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PRINCIPLES OF BIOMIMICRY IN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN TO ENHANCE THE

SUSTAINABILITY

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 Mr Sanja Vavan1, dr Predrag Milošević1, Višnja Vušković Minić, dia2
1
The Faculty of Construction Management, Union University Nikola Tesla
2
Minić & Minić doo

PRINCIPLES OF BIOMIMICRY IN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

TO ENHANCE THE SUSTAINABILITY
Abstract

Green (environmental) engineering aims at the development and implementation of

environmentally, technologically and economically sustainable products and processes in order to
protect human health and ecosystem. One of the areas of green engineering is biomimicry,
innovative method of technological imitation of natural processes, forms and functions that have
proven their long-term sustainability and efficiency during the course of evolution. This paper
provides an overview of biomimicry as one of the best strategies for the survival of humanity, is
observing its impact on the environment, economic viability and social utility. The paper also
presents a case study of the biomimicry process level application of a beehive to Capsule Hotels
in Tokyo.

Key words: environmental engineering, sustainable design, inspired by nature

INTRODUCTION

Biomimicry (from the Greek words bios-life, and mimesis-mimic, imitate) is a

design discipline that uses patterns and strategies of nature in the field of architecture
and engineering, and is one of the tools to increase the sustainability of products,
materials and the built environment [2]. Biomimicry in architecture finds inspiration in
the strategies, technologies and concepts that living organisms use to meet their needs
and ensure their survival on earth. Self-regenerating and ecological architecture aims to
resolve the tasks of designing, optimizing processes for that we find a parallel in nature,
using minimal energy and materials. Considering that constructed buildings have a
major impact on the environment, sustainable design, such as biomimicry, is becoming
more accepted method of achieving sustainable development and reducing the negative
impact of humans on the environment, that meets the needs of the present generations
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their. Biomimicry in
architecture can be defined as a movement in design and construction that using the
forms, structures, processes, and functional solutions from nature for technical
purposes, creating sustainable and regenerative environment. According to Janine
Benyus if we adopt the design methodologies from nature, and ask ourselves, "how
would nature solve this," we are going to find solutions for complex problems through
reverse engineering [2]. Application of the principles of biomimicry in architectural
design and planning creates "living" objects that have the following performances:
1. All the necessary energy and water for the building’s operation are obtained from its
site;
2. The building is adapted by its forms to the site, local climate and built primarily
from local materials;
3. The building doesn’t produce the waste and doesn’t pollute the environment, unless
the generated waste is useful for other process in the building or immediate
surroundings;
4. The building promotes the health and well-being of all users in accordance with the
ecosystem;
5. The building consists of integrated systems and technologies that increase efficiency
and comfort;
6. The building should be beautiful, harmonious and inspire us to dream.

BIOMIMICRY APPROACH

J. Benyus mentions two major approaches for the use of biomimicry [1]:
1. Biology-to-design approach- biological phenomenon suggests a new way of solving
the various challenges in the field of design;
2. Design-to-biology approach- innovation starts with the design challenge, identifies
the basic function, and concludes with an analysis of natural principles by which
different organisms or ecosystems fulfill this function.
According to her nature can be seen as a model, as a measure and mentor:
1. Nature as a model. Biomimicry uses nature as an inspiration and model for the
solution of various problems. Biomimicry Guild and colleagues have developed a
practical design tool, the biomimicry design spiral to use nature as a model [6]. The
design spiral consists of five elements: identify (development of design solutions for
human needs, it is important to identify where is the problem and where will the
solution be applied); translate (translation of design into biological functions in
order to solve problems in a way that were solved in nature); discover (search for
biological models that correspond to the subject design); emulate (development of
solutions and concepts based on biological models, by mimicking the appropriate
 forms and/or functions from nature) and evaluate (comparison of design solutions
with life’s principles).
2. Nature as a measure. Biomimicry uses ecological standards for assessment of the
sustainability and safety of our innovation. J. Benyus emphasizes the importance of
applying the life’s principles in which nature is presented as a measure to build a
sustainable environment.
3. Nature as a mentor. Biomimicry is a new way of observing and evaluating the
nature. It begins a new era based on what we can learn from nature, and not what we
can get from it.

BIOMIMICRY LEVELS

The form is an obvious component of nature, but a mere imitation of natural shapes
in the design misses the point, unless it is not related to the function of the object and its
relation to the environment. J. Benyus points out that full imitation of nature involves at
least three levels of biomimicry: form, process and ecosystem. This triad is the starting
point for successful application of biomimicry to solve the existing problems that
increases the regenerative capacity of the built environment and the promotion of
environmental sustainability [7].
1. Level of form. On the first level of biomimicry, the shapes and forms from nature
are imitated and applied in architectural design. An example of such architectural
work is the restaurant Fish dance, Kobe, Japan, by architect Frank Gehry.
2. Level of process. Biomimicry is not a mere imitation of nature, but the observation
and analysis of general patterns and processes in nature that are called the Life’s
Principles [1]. This level includes the transformation, development and application
of these principles in sophisticated technological solutions, which results in different
relation between object and environment, i.e. object can respond to changes in the
immediate environment and adapt to them to the customers’ satisfaction. The
Eastgate centre, designed by architects Mick Pearce and James McComish, Harare,
Zimbabwe, is a good example of the application of biomimicry at the process level.
In aforementioned shopping and office centre, the authors have avoided the use of
conventional air-conditioning and heating systems. They have applied techniques of
passive ventilation and temperature control, based on observations of termite
mounds and their performance, in order to create a thermal stable internal
environment.
3. Level of ecosystem. The third level of biomimicry is the mimicking of natural
ecosystem. The technology will enable the future buildings to mimic sophisticated
systems for energy consumption management and to respond to temperature,
intensity of daylight, wind speed and force and other changes in the environment. In
the near future, the buildings will imitate the natural systems in order to protect the
environment. The term ecomimicry is also used to mimic ecosystems in design [8],
while Alan Marshall describes this term as a sustainable form of biomimicry, where
the ultimate goal is the common well-being of ecosystems and people, instead of
 power, prestige and profit [5]. This approach to architectural design leads to the
view, that the understanding of ecosystems is an essential tool for design of the built
environment that thus becomes a vital component in connection with natural
ecosystems and contributes to their regeneration [1]. An example of application of
the ecosystem level, is presented in the Lloyd Crossing Urban Design Project,
Portland, Oregon, designed by team Mithūn Architects and GreenWorks Landscape
Architecture Consultants. The project is based on the assessment of ecosystem
functioning that existed at given location before construction, in order to set goals
for environmental performances of the project over a longer period of time. It is an
urban ecosystem, financialy sustainable, that mimics the behavior of untouched
forest and has negligible environmental impact on the surrounding environment, but
the huge economic potential for property owners as well as for the whole
community and the environment. The project contains the vision, goals and
strategies for establishing a sustainable framework and identity and provides
guidelines for the future development.

THE CASE STUDY OF THE BIOMIMICRY APPLICATION ON

CAPSULE HOTELS IN TOKYO
Laboratory research
Despoina Fragkou and Vicki Stevenson conducted the laboratory research analyzing
the effectiveness of the biomimicry process application in a beehive, to provide thermal
comfort and reduce the cooling/heating costs of rooms in Capsule Hotels in Tokyo [3].
The starting premise of the research was based on fact that people and bees correspond
to similar conditions of thermal and air comfort, as well as on the similarity of the
construction concept typology of the bee combs and capsule rooms. The aim of this
study was to evaluate the reduction of energy consumption using biomimicry, ensuring
the same level of hotel guests’ comfort. The improvement of thermal comfort under
natural ventilation conditions was shown by computer simulation and also the reduction
of energy consumption under mixed mode ventilation in rooms, designed on the
principle of biomimicry.
The preferable temperature is around 34⁰C for raising bee brood and 17 ⁰C in other
parts of the hive [4]. Air flow in beehives is 50-60 l/min and relative humidity is around
45-55%. In order to reduce the high air temperature inside the hive, bees collect drops
of water which are positioned in the hive and waving their wings they cause evaporative
cooling. Dimensions of capsule rooms are 120x234x110cm and rooms are equipped
with TV, radio, alarm clock, lights and control panel of the interior ventilation. The
main construction material inside the capsule is rigid PVC of 5-7cm thickness, while the
envelope is made of concrete blocks about 20cm thick. Inside the capsules, the air-
conditioning is achieved without natural ventilation and the main activity is sleeping
[3].
Research methodology
Three methods were used in order to examine the results of biomimicry principles
application on the example of a beehive [3]. The first two methods that were applied in
combination, were physical modeling and laboratory testing. The aim was to illustrate
the airflow inside the hive in order to determine the pattern of airflow. The laboratory
testing was performed in the adiabatic wind tunnel in the Welsh School of Architecture,
Cardiff. The air velocity inside the tunnel was 4.3m/s. The third method was a computer
simulation for thermal analysis using HTB2, a research tool developed in the Welsh
School of Architecture which simulates the energy and environmental performances of
buildings. Two models were made: the first one represented the existing capsule hotel
and the second one represented the capsule hotel with applied principle of biomimicry.
The input data for the materials is given in Table 1 and it is the same for both models.
The analysis was carried out to assess the energy needs and the results of thermal
comfort for both models. The thermostat was set to maintain temperature in the range of
18-23 ⁰C.

Table 1. The input data for the materials of both base case and altered case [3]
Floor of the capsule 75mm air gap, 50mm Polyvinyl Chloride rigid, 200mm
fibre Textile Organic Bonded
Ceiling of the capsule 70mm Polyvinyl Chloride Rigid
Walls of the capsule 30mm air gap, 50mm Polyvinyl Chloride Rigid

Three types of capsules were observed: the first one with TV and alarm clock turned
on, whose internal gains were 18.75W, the second one with radio and alarm clock
turned on, whose internal gains were 15W and the third one with lights and alarm clock
turned on, whose internal gains were 5W. The infiltration rate was set to 10L/s per
person. The capsule model was modified in order to create a similar model to a beehive.
The corridor width in front of the capsules was reduced from 160cm to 100cm which
corresponds to the two bee-spaces in the human scale, given that the width of man’s
shoulders is 50cm so that two can pass over each other in 1m corridor. Between the
capsule rooms and the adjacent spaces the corridors of 50cm width were made (one bee-
space in human scale) to ensure the similarity of the air gap between the frames inside
the hive. The external wall of the capsule rooms was designed with 5 holes of
120x180cm dimensions, which provided the natural ventilation. In 50cm distance from
the holes the partition was installed which imitated the internal boundary of the hive [3].
Results
Video camera recorded the positions of the bubbles that were used to visualize the
airflow into the hive model. Through an analysis of consecutive video frames at interval
of 0,04s, it was recorded the air flow patterns within the hive. Figure 1 shows two
dominant flows inside the hive.
 Figure 1. The air flows inside the hive [3]
Black arrows show the air flow caused by the wind tunnel fans and shades of gray
arrows show the air flows inside the hive. Areas of high pressure are marked with "+"
and of low pressure with "-".

The first air flow (figure 1) enters from the bottom left of air entrance,
reaches the rear of the hive on its right side, then flows upwards and turns to
the left side. The second (figure 1) also enters from the bottom left, reaches the
right side of the hive and then flows upwards and rise until it reaches the cover
and then exits from the top right. It is obvious that the air enters the hive from
the air entrance at the bottom and then flows directly upwards before spreading
through the interior of the hive, which provides ventilation for the most frames,
but not for the upper corners of the hive. The HTB2 analysis of natural
ventilation for both the base case and the case of biomimicry, was based on
thermal comfort with a defined comfort zone of 18-23⁰C. In the base case
19.6% of the results were within the comfort zone, while the results for the
biomimicry altered model increased slightly to 20.8%. Figure 2 shows that
some cells of the biomimicry design have lower annual energy needs for
heating and cooling compared to the base case. The analysis of the heating
loads for achieving adequate comfort in the capsule, showed that they have
been 30-50% lower than those in the base case for a mixed mode system. In the
matter of cooling loads, the values were approximately halved after making the
biomimicry alterations. The analysis of a natural ventilation system in
biomimicry designed rooms, showed that the biomimicry had a little impact on
the internal temperature inside the capsules. In modified capsules the warmest
day was only 0.75⁰C cooler compared to the base case, while the temperature
in the coldest day of the year was higher for 1.5⁰C.
 Figure 2. Annual energy consumption for heating (left) and cooling (right) [3]

Research conclusion
Physical modeling of airflow showed that the areas near the top corners of the hive
were not well ventilated. This situation is acceptable to the bees that will simply
minimize use of these areas and they can improve the ventilation (by evaporative
cooling) of these areas. Such an approach is less acceptable to hotel owners whose aim
is to increase the income from their investment. Therefore, this problem can be solved
by selective use of mechanical ventilation when the guests are in the rooms. The
thermal performances of biomimicry altered capsules are significantly better than the
base case, because the heating and cooling loads are approximately 50% less for the
same level of comfort. The analysis of a natural ventilation system showed that the
altered model has had a higher percentage of hours within the comfort zone, compared
to the base case. The research conclusion is that biomimicry gives the adequate answers
through a holistic and sustainable design approach. Although this approach might not
satisfy all the requirements of a modern man and his lifestyle, still it can be used as a
starting point for the development of sustainable strategies and concepts, particularly
when the observed species has similar needs to humans.

CONCLUSION
The built environment becomes increasingly responsible for the creation of global
environmental and social problems caused by the huge amounts of waste, unlimited
resource consumption and emissions of greenhouse gases. It becomes clearer that the
radical changes have to be made in design, construction and maintenance of the built
environment. Mimicking of life and complex interactions between the living organisms,
which make the ecosystem, presents easily accessible and a good example for the
construction of future human settlements, as well as for positive transformation of
ecological performances of the built environment. Very often, designers with limited
and incomplete understanding of the functioning of a particular organism or ecosystem,
and without necessary cooperation with biologists and ecologists, in the early stages of
design, are not able to explore all potential solutions in the spirit of biomimicry for a
given problem. Result of the use of superficial biological knowledge is low design level
and therefore the biological research must be conducted and then identified as relevant
to the proper design concept [9]. Because of mimicking of only certain functions of
organisms instead of observation of the functioning of the whole system, there is a
 potential danger that biomimicry becomes only artificial technology attached to objects,
and not their integral part. Although the application of biomimicry can lead to the
development of innovative technologies of construction or materials’ production,
methods to increase the sustainability have not yet been completely explored. So, to
solve the present problems the new integrated architecture is required, that will become
architecture of the future, in which the buildings and the nature will react to
environmental conditions and support biodiversity, and will not be a mere imitation of
natural forms. The solution lies in discovering the appropriate biological systems and in
working together and co-operation between the fields of engineering, design, and
biology, in order to create a better sustainable world.

The paper was carried out within framework of the Project in Technological
Development for a Period 2011-2014, number TR 036049, for that the authors thank to
the Ministry of Science and Technology Development of the Republic of Serbia,
Subject Area: Transport, Urban Planning and Civil Engineering. Program - Technology
Development. Ministry of Science and Technology Development of the Republic of
Serbia, Belgrade: “Innovative intelligent eco - concepts, technologies, materials and
constructions in the function of improvement of sustainable development processes in
spatial planning, town planning, architectural design and building in natural and built
environment”. Head of Project: Predrag Milošević.

REFERENCES

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2. Eryildiz S., Mezini L., Bioarchitecture – Inspirations From Nature, Gazi University
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application on Capsule Hotels in Tokyo, Japan, Proceedings of 2nd Conference:
“People and Buildings”, London Metropolitan University, London, U.K., 2012.
4. Hooper T., Guide to Bees & Honey – The World's best selling Guide to Beekeeping,
Northern Bee Books, 2010.
5. Marshall A., The Ecomimicry Project, 2007. (Accessed: 13.05.2013.) Available at:
http://www.geocities.ws/ecomimicryproject/
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8. Russell J. A., Evaluating the Sustainability of an Ecomimetic Energy System: An
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sustainability, School of architecture, Victoria University, New Zealand, 2007.

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