Submissions (50)
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Enjoy browsing this gallery of all 50 submissions, including the 12 Finalists.
Biology & Architecture: A New Contract for Sustainable Solutions in the Tropics
The project is a research of the relationship that can be developed between Biology and Architecture in order to propose innovative design solutions to the existing environmental issues. The theoretical research outlines the transition from the natural phenomena to a manmade application within the biomimetic framework, focusing on a specific environmental issue: Humidity control in the Tropics.
The project proposes a dehumidification “membrane” made of a new aggregate material – a mixture of Kaolin and Calcium Chloride – whose composition derives from inspirations of natural phenomena, absorbing moisture from the air. The experimental research of the created material identifies parameters that are related to its moisture absorption properties, creating the potential for it to be used as the main element of a passive dehumidification system, improving the efficiency of the ventilation systems in the Tropics. This system can be integrated within a building’s façade, supplying the interior spaces with dehumidified air and absorbing the humidity generated by the indoor human activity to provide occupants’ comfort.
TrailSpy - find what is lurking around you...
While walking through the rainforest, we were overwhelmed with stimulating smells, pictures, sounds, movements, and patterns. Immediately after spotting something, our visit to the forest on Gigante Peninsula in Panama presented us with a big challenge: living organism identification.
The TrailSpy is a hiking pole on steroids. It includes a camera/video capturing device, a sound recording device based on the tympanal organ of a katydid to collect directional sounds, and a thermal capturing device based on the viper’s pit organ. The TrailSpy device senses light-, infrared- and soundwaves continuously while a visitor walks in the rainforest. Once it detects a source of either heat, sound or image, it will light up the direction indicator lights to signal the visitor where the stimulus is coming from.
The signals (audio, visual, video, and thermal information) are sent via wireless bluetooth technology to a PDA. An application that was downloaded to the PDA prior to the visit to the forest will then compare the triangulated data received with a database (similar to google goggles) to identify the organism. Once one or multiple identification(s) has/have been made, the visitor can click on multiple links that will tell the story about the found organism (pdfs with textual information, videos, links to other sources, short motion graphics, etc.)
The TrailSpy also comes in handy to stabilize hiking on muddy grounds as well as to move human-sized spiderwebs or poisonous snakes out of the way.
Field Station Gigante
Learning from the Rainforest’s Story
The story of Gigante Peninsula in Panama is one of optimism. Here, secondary rainforest has reclaimed land that has been used up and abandoned by human deforesting for lumber, grazing for livestock and cultivation of commodity crops. Once this land was scarred and represented the destructive force of progress. Now that the land holds no economic value for humans they have moved on. This has allowed the regenerative power of life to restore the jungle with no help from man other than leaving alone for decades. Now this land represents a valuable lesson in stewardship and is a treasure of biological research and an optimistic outlook for the future of rainforests the world over. Drawing researchers from around the globe, Field Station Gigante will provide a platform for education and understanding which in this new age of global human impact will have a different kind of economic importance.
Biotic Model
The red mangrove tree Rhizophora mangle is among one of the common species of mangrove found in Panama (Tomlinson, 1986). These trees and many other families and species like it have developed evolutionary adaptations to conditions like variable salinity, tidal inundation, anaerobic soils and intense sunlight. All of these challenges are life threatening to almost all other tree species, yet the mangrove thrives in these conditions and provides a unique ecosystem that supports a diverse biome of other life forms.
Minimizing the effects of environment on an Architectural space in presence of harsh conditions
The product of this design process is an envelope designed to withstand cold condition that is inspired by penguin feathers function. Likewise, a transpiration system which helps the structure to remain temperate in nearly hot weather inspired by human skin. The form is consist of a porous structure which follows a 3D Voronoi pattern that leads to optimum light absorption. The Voroni pattern is the language of nature, and an expandable model which give rise to a light weight structure. In addition to, the pattern can be seen in wide range of organism that makes the form more similar to living creatures. The envelope is made up of lots of small blades with ability to erect and lie flat. In cold condition when the blades are erected, they greatly reduce the speed of airflow in surface. This causes the air to trap and insulates the structure as well as maximizing light absorption which improves energy efficiency. When the weather is rainy or snowy the blades lie flat to prevent the structure from getting entirely wet. On the other hand, when the weather is hot the blades lie flat and block the sunlight. Additionally, the structure employs a transpiration system to become colder by means of sweating and evaporative cooling on the blade surface.
Shelter for a rainy day
The problem: Rainy regions are always in needs of shelters with fast actions especially in public places such as parks and open spaces.
The Goal: designing a shelter inspired by nature (pine tree) that has a fairly fast reaction to the weather changes and also it could be capable to be installed in public spaces with a optimum production and consumption and saving energy.
Researchers during their researches on pine tree wood concluded that the fibrous tissue of pine wood has a great feature in response to relative humidity. Because of the high capacity to absorb and retain water (moisture) in the wood and also its significant feature of transformation in a short time, that is completely reversible. base on these features a preliminary model is presented. the component consist of two critical parts: a load bearing substructures, and 2 moisture sensitive veneer composite elements. This structure is our basic design plan in this project and the shelter coefficiented according to the length and thickness of pine wood (stands designed) What was important in the design plan was, how to inspire by the nature in order to ease people community (movement) on a rainy day, and the design more compatibility with the environment around.
Vent Skin: A Skin for Greenhouse ventilation
Proper ventilation and high energy usage in winter has always been one of the most challenging issues in greenhouses structures. The conventional greenhouse envelopes merely provide just required light, and because of greenhouse effect and trapped energy in greenhouses, extra heat is produced specially in hot weather. So, designing a skin for greenhouses that would provide automatic, ongoing ventilation seemed to be of great value. Furthermore, this skin, called VentSkin here, would make fresh air and reduce fossil fuel consumption. To do so, nature was looked at as it can be regarded as the best teacher for problem solving. Different kinds of skins and their potentials were studied, among which the plants’ leaf was considered to be a good example to follow. A leaf can control the plant’s ventilation in diversity of climates, from moderate to extreme temperatures alike. Emulating the principles explored from plants’ leaves, a building skin was developed with the aim of creating sustainable, low-energy consuming ventilation. In this design, the skin consists of a double-layered silicone sheet full of tiny stoma-like holes that are cut in diamond shape. Connected to a gas container that is sensitive to temperature fluctuations, the diamond blades rotate as the temperature changes in order to control the openings accordingly. The flexibility of Vent Skin allows for the envelope to be bent in any part and corner, wherever extra shade and/or light is needed.
Active Parasol Designing in Hot and Dry Region
Today some hard and unbearable features of hot and dry desert regions like weather dryness, hot air, the presence of dust in the air and scorching sun makes the designing of a useful parasol in public places inevitable. We can refer to the nature for answering this matter because the nature has tried its methods during long years. The skin of desert animals acts as a border in their surroundings and it can also resist outside factors and helps the maintenance of its lower layer, the main objective in this project is the designing of a parasol as a two-side layer that can prevent the sun ray, the absorption of dust, dew moisture, and underground water in order to make the lower space of the layer pleasant and desirable. Designing the details of the parasol can be inspired from natural processes. Therefore this research will study the behaviors and the anatomy of these animals carefully (Such as the roots of the plants compatible with deserts, Xerphytes, Ephedra, Elaeagnus angustifolia, Pollen grain, Haloxylon, Chenopodiaceas, the leaves of oleaster trees, reptiles' flakes, etc). Considering the results ,the best forms, structures, processes and natural geometry can be used in designing details to reduce air dust, temperature and dryness under the parasol and provide relative convenience and tranquility. The application of this inspiration in form designing and structure can be brought up in biomimicry acquisitions.
Life in Desert
The question is how nature makes life possible in hot and dry climate, where the sunlight, extreme dryness and hot winds together contribute to making it harder. To find the answer, we took a look at different types of creatures living in this condition. Two general categories of living creatures could be identified in desert: one is those living and walking on the surface such as camel, porcupine and snail; the other is those living underground most of the time to provide themselves comfortable conditions. Among all these, we focused on snail because of its amazing form and mechanism, which make its life possible in a quite architectural way, rather than using mostly biological procedures to survive, like the other creatures. The secret lies behind the shell locating on its back. Its form and structure provide the snail with the livable temperature. In this presentation, the solutions suggested by the shell of snail in making life easy are analyzed. These solutions include self-shading, surface reflection and air insulation. These characteristics were considered as the basic principles of design. Some primary physical models were built to experiment it in reality. Furthermore, a conceptual model was analyzed in Ecotect Building Analysis software in which it is demonstrated how the purpose of lessening sunlight effect and providing comfortable conditions was achieved. Finally, some solutions towards its construction were suggested and applied in physical models to provide sustainable construction in building forms of this type.
Decreasing noise pollution
This paper explains a biomimitic design that aims at decreasing noise pollution. The design consists of architectural volumes (buildings) that can help us have less noisy cities. The design was inspired by the structure of softwood as well as human s ear. The fact that softwood is a good voice deterrent led the study towards looking into its structure in micro. In addition, how human’s ear receives and concentrates sound seemed to be a good inspiration for trapping and collecting the most possible noise. Once trapped, the energy of sound (noise) can be turned into electricity, and subsequently be used in any desirable function. It is explained how structure of soft wood with irregular surfaces absorbs and traps sound. This quality of the texture was employed to absorb voice in the design. Then, it is shown how an architectural proposal was formed in order to turn sound energy into electrical energy in highly noisy places like airports or bust stations. Finally, it is demonstrated in detail how the architectural design can follow the footsteps of nature and, in this case, make a more convenient environment for man, while respecting the nature.
Transferring moisture from soil to air to increase humidity in hot and dry areas.
One of the important challenges in hot and dry areas is to create comfort condition by increasing the air relative humidity that leads to evaporative cooling. Increasing relative humidity up to 50% in cold winters of this area would also result in better comfort condition. On the other hand, there is always moisture in the soil. Plants use this moisture, process it, turn it into vapor and return it to the air. During this process, plants receive heat from the environment. This is the process that inspired us to design a building envelope that would be able to absorb moisture from soil and transfer it to the inside of the building, so the relative humidity would Increase and the inside temperature would drop. Inspired by the plants’ root, stem and leaves, the aim was to transfer moisture from soil to the wall so the wall would act as a cooling system. Water is passed across the root by Osmosis to reach vessels. Then through capillarity it is transferred to leaf’s cells and at last it is evaporated from the leaf’s pores. Evaporation from these pores depends on many factors including wind, temperature, radiation, and the pores shapes as well. The pores’ shape is similar to a cavity that absorbs waves. Water moves through the wall by osmosis effect as well as capillarity. On the wall by employing holes, metal plates and porous materials it is tried to trap and absorb ambient heat.
L-System Fractal
Designing the built environment, architects and planners have always been facing a mind- numbing challenge: how to take most out of the site settings. In fact, there very often happens that the design would waste a considerable amount of potential conveniences of the site, like sun light, wind, and rain. This in part is due to the unsuitable volume of the building, which would result in losing what can be beneficial for the inhabitants. Add to this, the need for future extensions, which if takes place would worsen the situation by dramatically changing the volume of a building. Therefore, it seems essential for future buildings to be sensitive to their milieu and take into consideration the most advantages of the environment, yet be ready to grow if extension is needed. This is what nature has been doing over and over in thousands of years.
Looking into nature for an answer to this query, fractal geometry seemed to be a key in growing natural structures. Among fractal systems, L-Systems were chosen for generating a volume that can grow over the time, and yet be environmentally attuned. Furthermore, fractal geometry can facilitate prefabrication of building, and therefore one given unit can generate attractive construction volumes without lifelessly repeating itself. Each unit can perform independently, or work with other units as a whole. This paper demonstrates the advantages of employing fractal geometries in architecture, and depicts an example of high-rise buildings that can be generated using L-system fractal.
Net-zero breathing skin
Biomimetics is not about nature imitation, but the observation at their properties and principles, and the transformation and the development of these principles into sophisticated technological solutions. These transformations can result in new means by which buildings can respond, adapt and interact to regulate their interior environment for the satisfactory of their users. Along with the world population growth and increase in fossil fuels consumption over past century, the quality of the air we breathe have been decreased. The increase of pollutants in the air has been resulted in more toxicities and mortalities. As buildings and closed spaces are the spots in which humans spend most of their time, the quality of air within buildings becomes important. In this thesis, a breathing skin for buildings based on principles and methods in natural processes is presented. The act of breathing and infiltrating the polluted air is being inspired by human lungs and photosynthesis process in greeneries. By means of a filter panel, CO2 is absorbed from the polluted air around the building, and then fresh air flows out. The fresh air is then inhales to the indoor air by means of two flexible membranes with tiny pores. By developing this technology the use of separate ventilation system is not crucial anymore, but an integral part of building envelope functions as a protective layer too.
A Competition About Competition: "Invasion-Resistant" Guilds
A Competition About Competition: “Invasion-Resistant” Guilds, addresses the natural process of competition by proposing that an association of plants (strength in numbers) can outcompete a single invasive species. In this project, guilds are developed as a competitive strategy to benefit a recreational, agricultural or simply naturalistic landscape by mitigating existing and preventing future invasive species takeover; and to sustain the competitive advantage to members of the guild that optimizes natural yield from the landscape. By designing guilds comprised of native, local species, we seek to provide local plant communities with the opportunity to either take back the landscape or better coevolve with the invasive species now naturalized into the local environment. Nature is a proficient force; and our development helps people better understand how to efficiently and sustainably create with nature by using passive design strategies.
The BioFacade: Keeping Buildings Cool
Over 100 million tons of carbon enters the atmosphere each year as a result of energy use in air conditioning systems. The BioFacade is a novel structure intended to reduce the amount of energy needed to keep buildings cool by harnessing solar energy shielding buildings from the thermal exchange mechanisms that cause buildings to heat up. The BioFacade’s structure and function are inspired by evaporative cooling mechanisms found in plants and animals (transpiration and perspiration) as well as boundary layer effects observed in desert plants and solar tracking mechanisms used by sunflowers. Additionally, the façade reuses greywater from the building and rain to facilitate the evaporative cooling mechanisms. The façade is modular, constructed from two types of panels – solar panels and ‘waterfall’ panels. The panels may be positioned in a manner that creates an effective boundary layer between the building and the outside environment. Rather than heating the building’s exterior walls, thermal exchange mechanisms such as convection and radiation have their energy dissipated in the panels.
Thermoregulation in Forced Air Heating Systems
To address energy utilization in our local environment, our team of biomedical and chemical engineers consulted civil engineers and environmental studies and biology majors to identify an energy-related weakness on Bucknell University’s campus. In 2008, Bucknell University, in Lewisburg, PA, emitted 42,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of greenhouse gases and one of the three major sources of emissions was heat loss. The primary heating issue that we address on Bucknell’s campus is the misuse of heating systems in dorm buildings. In some dorms, heat runs even if windows are open, which causes heat loss to the environment and is a problem in the winter. Additionally, heat loss through pipe walls is a secondary problem with heating systems. Our team developed a building thermoregulation system that conserves energy. The proposed design addresses the need for heat-loss control through biomimetic thermoregulation principles exhibited in a wide variety or organisms by triggering pipe constriction and restriciting heat flow to rooms when windows are left open, and insulating pipes to prevent heat loss to the building. It has significant potential for positive impact on Bucknell’s campus and beyond. The system could be used to retro-fit old buildings, meaning implementation will not be as costly as building an entirely new structure. The proposed thermoregulatory heating system is energyefficient, has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and can be implemented on our own University campus. The design is cost effective and represents a realistic way to conserve energy loss due to excessive heating.
Phenomold - A Natural re-interpretation of Manufacturing
In the opinion of our team, a high-level change in how products are manufactured and designed in general will precipitate greatly reduced carbon emissions, no matter what the products manufactured are. Our overall aim is to re-imagine product design, manufacturing, distribution, use, feedback, and post-use in a holistic closed-loop system for all polymer-based goods. We have used more general natural metaphors for our overall system, and specific natural inspirations at the details of the manufacturing stage. We realized that the design of a product (as represented by CAD data) is equivalent to the DNA (or genotype) of the product and the mold is the physical manifestation (or phenotype) of this information. By viewing products as organisms in their own right, we were able to envision a sustainable future for product design in general. By expanding on Smart Mold technology researched by MIT Media Lab’s “Mediated Matter” group, we cut wasteful and expensive steel tooling out of the typical polymer manufacturing process. The fact that smart molds can be driven directly from CAD with no intermediary opens up a number of exciting possibilities for a revolution in product manufacturing:
TREE HOUSE
According to an international research, an average human spends 95% of his life inside a structure which shows the importance of architecture in our lives. And the biggest concern is that one third of energy consumption today is used on building industry. Therefore to develop a sustainable coexistence between humans and nature, one of the most important area of concern is will be how we make our habitat efficiently. We designed a self sustainable living unit that had a root like supporting system at the bottom, this root like supporting system gave it a solid foundation. The floor plates of this unit were mimicked from the leaf structure of a water lily’s leaf which could withstand very heavy loads. The skin of this unit was made up of a number of pipes; the structure of this pipe was mimicked from the rib structure of a snake. The ventilation of this unit takes place due to stack effect, the ventilation system has been mimicked from the ventilation system in a termite mound. The air temperature was controlled by the use of water pipes coiling the main structure supporting pipes, this system was mimicked from the temperature control device (sail) in a dimetrodon. Water has been generated by condensation of moist air. This water is then collected in the nodule like structures beneath the ground.
Experimental Forest Laboratory
Buildings are responsible for consuming 40%-60% of all electricity in the U.S., mainly for space heating, space cooling, water heating, and interior lighting. Tasked with designing a university laboratory building in the middle of a 17,000 acre forest in Clemson, SC (USA), this project assigned in a Master of Architecture studio class will use biomimetic principles as a design driver and, more importantly, to reduce the building’s energy use in the interests of forest stewardship. The biomimetic approach we chose was to behave as a member of the forest, emulating a number of natural systems in the place of conventional building design and mechanical systems.
The Green Science Laptop Buddy
There are numerous sources of carbon dioxide that humans put out into the environment in our day to day lives. Everything from transportation to technology and production utilize energy in order to operate. However, a large part of this energy is often wasted in the form of heat. We decided look to Life’s Principles of self assembling and utilizing free energy by asking nature how it captures waste heat and if there is any way we can use this waste to make anything in order to redefine and eliminate waste. Nature gave us answers on how it captures carbon and photosynthesizes uniquely using heat. We then examined both of these strategies to determine if they could be combined to passively collect carbon waste. The idea came about of creating some sort of mechanistic item that captures heat expelled from laptop computers by activating carbonic anhydrase, an enzyme used by C4 plants. There would be two parts to the item; a pad and a dialysis bag. With the hopes of these laptop pads being implemented into people’s homes worldwide, a large amount of CO2 will be converted and stored until made useful. A estimated amount of 13.5 pounds of CO2 per person could be removed from the atmosphere each year. If adopted by communities and companies in mass, this will have a significant impact on ambient CO2 levels the world over.
Cranfield Biomimicry Submission
Inspired by the white-fronted bee-eater and ants, Cranfield University has designed an organisational structure for their “Green Team” that optimizes their strengths and mitigates losses inherent with yearly student turnover. A more effective Green Team will encourage campus-wide behaviour change and support the Cranfield Carbon Plan.
BioBLOC Disaster Relief Shelters
Natural disasters have always damaged human civilization. When a natural disaster occurs, humanity steps in to try and help its fellow man with food, supplies, and shelter. Often overlooked is what happens after the aid has come and shelters are ‘temporarily’ established. The shelters are immediately occupied, but as time moves on, these houses transition from temporary to permanent. Analyzing this issue, we see that we can generate an effective solution by learning not to use waste, as is done by nature. Thus a BioBLOC is proposed. The BioBLOC takes into consideration the concerns of the fabrication of an actual material block, its transportation to and from site, its lifespan and end of life cycle, and its benefit to the affected peoples whom will be employing the material. The BioBLOC solution proposes the use of a vernacular building tradition, adobe block, enhanced with life-friendly chemistry. Using CO2 to cure the blocks, they harden in 80 minutes while simultaneously sequestering carbon. BioBLOCs use this method as opposed to cement, which raises the pH of the soil, leading to land degradation and desertification in certain climate zones. The BioBLOC would contain a small amount of a nutrient & microbial mixture. Embedding this mixture of soil microbes and nutrients in the blocks, allows them to add value to the earth they are returned to. By utilizing the BioBLOC, sturdy, cost efficient shelter can be provided to disaster zones, that is beneficial both immediately and in the long term.
Team Symbiosis
Trees are exceptional at balancing energy loads as they absorb and reflect part of the solar radiation and yield to winds to minimize wasted energy. Trees are an example of natural energy harvesters who take advantage of energy in their surroundings. Similarly, human engineered energy harvesters also derive their energy from external sources. In addition, they generally provide a small quantity of power to low-energy electronics or may opt to store the energy for later use. With millions of people commuting daily, our attention immediately shifted to local underground public transportation as an opportunity to harvest energy to recycle within the system. In an underground area where solar energy is not as readily accessible, it is particularly difficult to scavenge the solar radiation freely available above ground. Wind energy, however, is readily available in the underground system. The conceived concept aims to harvest energy from the wind pushed around the metro train as it repeatedly traverses the tracks in a scheduled fashion. The design mimics the basic leaf-wind mechanics of a tree to harness the energy from the moving air as it causes the leaf and branch to sway, bend, compress, stretch and disrupt the shape of the leaf. Using similar principles, the concept mimics such dynamics in the form of a bed of grass.
Disaster tent
The team which is consisting of 8 members coming from different disciplines, including biologists used biomimicry methodology in order to design multiple disaster tents preventing heat loss in cold climates. Disaster tent occurs from four different segments which allows different size families to use the area effectively. The snail shell form is abstracted and applicated to design. This form contained adjoined segments of tent. The shape of the palm leaf is abstracted and applicated to design in the process of folding way of the tent. Thanks to this feature it will occupy less space during transportation hence one truck can carry more tents thus reducing green house gas emission. The tent’s ventilation system is designed by taking into consideration of termite mound ventilation system. This feature is applied to the surface of the tent. The fresh air is taken from the underside of the tent by small sized pipes whereas the polluted air is given out from the upper side of tent. In all stages of design process industrial designers and biologists worked together. Mechanical engineers and ocean engineers studied on structural issues, a physics engineer focused on air ventilation, environmental engineer considered about environmental factors and energy efficiency. In this project, asknature.org online database is used to reach biological sources and courses which given to participants helped to applicate biomimicry methodology truly. Using more than one source of nature supported by biomimicry experts with asking questions in an online conference.
Insnowlation
With our team of landscape architecture and architecture students we designed a click-on facade panel that can insulate existing buildings with snow. We took Lapland as our design location and the panel can be used there as well as in other arctic areas. Our panel gathers snow passively by using the knowledge we got from the pine tree structure. We took our design concept from hibernation processes and winterfur. The panel, that is made out of woven coir, a coconut fibre, is modular. There is only a minimum amount of vertical, diagonal or horizontal support needed, where it can click onto. That makes our panel applicable to any existing building facade. The panel will provide extra insulation during winter. When the temperature rises in spring, the melting water can be gathered and used for other purposes and the panel can be used for fencing during summer. The insnowlation brings besides insulation also light, due to the reflective properties of snow, this is a big advantage in the dark winters of Lapland. Our team got support from Anna Maria Orru, an ecological and biomimicry-practicing architect and Annelie Brand, a biologist.
Hickory Hydroponic Systems
Trees are nature’s model for moving water vertically. Therefore learning from trees and applying their strategies to hydroponic farming is the basis of our biomimicry challenge; we call it “Hickory Hydroponics.” By mimicking the natural capillary action in trees, we have designed a biomimetic solution to conventional tomato production that reduces energy inputs, conserves and preserves soil and water, drastically cuts fossil fuel use and CO² emissions, and could potentially provide a new source of income for defunct family-farms across America and the world. Hickory Hydroponic Systems are designed—not exclusively, however—to fit into old, abandoned grain bins or silos that are commonplace on most family-farms. Old structures like silos can be repurposed to breathe new life into currently dead farms, and provide a steady source of income for farm families year-round. If conventional farming is the epitome of unsustainable, Hickory Hydroponics is the epitome of sustainable. By only using nature’s example, we can double the amount of tomatoes we produce and cut energy use and fossil fuel emissions by around 90 to 95%. At the same time, we can address some of the key ways conventional farming is unsustainable.
The Power of Hex
Our search for a biological method began by looking at photosynthesis, bacterium, and even sharks. However, it was not until we came upon the bee’s honeycomb that we found the design we were looking for. Honeycombs are fascinating because they are completely organic, yet so intricately designed. The big question that begs to be answered is: Why? Why would bees decide to build an entire structure out of hexagons? Why is each hexagon so perfectly measured and placed where it is? We researched these topics and more, and when we came upon the mathematics behind a bee’s honeycomb we knew we had found the answer. We compared the bee’s methods of building structures to that of humans. Mathematics shows that a square and a hexagon with the same area will actually have different surface areas. The hexagon’s surface area is significantly less compared to the square. If you then use this information in a larger sense (a whole building or hive for example) one can see the benefits to hexagonal structures grow at an alarming rate. Not only is it more energy efficient to use an arrangement of hexagons, but they are also easier to construct and more durable than square based structures. Taking our inspiration from the bees, we designed a structure made out of hexagons.
Cactominium
In the hot and humid climate of Chennai (India), temperature and humidity are the major concerns in dwelling units. This architectural design solution for a housing colony aims at reducing the humidity and temperature inside the condominium by imitating the cactus, thus the name “Cactominium”. Proper air ventilation helps in countering both the problems. Cactus is chosen as the inspiration because it not only survives in high temperature but also effectively conducts the food and water through its vascular bundle. Moreover, its undulating form has also evolved in a way so as to counter direct sunlight on the inner core and the circular form provides minimum surface area. Apart from imitating cactus in all possible ways to result in a more sustainable design, certain other sustainable measures have also been taken. Ranging from solid waste collection to vehicular movement inside the site, everything aims at having a sustainable design. The infrastructural facility available at the site chosen; and the building norms laid down by the authority in-charge has been studied and thus implemented in the design. Culture and lifestyle of the people of Chennai has been taken into consideration for the planning and design of the residential units. All in all, the design aims at building a residential colony that is sustainable as well as counters the two problems identified in the beginning of the design process namely, high temperature and high humidity through the principles of biomimicry.
Miller Residence
Our biomimetic design is a sustainable town-home for an elderly couple in Florida. Having recently moved into an assisted living community, the couple (who use a wheelchair and a cane) require handicap accessibility in addition to our goal of maximizing energy efficiency. As a retired pilot and stewardess, the Millers also wish to incorporate their love of travel and Asian culture into the design.
After researching the vernacular architecture of Florida and southeastern China, we created a concept based on the four main layers of the rainforest: the emergent layer, the canopy, the understory, and the forest floor. Respectively, the designs of the roof, upper level, main level and lower level were each translated from the corresponding layer. Through the incorporation of vernacular strategies with the different layers, we established a system of passive cooling techniques which will minimize the need for mechanical cooling systems in the home.
The Greens Assisted Living Town Home
The Greens Assisted Living Town Home is an interior design and architecture project that focuses on energy efficiency, sustainable materials and finishes, ADA, and aging in place.
Our team’s main inspiration for our sustainable town house is the North African Bedouin tents. The Bedouin tents consist of wooden posts supporting tightly stretched goat-hair ropes. The goat hair fabric has a breathable membrane. Sun heats the fabric; hot air rises above the tent and exits, allowing cool breezes to enter. All these characteristics gave our design team the inspiration to incorporate them into our design.
Thank you,
Team JKM
What Would Nature Design
Through architecture and Interior Design we can create environments conductive to life, but to further enhance this process the Biomimicry Challenge presented an opportunity to look towards nature’s model as a true response for design solutions. With a collaborative team consisting of Interior Design student’s we established our team name called, W.W.N.D. representing our endeavors to ask, What Would Nature Design. Our work reflects an inspiring commitment to sustainability by implementing nature’s solution and adapting to the clientele’s necessities. In order to produce a holistic design, we continuously referred back to our goals set by the biomimicy design spiral, L.E.E.D. criteria, and the Life Cycle Assessment. The conclusion was a residential home interconnected and interdependent on Earth, enriching all life.
Modular Gasification System for Processing Industrial Wood Waste
Oregon’s forests are among its greatest natural resources. As a result, wood products are the second highest contributor to Oregon’s economy. Sawmills across the state process wood to create lumber, and consequently create a great deal of waste. The design team proposes a modular wood gasification system to harness the energy available in this wood waste, while simultaneously reducing harmful emissions associated with the current methods of processing and transporting this waste material. Impurities are removed from the gas using rainwater, and the end result can be used locally in the facility in place of natural gas. The gasification process lends itself to a bio-inspired and bio-friendly design, because it readily leverages existing systems, can be implemented on a modular scale, and is more likely to “create conditions conducive to life” than the existing co-generation and re-use system. The design for this system drew inspiration from the bombardier beetle, the human kidney, and the banyan tree. It was designed in accordance with the following three Life’s Principles: integrate development with growth, be resource (material and energy) efficient, and be locally attuned and responsive.
BioDry Hand drying system
Our design is a sustainable option to hand drying systems in public bathrooms. BioDRy is based on the natural behavior of human and mammals to get rid of excess water.
Bikeship.org
Portland, OR is known for its vibrant and growing bicycle culture. In addition to the health benefits of bicycling, cycling to work instead of driving reduces CO2 emissions. The design problem was to devise a plan that would lure a portion of the “interested but concerned” group, who bike irregularly or not at all, into becoming regular bicycle commuters in Portland. Inspired by swarming and bioluminescence, bikeship.org is aimed at growing the Portland bike commuter population, promoting bike safety and decreasing carbon emissions. We achieve this by designing a website and smartphone application that creates a network of bike commuters that utilize a light system that serves as a communication device. The ability to reward others for bikeship (acts of kindness and generosity connected to biking) propagates the system throughout the existing bike community and penetrates beyond into potential bike enthusiasts.
Janus Lamp
Our first product is the Janus lamp, named after the Roman god of two faces who marks transitions. Janus elegantly combines natural beauty, energy efficiency and the latest light technology. By mixing white, orange and red LEDs, we achieved a beautiful warm light color. In contrast to current energy efficient lights that are limited to blue-colored tones only. The shade can be adjusted for ambience or a focused task light.
Our story The Janus lamp was designed by a team of Presidio MBA students: Jenny Hoang, John Talbott, Kartika Tulusan and Elze van Hamelen. The design concept combines energy-efficiency and natural beauty in one elegant solution. By applying human-centered design principles and Biomimicry through observational research and conversations with potential customers, the team sought to understand the latent needs of household lighting. The Janus lamp is the result of this discovery.
The Janus lamp is the first product of “BioMe,” our first product line, which is a series of Biomimicry inspired products. The Biomimicry Framework is based on nature’s principles of life. The term Biomimicry, which is derived from the Greek “bios” meaning life, and “mimesis”, which means to imitate was originally coined by Janine Benyus.
Bio-inspiration from a warm, westerly wind
The warm Calgary Chinook winds inspired this concept design which focuses on a new design for heating residences. Instead of current electric resistance forced air furnaces or oil and natural gas forced air furnaces, this heater generates heat efficiently via the thermodynamic processes that are present in a Chinook. Through the use of a nozzle, a condensation chamber, a diffuser air is forced through the system inducing pressure and temperature changes. Similar to a Chinook the temperature of humid air will decrease with pressure but at a lower rate than the rate at which the temperature of the dry air increases with pressure in the following stage. Electricity is used to drive the process, however, due to the latent heat of vaporization released by water upon condensation; the amount of electricity required to heat a home will be less than that found in existing household electric resistance forced air furnaces. The system has been designed with the existing HVAC infrastructure of households in mind using a constant flow system providing similar flow rates and output temperatures to existing furnaces. By eliminating the need for natural gas or oil forced air furnaces, and providing a system that utilizes less electric energy, the Chinook heating system will ultimately reduce emissions and dependence on fossil fuels.
C.A.D.iC.H.A.O.S
CADiCHAOS project aims to create colored surfaces without pigments but only through structural colours. We worked with Complex Adaptive System attitude considering colour like an agent of this system; colour is fundamental in evolution process.
P.O.M.P.E.I.
Our project borns from the observation of natural systems and reproduce phototropic movements by using piezoelectric based composite laminates able to deform under variable external electric field application. The system provides a continuous change of shape, in fact its modules change the level of inclination whenever the external conditions are different; this operation improves the system and increases its efficiency. The project respect the limits of habitat through an approach of this type: “zero km and zero emission energy production for zero emission electric mobility”. The project, therefore, optimizes the exploitation of resources and reduces with a system of zero-emission mobility every form of pollution (– CO2, -VOC, -NOX, -sound pollution) improving the livability of the city. The “adapt to changing condition” is a key point of the project. The components of the system are modular and self-organizing. The way technologies are applied: the combined energy/mobility approach guarantees a strong integration between development and growth. The system improves the livability of the town (with the reduction of emissions for mobility, with the reduction of emissions for energy production and with the reduction of sound pollution), its fruition becomes easier and the tourism economy increases.
Namibian Beetle Design (NBD)
The Namib Desert Beetle (Stenocara gracilipes) has inspired innovation to solve the current water crisis based on the ability to create water from the air: The Namibian Beetle Design (NBD).The NBD of a new water collection system uses the beetle as inspiration to fulfill all six biomimicry life principles. This design utilizes a bowl/cone shaped component with a double-layered interior, with a thin layer of space in between to allow for water to condense. The six-biomimicry life principles are well demonstrated in this invention, especially if placed in a green house, the water supply would be virtually endless and completely renewable. The water cycle proves to be one of the most common processes on Earth, and if the possibility of tapping into one portion of that cycle, we can unlock the ability to produce water out of thin air. NBD is made of superhydrophilic and hydrophobic life -friendly materials with interior segments that mimic the bumps on the back of the beetle in order to collect water. The top of the NBD collector has a large open top, with a small filter so that rainwater can be collected and stored as well. Approximately one gallon of collected water is stored in the central NBD compartment, while tubes connected to the central chamber allowing water to be distributed.
Biomimetic Humidifier Design
Presented is a design for a biomimetic commercial humidifier, which utilizes the concept of transpirational pull to achieve a reduction in energy consumption, compared to conventional alternatives. Transpirational pull is the concept by which plants are able to acquire water and nutrients from the ground. While the concept of transpirational pull may seem trivial, the true potential of its application in a biomimetic design has yet to be explored. Plants are able to generate negative pressures through transpirational pull; therefore, the ability to harness their method of generating fluid (e.g. water) movement through the development of significant pressure gradients and without significant energy consumption offers insight into a remarkably sustainable design. Fluid transport is an integral component of every industry, posed with the common issue of frictional pressure losses resulting from fluid flow. Commercial humidification systems, which require a significant volume of water to be used to maintain building humidity. In any system, transport of humidification water requires energy. If the necessary considerations for water treatment prior to humidification are included then energy requirements are substantially greater. The proposed transpirational pull-based humidifier design offers an elegantly efficient solution to the treatment and transport of water in a humidification system. Nature has shown, through transpirational pull, that simple concepts of mass transfer and capillary flow, as observed in the root, xylem and leaves of plants, can be utilized in the synthesis of a sustainable humidifier design.
Biomimetic Thermal Insulation Based on Penguin Feather Geometry
A solution to help reduce heating loads in cold climates was sought after using Life’s Principles and Biomimicry. First, local organisms were studied to see how they adapt and survive in cold climates. This started with understanding the insulating properties of feathers and resulted with studying feathers that operate in the most extreme cold climate conditions such as the penguin feather. Thus, a new form of insulation was designed based on the geometry of the penguin feather. Polypropylene is used in the insulation because it can be recycled and there is a growing production of green polypropylene using ethanol produced from sugarcane and other renewable sources. In terms of performance, the insulation is theoretically competitive when compared to existing insulations on the market. The price to manufacture the insulation is unknown. The insulation features the ability to self organizes and is flexible which has many applications to reducing energy. For example, the insulation can be implemented into car doors, which can reduce the cooling or heating load of the car, which will increase fuel efficiency. The insulation is high performing, so the car doors can be thinner and therefore, the weight of the car is reduced and fuel efficiency is increased as well. The insulation is manufactured on a micro-scale so the insulation can fit into tight spaces that are often found in a car door. In summary, a competitive insulation was designed based on penguin feather geometry using Biomimicry and will reduce carbon emissions if used in car doors.
Photocatalytic Air Treatment System
Eureka Dam sits at the end of the cross Florida greenway, originally known as the cross Florida barge canal. It is a scar that carves through the heart of Florida. It is a line of borrow pits and forgotten sand dunes, constantly eroding and changing. Among this mess were tree lines decorated with a curios lichen. Could this be a clue to heal our own environment?
Azototem: an ammonium synthesizing device that mimics bacterial cytosol
As ammonia is one of the main, if not the only, forms of nitrogenous nutrients that plants need for sustaining lives, ammonia fertilizer has significantly accounted for high productivity of crop plants, which is directly proportional to the amount of dollars that farmers can earn through each cycle of plantation. Currently, the major source of ammonia cannot be anything but anhydrous ammonia produced by the Haber-Bosch process. However, the Haber-Bosch process is far from the notion of sustainability due to a gigantic energy consumption that can be as high as 12,000 kilowatts/hr/ton NH3 produced. The remedy to this massive energy consumption is to examine the biological ammonia production process by soil bacteria named Azotobacter vinelandii, which convert atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia for the plants to assimilate. This soil bacterium has an all-in-one enzyme called nitrogenase that catalyzes every step of ammonia production from the nitrogen fixation to the liberation of ammonia as a final product to the bacterial cytosol. The goal of this mimicry project is to design an on-site ammonia production facility for small farm owners by taking a model from the ammonia production reaction found in Azotobacter, in particular, how the bacteria overcome a thermodynamically unfavorable process and create a gradient of chemical species involved.
Sunlight induced shading system
Our goal was to creatively make new, energy efficient, simple, cheap system which could be able to save energy, money and resources. Our main problem was greenhouse, which needed to be renovated. We thought about warmth, electricity, water collection and shadowing system. We evolved idea about shadowing system. It was based on flower opening and closing system and stomata movement. We chose develop a small shadow device who could work directly by the sun energy. It has leaves which are moving up and down by the pressure which changes in the device. When sun is shining copper warms up. Copper then warms gas up. Gas pressure moves elastic material. Elastic material moves leaves up and shadows area. When sunlight ends device stops shading. Device is not connected to energy source. Many devices may be ordered together, so that their shadow area could be wider.
Bioluminescence
Light visible energy that is released similar to heat, sound, etc. Production of light also requires energy input. We concluded that the most efficient production of light (that can be replicated and efficiently used in a human environment) in nature is through bioluminescence.
Pollutant Feeder Vehicle
We designed the vehicle called “Pollutant Feeding Vehicle” inspired by a basking shark. Take huge amount of air without any suction device and filter the pollutants with photocatalytic ceramic filter installed in the gill-like outlet. As power train we used three-wheel hub motors. This makes more space in the car body and similar air flowing structure with water flowing structure in the body of a basking shark. And using this air purification system we propose tower-like parking called “Cleaning Air Parking”. By parking this car we can make the tower one big air purification system.
Melas Sustainable Lighting
Streetlights account for 38% of the electricity used for lighting in the United States – that’s close to 300 million tons of carbon emissions each year. The goal of the Melas park lighting system is to drastically reduce the amount of carbon emissions, as well as redesign the park lighting experience. Park lighting is an area that has not been redesigned with modern life and modern technology in mind. We looked at this problem through a design process that involved a lot of research, interviews, and hands-on tinkering. We were also looking to solve the problem of heat dissipation to maximize the LED’s life. For this we looked to nature for our answers. The knowledge gained, informed our sketching ideation, model making, lighting software, and CAD modeling to achieve exactly the form and function that suits the needs of the urban user. Melas is a product originally designed for the city of Salem Oregon, but has worldwide implications. It uses individually focused LED’s to create the same lighting footprint of a park light that uses 3 times the amount of energy. The park experience is enhanced through a smart lighting system that is responsive only when needed. In conclusion Melas can drastically reduce the carbon footprint of a city as well as their expenditure on power by using the light where and when it is needed. It completes this task similarly to the way a leaf transfers nutrients through its veins – elegantly and efficiently.
Beehives: Increasing Space Efficiency in the Interior Design of Buildings
Beehives consist of tiled hexagonal cells for breeding and honey storage. According to the Hexagonal Honeycomb Conjecture, regular hexagonal tiles of equal area have the greatest ratio of area to perimeter of any tiled regular polygon, implying that hexagonal tiles maximize space efficiency. In this project, two models for a hotel floor are subject to a 64,000 square foot rectangular boundary, a minimum of 400 square feet per room, and a requirement for each room to have an outside view. The first model consists of a floorplan with square rooms, while the second model biomimicks the beehive cell arrangement. An analysis on the amount of partition materials, number of rooms, and total room area demonstrates that the hexagonal room arrangement allows a greater number of rooms to be built within the 64,000 square foot boundary, optimizing material usage and consequently reducing energy consumption associated with the manufacturing of raw building materials.
Honeycomb Residence Community
Our team took inspiration from the social aspects of bees and their hexagonal living environment. The structure was designed to replace the current linear residence halls with small clusters of rooms facing a common socializing area. Energy saving features include low VOC paint and carpet, e-windows, TPO roofing, and many others. It is hoped that the honeycomb residence community will encourage sustainable living and spread the practices throughout the area and into the future of the students’ lives.
Mimesis: a cold climate study
Team Mimesis proposes the design of a small-scale research facility to be situated in Resolute, Nunavut, Canada. The design takes a three-tiered approach, looking to be environmentally responsive, emulate nature and natural processes, and take into account vernacular strategies of the region, so as to create a space in tune with its natural surroundings and completely off-grid. Specifically, the facility makes use of renewable resources, passive heating and lighting strategies, and harnesses energy from both the sun and the wind through an active facade system and a small wind turbine. Implementation of such strategies formulates a space both comfortable for human life, and with positive impact on its surrounding environment. The design thus becomes holistic in nature, fostering the use of sustainable strategies, which on a larger scale can easily be implemented in any architectural design practice.
Breathing Wall
Our project was designed to investigate the thermoregulation system of the Emperor Penguin in order to understand how penguins withstand extreme temperatures. We found that the feathers of the penguin play a vital role in maintaining stable body temperature, and we adapted this function of the feathers to a building structure.
We began by studying thermoregulation at both a micro scale and a macro scale, in order to understand how this system behaves to cold temperatures. The micro scale, which is limited to an individual penguin, involves puffing up feathers in order to create a layer of insulation, as well as decreasing blood flow through the extremities and near the skin surface in order to minimize heat loss. The macro scale, which encompasses a large group of penguins, involves huddling in what is known as a “turtle formation,” and shuffling positions in order to prevent long-term exposure to the wind.
We decided to focus on the function of feathers in regulating the body temperature of the penguins, which led to our designs for a building skin that can similarly regulate the interior temperature of the building. The flaps can be opened when the building is warm to let air flow into the building, or closed when the building is cold to seal it shut and to create the insulating layer. The movement of the flaps is controlled by sensors that measure the building’s temperature, enabling them to instantly adapt to temperature changes.
