Please add to our community thinking by posting a few inspirational analogies of your own between the systems that you typically find in biological organisms and similar systems that we often (or should) find in buildings.
Think creatively about all the systems and features that allow creatures to survive, thrive, and adapt to their environments!
- Lilypads and Structures
Lilypads are a unique organism in that there are some lilies that have pads that can grow as large as 10 feet across, yet hold dozens of pounds of weight. A reason for this is due to its veins, an expansive system of girder-like flesh that are connected to a central stem. These veins are also connected by other veins that form concentric rings around the whole lily pad, effectively creating a strong vascular system that can support a lot of weight on top of the water. This system of veins and its success for lilypads can be an inspiration for structural design of floating structures. Lilypads use this method of fractal vein structure to obtain as much sunlight, with as little plant mass as possible, and likewise, designers can utilize this to minimize the amount of building material used to support a structure on top of water. This served as the inspiration for architect Vincent Callebaut, who designed an entire city based on the lilypad’s structure.
- Termite Mounds and Passive Cooling
It was discovered by researchers in Africa that termite mounds remain remarkably cool despite being in hot climates. This inspired the architect Mike Pearce to design the Eastgate Center in Harare, Zimbabwe. The building features a natural ventilation system with channels of air pockets connected to a central chimney that drives hot air outside of the building via convection. Through nature-inspired design, the Eastgate Center was able to achieve a 90% reduction in energy use for cooling compared to conventional air-conditioning of a comparative building. Termites don’t use electricity to stay cool and therefore, our buildings may not need to either!
