "...which was as comfortable as a building air-conditioned - without air-conditioning," and therefore use less emissions.6 Pearce saw that he needed to use the natural environment to cool itself, which led him to look at solutions provided by nature. By using the night air to cool the building from the previous day, hot air rises through and out the chimneys cold; air sinks and is stored into the concrete of the chimneys and tunnels. Located underground, the concrete teeth slabs also mimic nature and plays a part in the dispersion of heat. The concrete teeth act like cactus needles with a large surface area to disperse heat efficiently. “It achieves 90 percent passive climate control and uses 35 percent less energy than other buildings in the region.” 7
Pearce’s building was a great feat in 1996 but a lot has changed with the shift in awareness towards
3 The American Institute of Architects, “Architecture’s Carbon Problem.”
4 Build Construction. Eastgate Mall.
5 Zari, "Biomimetic design for climate change adaptation and mitigation," 3.
6 Build Construction, Eastgate Mall.
7 National Geographic, See How Termites Inspired a Building That Can Cool Itself | Decoder.
more sustainable building construction materials. Eastgate Mall, like majority of our buildings today, are mostly made from concrete masonry and steel which are one of the largest contributors to global carbon emissions. Production of steel contributes 7 percent of global carbon emissions respectively and cement being “…the second-most-consumed product on the planet, after clean water,” contributes to 6.5 percent. It is also worth to mentioning that it can be challenging recycling concrete and steel. Steel has undesirable compounds such as copper accumulate which is difficult to remove when attempting to recycle. Luckily, there are ways around this, now with smarter production and recycling strategies like reinventing the production of cement and steel with relatively more sustainable materials that reduce carbon emissions, shifting from coal to biomass as fuel and simply upgrading production plant technologies that save significant energy in the longrun.8
Fig. 5 Top right: Shows Ecovative Mushroom® Insulation’s alternative production process compared to conventional insulation.9
Fig. 6 Bottom right: Shows vertical section view of Ecovative Mushroom® Insulation inserted between cladding and wall.10
Organic, bio-inspired materials such as myceliumengineered wood and spider silk could be the reinvention of cement and steel. Research suggests that we could potentially substitute our current building materials with greener alternatives that are relatively more, sustainable, durable, and strong For example, fibreglass could be replaced with mycelium for insulation as it is fire-proof, non-toxic, with a higher thermal storage than fibreglass and stronger than concrete. Sights for the future see manipulating the growth and regenerative effects of these organic materials at the scale of buildings. Buildings today have already integrated organic materials such are Stefano Boeri Architetti's Bosco Verticale Milan, Italy, 2014 and Wilkinson Eyre's and Grant Associates' Gardens by the Bay, Singapore, 2012.11
8 Brogan, “Imperial College London.”
9 ArchDaily, "Insulation Grown From Fungi".
10 ArchDaily, "Insulation Grown From Fungi".
11 The Future Of.
Gardens by the Bay
The second case regarding symbiotic relationships shows the concept of a balanced ecosystem, emphasising on the reliance of symbiotic relationships to thrive, where the flow of energy, materials and resources are not wasted and are upcycled by other systems.
Fig. 7 Top Right: Shows Singapore's Garden's entire internal ecosystem. 12
Fig. 8 Bottom Right: A simplified version of internal ecosystem showing key environmental strategies. 13
Nature has a way of conserving energy or at least using the least amount as much as possible and I think weaning from grid-generated electricity that depends on fossil fuels are important in learning how to make self-sufficient buildings. Each strategy plays an important role in the balancing this internal ecosystem, ultimately reducing carbon dioxide in the building’s life cycle. In reference in accordance with the letters show in Fig. 6, A, the solar heat gain is minimised through specially selected glass panels and sun-shading devices. B, Cooling displacement with the use of chilled underground water pipes at the lower occupied spaces, reduces the volume of air to be cooled and vents out hot air above in the process. C, De-humidification of air inside the domes reduces the required energy in cooling by using a liquid desiccant recycled from the waste heat of burning biomass. D, The biomass is made from wood and horticultural waste from across Singapore.
Fig. 9 left: Shows the lake system of natural filtration14
This lake system captures water run-off from within the Gardens and is purified by aquatic plants before being directed to the reservoir. Irrigation system for the Gardens also uses the naturally treated water from the lake system. The aquatic plants illustrate their important role in the healthy functioning of our ecosystem. The water in the lake system provides aquatic habitats, inviting biodiversity and highlighting the importance of clean water in sustaining our ecological processes and functions as a living system.15 I think that majority, if not all buildings should use these basic principles provided by nature to save energy and mitigate carbon emissions.
12 Keyte, Emma., Supernature: How Wilkinson Eyre Made a Hothouse Cool, 64
13 Gardens by the Bay “Sustainability Efforts”
14 Gardens by the Bay
15 Gardens by the Bay
Applying our knowledge on ecosystems into our design practice can fight against climate change with regenerative design.
Fig. 10 Top left: Model of environmental processes, Olgyay 1963, amended by author. 16
Fig. 11 Top right: Diagram of impacts of built environment on its surroundings, Yeang 1995. 17
“Regenerative Design is the practice of engaging the natural world as the medium for, and generator of the architecture."18 . Singapore has recently been striving for a ‘Garden City’ by incorporating regenerative ecosystems organic construction as an approach for a more comfortable and liveable city. Carbon emissions contribute to the steady rise of global temperatures and changes in weather patterns which creates the need for people to buy more active cooling systems that emit more heat, energy and carbon emissions and consequently exacerbate climate change, continuing a detrimental cycle. Vegetation and balanced ecosystems within urban cities are essential in mitigating urban heat via shading, effects of evaporative cooling and inviting biodiversity and therefore mitigating climate change.19
Briefly zooming out from the Gardens, Singapore as a city relies on natural gas for most of its power, meaning this system saves an equivalent of 10,000 cars from the city's roads. There are implications for the rest of the world if people continue using active cooling systems, by 2050, more than a third of global electricity could end up being used to cool buildings and vehicles.20
A downside on biomimetic architecture in response to climate change could be greenwashing targeted towards eco-tourism, unethical behaviours like these could easily propagate and profit off this Greenwashing has become more common with the intention to mislead consumers that a product or building has a greater environmental impact than reality.
16 Petra, Biomimetics in Architecture : Architecture of Life and Buildings, 82.
17 Petra, 82.
18 Littman, "Regenerative Architecture: A Pathway Beyond Sustainability," 1.
19 Bloomberg Quicktake: Originals. How Singapore Uses Science to Stay Cool.
20 Bloomberg Quicktake: Originals. How Singapore Uses Science to Stay Cool.
Before Janine Benyus introduced biomimicry to contemporary business strategies, 20th century architect Richard Buckminster Fuller was already famous for his geodesic domes in the 1950’ s. Fuller saw the convergent potential between nature and architecture as he mimicked the shell form of diatoms, which are single-celled organisms From the diatoms he derived the basic geometry of an icosahedron that provided optimal relationships between weight, material use, volume height and floor area of the domes.21 In 1985, St. Louis architects Murphy and Mackey, built the ‘Climatron’ a greenhouse that was inspired by Fuller’s domes.22
21 Petra, Biomimetics in Architecture : Architecture of Life and Buildings, 46.
22 Keyte, Emma., Supernature: How Wilkinson Eyre Made a Hothouse Cool, 63.
23 Petra, Biomimetics in Architecture : Architecture of Life and Buildings, 46.
24 Petra, 47.
25 Keyte, Emma., Supernature: How Wilkinson Eyre Made a Hothouse Cool, 62
Figs. 12-14 From left to right: Diatom Shell.23 Excerpt of patent specification of Fuller’s domes. Geometric definition 24 Interior of the Climatron, Dt Louis, inspired by Buckminster Fuller.25
Reflection
Although we are currently faced with limited resources of energy and matter, there is so much potential for biomimetics and I think contemporary architecture should respond to climate change with nature in mind. Nature has existed for billions of years with solutions that have been proven successful time and time again, it has the potential to heal our built environment and could eventually save us from further climatic turmoil
We are already seeing the regenerative effects of responding to climate change with biomimicry in contemporary architecture, with more research into this area, we can surpass what we have now Striving for a better awareness of natural and built environments and understanding models showing the flow of resources and energy would lead to better design decision making. Specific research into the topic of ‘Life Sciences’ would increase the chances of transferring scientific methods into other disciplines of design. More interdisciplinary projects would benefit in crossing over knowledge, such as putting a regulation in place for architects to bring a biologist into their design process. We as architects need to do better in making design decisions and look forward to the potential of applying biomimetics in architecture, which can be achieved to not just mitigate but also potentially adapt to climate change.
Conclusion
This paper has outlined how biomimetic architecture in response to climate change is relevant for cooling interiors and the production and recycling of concrete and steel which all contribute to carbon emissions. These contemporary architectural design issues have been challenged by using nature’s design principles of passive ventilation and thermal regulation and uses symbiotic relationships from balanced ecosystems as well as sustainable alternatives for building and construction Eastgate Mall, Zimbabwe creates a comfortable interior environment derived from the basic chimney effect used by termite mounds. In the case of Gardens by the Bay, Singapore, it showcases the reliance of symbiotic relationships to thrive, where the flow of energy, materials and resources are not wasted and are upcycled by other systems Both case studies have highlighted the importance and success of using nature as a model for our design decisions. By using biomimicry to recognise the consequences of how these design decisions can affect a building’s operational and embodied carbon emissions and how these are mitigated, there is an opportunity to heal our natural and built environment.
Bibliography:
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