Biomimetic architecture is a branch of the new science of biomimicry defined and popularized by Janine Benyus in her 1997 book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. Biomimicry (bios – life, and mimesis – imitate) refers to innovations inspired by nature as one which studies nature and then imitates or takes inspiration from its designs and processes to solve human problems. The book suggests looking at nature as a Model, Measure, and Mentor, suggesting that the main aim of biomimicry is sustainability.
Living beings have adapted to a constantly changing environment during evolution through mutation, recombination, and selection. The core idea of the biomimetic philosophy is that nature's inhabitants including animals, plants, and microbes have the most experience in solving problems and have already found the most appropriate ways to last on planet Earth. Similarly, biomimetic architecture seeks solutions for building sustainability present in nature, not only by replicating their natural forms, but also by understanding the rules governing those forms.
The 21st century has seen a ubiquitous waste of energy due to inefficient building designs, in addition to the over-utilization of energy during the operational phase of its life cycle. In parallel, recent advancements in fabrication techniques, computational imaging, and simulation tools have opened up new possibilities to mimic nature across different architectural scales. As a result, there has been a rapid growth in devising innovative design approaches and solutions to counter energy problems. Biomimetic architecture is one of these multi-disciplinary approaches to sustainable design that follows a set of principles rather than stylistic codes, going beyond using nature as inspiration for the aesthetic components of built form, but instead seeking to use nature to solve problems of the building's functioning and saving energy.
History
Architecture has long drawn from nature as a source of inspiration. Biomorphism, or the incorporation of natural existing elements as inspiration in design, originated possibly with the beginning of man-made environments and remains present today. The ancient Greeks and Romans incorporated natural motifs into design such as the tree-inspired columns. Late Antique and Byzantine arabesque tendrils are stylized versions of the acanthus plant.Alois Riegl, "The Arabesque" from Problems of style: foundations for a history of ornament, translated by Evelyn Kain, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University, 1992), 266–305. Varro's Aviary at Casinum from 64 BC reconstructed a world in miniature.A. W. van Buren and R. M. Kennedy, "Varro's Aviary at Casinum", The Journal of Roman Studies 9 (1919): 63. A pond surrounded a domed structure at one end that held a variety of birds. A stone colonnaded portico had intermediate columns of living trees.
The Sagrada Família church by Antoni Gaudi begun in 1882 is a well-known example of using nature's functional forms to answer a structural problem. He used columns that modeled the branching canopies of trees to solve statics problems in supporting the vault.George R. Collins, "Antonio Gaudi: Structure and Form", Perspecta 8 (1963): 89.
Organic architecture uses nature-inspired geometrical forms in design and seeks to reconnect the human with his or her surroundings. Kendrick Bangs Kellogg, a practicing organic architect, believes that "above all, organic architecture should constantly remind us not to take Mother Nature for granted – work with her and allow her to guide your life. Inhibit her, and humanity will be the loser."David Pearson, New Organic Architecture: the breaking wave (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2001), 10. This falls in line with another guiding principle, which is that form should follow flow and not work against the dynamic forces of nature.David Pearson, New Organic Architecture: the breaking wave (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2001), 14. Architect Daniel Liebermann's commentary on organic architecture as a movement highlights the role of nature in building: "...a truer understanding of how we see, with our mind and eye, is the foundation of everything organic. Man's eye and brain evolved over aeons of time, most of which were within the vast untrammeled and unpaved landscape of our Edenic biosphere! We must go to Nature for our models now, that is clear!" Organic architects use man-made solutions with nature-inspired aesthetics to bring about an awareness of the natural environment rather than relying on nature's solutions to answer man's problems.
Metabolist architecture, a movement present in Japan post-WWII, stressed the idea of endless change in the biological world. Metabolists promoted flexible architecture and dynamic cities that could meet the needs of a changing urban environment. The city is likened to a human body in that its individual components are created and become obsolete, but the entity as a whole continues to develop. Like the individual cells of a human body that grow and die although human body continues to live, the city, too, is in a continuous cycle of growth and change.Kenzo Tange, "A Plan for Tokyo, 1960: Toward a Structural Reorganization", in Architecture Culture 1943–1968: A Documentary Anthology, ed. Joan Ockman, 325–334 (New York: Rizzoli, 1993), 327. The methodology of Metabolists views nature as a metaphor for the man-made. Kisho Kurokawa's Helix City is modeled after DNA, but uses it as a structural metaphor rather than for its underlying qualities of its purpose of genetic coding.
Other historic attempts have been made, which are not directly related to the built environment. Some of these earliest successful attempts at mimicking nature include the electric battery, mimicking the living torpedo, by Alessandro Volta which dates back to the 1800s, as well as the first successful airplane built by Otto Lilienthal after 1889, looking at birds as biological role models.
Characteristics
The term Biomimetic architecture refers to the study and application of construction principles which are found in natural environments and species, and are translated into the design of sustainable solutions for architecture. Biomimetic architecture uses nature as a model, measure and mentor for providing architectural solutions across scales, which are inspired by natural organisms that have solved similar problems in nature. Using nature as a measure refers to using an ecological standard of measuring sustainability, and efficiency of man-made innovations, while the term mentor refers to learning from natural principles and using biology as an inspirational source.
Biomorphic architecture, also referred to as bio-decoration, on the other hand, refers to the use of formal and geometric elements found in nature, as a source of inspiration for aesthetic properties in designed architecture, and may not necessarily have non-physical, or economic functions. A historic example of biomorphic architecture dates back to Egyptian, Greek and Roman cultures, using tree and plant forms in the ornamentation of structural columns.
Within biomimetic architecture, two basic procedures can be identified, namely, the bottom-up approach (biology push) and top-down approach (technology pull). The boundary between these is blurry with the possibility of transitioning between the two approaches depending on individual cases. Biomimetic architecture is typically carried out in highly interdisciplinary teams in which biologists and other natural scientists work in collaboration with engineers, scientists, and designers. In the bottom-up approach, the starting point is a new result from basic biological research promising for biomimetic implementation. For example, developing a biomimetic material system after the quantitative analysis of the mechanical, physical, and chemical properties of a biological system. In the top-down approach, biomimetic innovations are sought for already existing developments that have been successfully established on the market. The cooperation focuses on the improvement or further development of an existing product.Mimicking nature requires understanding the differences between biological and technical systems. Their evolution is dissimilar: biological systems have been evolving for millions of years, whereas the technical systems have been developing for only a few hundred years. Biological systems evolved based on their genetic codes governed by natural selection, while technical systems developed based on human design for performing functions. In general, functions in technical systems aim to develop a system as a result of design, while in biological systems, functions can occasionally be an unsystematic genetic evolutionary change that leads to a particular function that is not prearranged. Their differences are wide: technical systems function within extensive environments, while biological systems work within restricted living constraints. Architectural innovations that are responsive to architecture do not have to resemble a plant or an animal. Where form is intrinsic to an organism's function, then a building modelled on a life form's processes may end up looking like the organism too. Architecture can emulate natural forms, functions and processes. Though a contemporary concept in a technological age, biomimicry does not entail the incorporation of complex technology in architecture. In response to prior architectural movements biomimetic architecture strives to move towards radical increases in resource efficiency, work in a closed loop model rather than linear (work in a closed cycle that does not need a constant intake of resources to function), and rely on solar energy instead of fossil fuels. The design approach can either work from design to nature or from nature to design. Design to nature means identifying a design problem and finding a parallel problem in nature for a solution. An example of this is the DaimlerChrysler bionic car that looked to the boxfish to build an aerodynamic body."The Mercedes-Benz bionic car: Streamlined and light, like a fish in water - economical and environmentally friendly thanks to the latest diesel technology", Daimler, last modified June 7, 2005, . The nature to design method is a solution-driven biologically inspired design. Designers start with a specific biological solution in mind and apply it to design. An example of this is Sto's Lotusan paint, which is self-cleaning, an idea presented by the lotus flower, which emerges clean from swampy waters."StoColor Lotusan Lotus-Effect façade paint", Sto Ltd., http://www.sto.co.uk/25779_EN-Facade_paints-StoColor_Lotusan.htm .
Three Levels of Mimicry