Ilaria Mazzoleni in collaboration with Shauna Price Architecture Follows/Nature BIOMIMETIC PRINCIPLES FOR INNOVATIVE DESIGN CRC Press * Toylor Francs Group BIOMIMETICS SERIES Powered by (3 CamScannerThe Four Selected Functions To fully explore the relation- ship between animal skins and building envelopes, the book focuses on disparate animals, skin types, functions, and cli- mates and attempts to demonstrate the variety of ways the developed methodology can be implemented and expanded by others. We have selected animals that show clear and, in many examples, unusual adaptations to four major functions of skin: communication, thermoregulation, water balance, and protec- tion. These particular themes were selected because they are the most interesting and relevant to application in architecture and design. Thinking about how these functions are accom- plished in nature can lead to innovative ways of providing human comfort, while lessening the built world’s environmen- tal impact through changing the ways in which we design. Communication is crucial for animal survival, and strategies for communication take many forms. Modes of communica- tion provide great insights to architectural investigations as designers learn from animals about the exchange of informa- tion within the built environment. We focus here on one form of communication widely used in nature: coloration. Coloration is used for warning, protection, camouflage, and sexual attrac- tion. In architecture, some designers have explored the use of color as a communication tool, but more can be done by improving and diversifying the use of color through imple- menting the strategies of the selected organisms. Thermoregulation is the ability most animals depend on to keep their body temperature within certain critical boundar- ies. Extremes in temperature pose tremendous physiological challenges to living organisms, and various mechanisms to help regulate temperature have evolved. Endotherms inter- nally maintain their body temperature, whereas in ectotherms, temperature regulation is a function of their external environ- ment. In either case, thermoregulation is achieved through Powered by @ CamScannerremarkable physiological and behavioral Processes. the major challenges architecture faces is to Provide then, 7 comfort to human inhabitants, particularly in extreme cial stances, when human bodies cannot acclimate to external a ditions. Animal systems have much to teach us regarding = to control temperature as well as how to limit energy expend, ture in doing so. i- Water balance is crucial for all organisms, considerin, are composed primarily of water. Water is needed for Numerous biochemical reactions, and it can dissolve and transport Nutrients and other molecules. Animals have evolved many novel Strategies to collect water and prevent water loss, particularly in water-lim- ited habitats. In design, learning how animals prevent water Ios. may extend humans’ ability to survive in dry and inhospitable conditions through implementing systems that minimize the use of water as well as collect, store and reuse it. g that Cells Protection from predators, parasites, physical injury, and the environment can occur in many ways. Humans can learn from the novel and complex adaptations that have evolved in the ani- mal kingdom. Shelter, the most archetypical element in architec- ture, serves to protect or shield inhabitants from many things, and designers, by drawing inspiration from the efficiency of animal systems and the multiplicity of functions integrated within one system, can develop novel, responsive solutions. Powered by @ CamScanner