Batitat | Thesis Document by Timothy Logan

timothy logan | studio sung | spring 2012

table of contents

01. process 02. drawings 03. models 04. images and boards 05. arch 501 paper

01. process

01. process fig. 01: material absorption experiments studying the vertical absorption capabilities of different textile materials, including yarn, jersey fabric, and diaper samples fig. 02: super absorbent polymer capacity testing the weight and volume capacity of “super absorbent polymer,” a material used in diapers and oil cleanup to absorb liquids fig. 03: super absorbent polymer passive kinetic facade study rendering of a building envelope system using samples of super absorbent polymer to passively enact moving components

yarn JERSY KNIT QUILTED DIAPER TEXTILE + POLYMER

fig. 03

UNUSED Vs. EXPANDED DIAPERS

WEIGHT GAINED FROM WATER ONLY

DIAPER WITH WATER: 982.1 grams

8 CUPS REMAINING

SUBMERSION WITHIN 12 CUPS OF WATER

fig. 02

DIAPER: 30.2 grams

fig. 01

experiments with water fig. 04: sap facade function sap samples absorb the weight and volume of precipitation consistent to the virgin islands; the added load causes each individual component to tip forward, creating a shingled watershed surface fig. 05: sap facade light quality system allows for passive transitions between an open, naturally-ventilated condition and closed, rain-shedding system

fig. 04

fig. 05

01. process fig. 06: roosting habits researching the social constructs of the fisherman bat roost; several configurations require accomodation for groups at a number of scales fig. 07: habitat adjacency/temporary connection exploring the spatial possibilities of creating temporary access between bachelor male and female bats during mating season bachelor male

fig. 06

fig. 07

bachelor males or male + female

harem: male + females

nurseries: females + young

bat studies, absorption diagrams fig. 08a-c: concept diagrams departing from the absorbing action in the sap experiments, the concept of absorption was studied as pertaining to a number of discplines, and expressed diagrammatically

fig. 08a

fig. 08b

fig. 08c

01. process fig. 09a-b: scales of development exploring ways to architecturally accomodate the bats, from the scale of surface texture to the collection and export of guano (seabird waste) for fertilizer

habitat observation: roost pocket interiors

bat roos

flyin

g acce

ss /

obse

rvation

fac sur tion

guano collection chute

lec no col gua

main cavity to emergence exit

habitat observation: cone interiors

collection through membranes: holes stretched by guano weight

fig. 10a-b: the human interface further extending a direct interface between the bat population, visiting tourists and students, resident researchers, and guano collection workers. basic experiential conditions for each are established.

collection through grates: natural settling by weight

guano mixing barrels

fig. 09a

tide-capturing roof surface: temporary program/landscape field visitor visual access to labs

(

habitat observation: roost pocket interiors

(

public amenity: â&#x20AC;&#x153;tidal playgroundâ&#x20AC;?

(

lab habitat observation: researcher habitat access

public exhibition

(

public habitat observation: cone interiors

(

bat habitat observation, specimen lab

guano lab sample collection: settling, composition, + elevation

(

guano collection, storage, + distribution

(

collection through grates: natural settling by weight

mixing/volume control

storage for distribution

fig. 09b

temporarily stocked/submerged main cavity: hunting behavior study

fig. 10a

observation researcher/student dwellings bats

lab

emergence area

guano collection

fig. 10b 10

guano distribution

research synthesis in section fig. 11a-c: scales of development development at the scale of the entire building and its subterranean location meeting rooms/observation

habitat entry

computer labs

specimen/dark labs

bat habitat

guano lab study

guano collection

guano storage + export

fig. 11a

fig. 11b

11 fig. 11c

01. process fig. 12: hand rendering techniques exploring chalk, ink, and watercolor mediums as a rendering technique in connection to the mix of hand and computer drawing in the design process

fig. 12

design process and representation fig. 13a-c: drawing and design process a constant dialogue between handdrawn and computer generated design and rendering drove the investigation of a corresponding aesthetic for representation

fig. 13a

fig. 13b

fig. 13c

01. process fig. 14: final representation studies studying the use of hand drawn images in a digital format

fig. 14

representation

02. drawings

fig. 01

section fig. 01: building/mountain section studying the use of hand drawn images in a digital format

02. drawings fig. 02: â&#x20AC;&#x153;absorptionâ&#x20AC;? identifying the key components of absorption: the absorptive element, the absorbed element, a physical embedding, and physical or nonphysical exchange between the two elements

concept diagram

fig. 02

02. drawings fig. 03: annual life cycle mapping relationships between the greater bulldog bat lifecycle and environmental inputs over the course of a year, investigating conditions such as the wet season, daylight hours, rainfall inches, bat mating season, and bat reproductive cycle fig. 04: daily life cycle mapping relationships between the greater bulldog bat lifecycle and environmental inputs over the course of a day, investigating conditions such as high and low tide hours and peak nocturnal hunting activity fig. 05: siting the project is located on the northeastern side of the peninsula, receptive to incoming precipitation in a steeply inclined seaside location favorable to fisherman bat colonies

bat life cycle and environmental cues

fig. 03

fig. 04

fig. 05

02. drawings fig. 06: scale a.i: surfaces the bat talon’s naturally clenched position requires the animal to be consistently locked onto a textured surface fig. 07: scale a.ii: pockets different “family” constructs are accomodated for in scaling, flexible groups of pockets dictated by familial structure and actuated by the physical presence of the animal

fig. 06

fig. 07

scales of development fig. 08: scale b.i: cavities materiality dictated by function fig. 09: scale b.ii: guano extraction layout for the vertical settling, study, and collection of guano samples

fig. 08

fig. 09

02. drawings fig. 10: site plan

fig. 10

site plan

02. drawings fig. 11: â&#x20AC;&#x153;darkâ&#x20AC;? laboratory and exhibition plan

fig. 11

plans fig. 11: communal lab spaces and exhibition entry

fig. 12

02. drawings fig. 12: plans top to bottom: guano laboratory observation and bat egress level, guano collection level, guano distribution level

fig. 12

plans and sections fig. 13: observation space types

fig. 12

02. drawings fig. 13: sap as a kinetic facade component actuator first position, absorption of rainfall, movement into upright position, drying of sap sample, return to original position fig. 14: component sap housing detail

fig. 13

fig. 14

sap facade prototype fig. 15: closed louver system fig. 16: open louver system fig. 17: surface curvature and shingle size

fig. 15

fig. 16

fig. 17

03. models

sap facade prototype

03. models

pockets and surface texture

04. images and boards

04. images and boards fig. 01: process panels design and representation development samples and model bases fig. 02: project board

fig. 01

final presentation layout

fig. 02

04. images and boards fig. 03: habitat interior fig. 04: habitat interior, exhibition

perspective views

fig. 03

fig. 04

04. images and boards fig. 05: bat egress tunnel/hunting study cavity

perspective views

fig. 05

05. arch 501

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BIOCENTRICITY: OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE RETOOLING AND INTEGRATION OF W ATER INTO BIOMIMETIC AND BIOPROCESSING BUILDING ENVELOPE SYSTEMS

TIMOTHY LOGAN 12.12.2011 ARCH 501 SUNG

ABSTRACT: Though society has used much of its technological development in order to outperform or separate itself from nature, the recent increase in climactic intensity and impending rising sea levels caused by human activity shows a dire need to integrate more thoroughly with the natural environment. Biomimetic design has served as a means of learning from nature in order to perfect our own products and processes, yet is often simplified to a form-driven expression within architecture. If inspired by processes within the natural environment, however, biomimicry holds potential in creating a responsive architecture that is biologic rather than biomorphic. Focusing on the building envelope as the primary barrier between man and nature, this analysis seeks to uncover exchanges, conditions, and relationships in nature in order to inform the development of a responsive architecture through which humans may adapt to life within a closer proximity to water. Intelligent surfaces, construction processes, and material properties are explored as case studies of the application of biomimetic and biophilic design to architecture.

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OUTLINE I. INTRODUCTION A. Issues Facing the Global Ecosystem 1. The impact of human activity on the planet and impending climactic changes 2. The inefficiencies of building performance and separation of our progress from the capacity and wellbeing of nature B. Reevaluating the Design of the Built Environment 1. Biomimicry a.

Formal vs. Functional

Natural Balance

2. An Integrated Ecology C. Potential within Building Envelope Development II. MAN VS. NATURE A. Climate Change 1. Ecological Effects 2. Nigeria: A Case Study 3. A Changing Relationship with Water B. Progress vs. Nature: A Reevaluation of the Pursuits of Mankind 1. A “Dominion over Nature” 2. Postwar Transformation of Modernism 3. The Issue of Thermal Comfort C. Envisioning a Hybrid Ecology 1. Naturalist Philosophies 2. Landscape + Architecture + Urbanism III. AN INTRODUCTION TO BIOMIMICRY A. A New Relationship with Nature B. Concepts of Biomimetic Design 1. Nature as Model, Measure, and Mentor 2. 12 Sustainable Design Ideas from Nature 3. The Challenge to Biology Design Spiral C. Thoughts on the Potential of a Biomimetic Architecture IV. RE-FOCUSING BIOMIMICRY IN ARCHITECTURE: APPLICATIONS, OPPOSITIONS, AND ESTABLISHING CRITERIA FOR JUDGMENT A. Faults and Critiques

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B. Learning from the Eastgate Center C. Establishing Criteria for Judgment 1. Function 2. Biomimetic Design Principles 3. Passive vs. Active Operation 4. Effects on Human and Nonhuman Ecologies 5. Future Design and Building Integration Potential A. The Building Envelope: A New Concentration V. EXAMPLES OF POTENTIAL BIO-CENTRIC DEVELOPMENTS IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT A. Water as a Mechanism: Repurposing, Instrumentalizing, and Renewing 1. Preliminary Experiments a.

“Mycoremediation”

Water-reclaiming Eco-Machines

2. Biomimetic Translations a.

Mangrove Root Behavior

3. Hybrid Assemblies a.

“Smart Skin”

Carbon Sequestration by Microalgae

B. Water as a Stimulus: Examples in Surface Sensitivity and Resource Harvesting 1. “Bio-mineralization” and Self-Assembling Surfaces a.

Soft Shell Abalone Nacre

Concrete Carbon Sequestration

Possible Future Developments

2. Surface Deformation a.

Hydrogel-actuated Integrated Response Systems (HAIRS)

Material Properties: “Raspberry Fields”

Biomimetically Designed Water Collection Techniques

3. Tidal Energy Harvesting

VI. DISCUSSION

A Trend in Construction

“Ice Road Truck Stops”

A Progressive Infrastructure

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A retrospective evaluation of our time on earth surely indicates that mankindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s abilities in technological development have produced undoubtedly spectacular results. Unfortunately, a collective failure to consider the impact of these actions on the physical landscape upon which life is sustained has brought on noticeable, sometimes destructive, consequences. Water, the substance most vital to the nurturing of life, plays a major role in many of these repercussions, therefore affecting ecologies at all scales. Changing global temperatures have depleted natural fresh water supplies, disturbed wildlife, and may even result in a loss of inhabitable land due to sea level rise. In order to realign the demands of our achievements with the capacities of our natural environment, it has become obligatory of those within the design field to generate new means of both mitigating the effects of climate change within the building and control the negative effects of building construction and operation on the ecosystem. Biomimicry, the emulation and optimization of natural structures and systems in design, has proven to be an effective tool in this process of innovation. While the practice of biomimetic design has produced notable results within other disciplines, its application in the field of architecture remains a largely unexplored frontier. Formal imitations of natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shapes and structures have certainly captured the attention of the public and the profession, yet few of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design efforts appear to seek the establishment of a harmonious, reciprocal relationship between man and the rest of the world as physically articulated in the built environment. The implementation of biomimicry in the development of building material system and surfaces, operating under premises and at scales more easily translatable to that of nature, may provide a more effective platform for redesigning the architectural interface between man and nature: the building envelope.

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MAN VS. NATURE: CLIMATE CHANGE, W ATER, TECHNOLOGY, AND REALIGNM ENT While the source of climate change has become a substantial platform of political and social debate in recent years, noticeable effects on the earth’s water supply and ecologies warrant a focus on the search for solutions. Accounting for nearly three quarters of the planet’s surface and a third of the world’s primary production, aquatic ecosystems are home to an estimated thirty million species and hold significant value to the productivity and culture of mankind1. A single source of input into the environment has the ability to generate complex webs of resulting effects on life at all scales. Common effects associated with human activity and climate change on the development of plant and animal ecologies include decreased species numbers, species disbursement, the spread of alien and invasive species, and the simplification of species type due to their failure to adapt to rapidly changing conditions. Pollution and other means of human interference with freshwater system flow also effects water visibility, oxygen content, and sediment composition, disrupting the ability of an environment to host certain species, conditions, or relationships. As world population grows to a projected seven to ten billion2 inhabitants, the byproducts of our own existence will without question begin to negatively affect the wellbeing of both human and nonhuman populations. While some may deny the effects of global warming on human wellbeing, those in less economically strengthened countries are witnessing these consequences first hand. Current issues facing Nigeria demonstrate the early signs of climate change threatening the survival of human, plant, and animal ecologies at a nationwide scale. An 800-kilometer stretch of its coastline along the Gulf of Guinea, low in geographical elevation, experiences a constant invasion of the ocean into its territory. An increase in coastal economic activity, destructive weather events, and slowly rising sea levels costs Nigeria an estimated 20 to 30 meter loss annually.3 These conditions affect economic production, place stress on infrastructure, threaten low-lying coastal ecosystems, destroy the built environment, and contaminate fresh water supplies through sewage pollution and salinization.4 The loss of vegetation created by drought, in turn brought by temperature change, may further perpetuate the problem by eliminating plant matter as a means of collecting groundwater to feed 1

Geist explicitly categorizes the “value of biodiversity to mankind” into nine basic types of value: Utilitarian, Naturalistic, Ecologic-Scientific, Aesthetic, Symbolic, Humanistic, Moralistic, Dominionistic, and Negativistic. Definitions, functions, and "World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision" Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. June 2009. 2

Orupabo, S. “Coastline Migration in Nigeria,” Hydro International 8 (3), April 2004.

See: National Adaptation Strategy and Plan of Action on Climate Change For Nigeria (NASPA – CCN). Publication. Building Nigeria’s Response to Climate Change (BNRCC) Project, <http://nigeriaclimatechange.org/naspa.pdf> (Sept 2011), in which the impact of climate change is outlined within individual themes or sectors (Agriculture, Health and Sanitation, Energy, Industry and Commerce, Transportation and Communications, etc.) 4

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streams for local supply. Though Nigeria may have a more difficult time dealing with its hardship than more developed and economically active countries, the classifications of problems it faces are applicable in any significantly populated location. Changing global temperatures, a prospective closer proximity to water, and the potential demand to nurture irreplaceable aquatic ecologies provide a set of possible challenges to be solved by the architect through the redesign of our relationship to water and our surroundings. Though many consider global warming to be an inevitable part of the earth’s life cycle, the development of today’s complex social, political, and economic networks have taken an undeniable toll on its physical landscape and natural resources. While the remarkable abundance of technological breakthroughs achieved by man over the course of centuries is unquestionably incredible, one must reexamine the philosophical influences that divorced our progress from the equilibrium of nature. Seventeenth century philosopher and scientist Francis Bacon is largely credited with the creation of the scientific method, which has since become a staple in

Figure 02: Downstream Effects of Upstream Water Use

education and the basis upon which much of society’s most momentous scientific advances are achieved. Bacon’s work, however, also suggests that mankind holds a “dominion over nature,” seeking a reclamation of Eden through the use of science to control the natural world and gain power over creation.5 This belief, followed in the next century by the Industrial Revolution and

Merchant, “The Violence of Impediments: Francis Bacon and the Origins of Experimentation," Isis, 992, 2008, p. 731-760

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resulting capitalism6 sets the tone for a gradual fragmentation of the aspirations of humanity and the capacities of the planet’s biosphere. A new economic model demanding efficiency was reflected in the built landscape7 as building construction globalized8 just as did the universal methods of production that birthed both their function and physical being. Architects Robert Berkebile and Jason McLennan theorize “the history of architecture in the twentieth century can be looked upon as a history of buildings emulating machines and technology,” leading to Le Corbusier’s “ultimate metaphor” of the house as “a machine for living in.”9 Unfortunately, our quest for efficiency in the production of tradable goods was not equally expressed in the production of the buildings that house them. Ecological considerations for the planning of civilization were based on utilitarian objectives of trade, protection, and sustenance rather than the establishment of a balance that would allow for the continuance of both the natural and artificial worlds.10 For the sake of functional productivity, the buildings of today often display excessive material and resource waste as a consequence of inefficient building layout, systems, and construction. Many of these inefficiencies, for example heavy cooling and heating loads or high electrical operational demands, stem from our collaborative refusal to adapt to our local conditions as do the thousands of other species with which we share the planet. 11 While an organism might eventually evolve to protect itself from an extreme environment, the tendency of modern society is to artificialize and engineer its surroundings to yield a level of comfort that is universally perceived as necessary for the continuance of human activity. Ultimately,

Merchant, “Environmentalism: From Control of Nature to Partnership,” University of California, Berkeley, May 2010

Colman, “Float On: A Succession of Progressive Architecture Ecologies.” In Design Ecologies: Essays on the Nature of Design, Tilder, Lisa, Beth Blostein, and Jane Amidon New York: Princeton Architectural, 2010, p. 153; in which Colman describes the postwar climate’s transformation of “modern architecture’s self-assumed benevolent objectivity” based on the “discipline’s ongoing engagement with this increasingly technologized, bureaucratized, and totalizing agency” responsible for questionable means of social control made possible by the globalization of electronic- and telecommunications. 7

The universal nature of modern construction overpowers the translation of well-adapted methods of construction developed by less globalized civilizations. A 2003 case study of the architecture of the Nias Island in North Sumatra recovers some of these lost strategies through the study of specific massing, material, and assembly strategies. Gruber, Biomimetics in Architecture: Architecture of Life and Buildings. Wien: Springer, 2011, p. 196-240 8

See Berkebile and McLennan, "The Living Building: Biomimicry in Architecture, Integrating Technology with Nature." Editorial. Web. Oct. 2011. <http://jasonmclennan.com/articles/The_Living_Building.pdf>. Further analysis of the significance of Bacon’s views towards the balance between knowledge and dominion between humans and nature is provided in Merchant, "The Violence of Impediments: Francis Bacon and the Origins of Experimentation," Isis, 992, 2008, p. 731-760 9

Amidon, “Big Nature.” In Design Ecologies: Essays on the Nature of Design, Tilder, Lisa, Beth Blostein, and Jane Amidon New York: Princeton Architectural, 2010, p. 167-168 Brownell, “Material Ecologies in Architecture.” In Design Ecologies: Essays on the Nature of Design, Tilder, Lisa, Beth Blostein, and Jane Amidon New York: Princeton Architectural, 2010, p. 222-226 11

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the desire to outperform or separate humanity from nature as reflected in science has resulted in a disregard for the environmental impact of our actions. In order to adapt to changing climactic conditions and decrease the destructive byproducts of human ambition, the position in which mankind, and therefore the field of architecture, envisions itself within nature must change from being of a utilitarian character to being cooperative. Just as Berkebile and McLennan identify the philosophical origins of technological progress divorced from nature, they also draw upon the thoughts of figures such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, who ruminated that the whole of the universe is elementally comprised of two elements: nature and soul. The recognition of both as interdependent forces as provoked by the impending ramifications of climate change demands a new respect for both the human and nonhuman worlds.12 Jane Amidon describes the impact of this change on architecture, suggesting a “dissolution of individual design pursuits; ‘landscape,’ ‘architecture,’ and ‘urbanism,’” and a “symbiosis of ecology and technology that blurs distinctions between the natural and the artificial” as achieved through the development of solutions in the realms ranging “from Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to Building Information Modeling (BIM), from hybrid super-plants to smart skins.”13 Humans differ from the rest of the world’s species in that, rather than adapting to their environment, they construct their environment to adapt to their own needs. While this ability stems from obvious intellectual and physical advantages of mankind, impending consequences of climate change require these abilities to be focused in a different way. The same technology currently used with a “man versus nature” begins to be utilized to establish a dynamic of “man with nature.” While the human race’s distinction from the rest of nature is grounds enough for endless existential debate, it is important to recognize the unique abilities of architects as the impetus of a collective responsibility for both cultural and biological diversity, and both constructed and natural communities.

A compelling argument for the reevaluation of attitudes towards nature is enumerated in Stephan Harding’s “Deep Ecology Platform,” which recognizes the value of life and biodiversity to all species, the injustice of harmful consequences of human activity, and the need for change in the social, political, economic, and scientific constructs of today’s globalized world. Harding, "What Is Deep Ecology?" BioInspire 31 Jan. 2005. <http://resurgence.gn.apc.org/185/harding185.htm> (Oct 2011) 12

Amidon, “Big Nature.” In Design Ecologies: Essays on the Nature of Design, Tilder, Lisa, Beth Blostein, and Jane Amidon New York: Princeton Architectural, 2010, p. 175

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AN INTRODUCTION TO BIOM IM ICRY Biomimicry, originating from the Greek words bio (life) and mimesis (to imitate), is an already renowned embodiment of this proposed new relationship with nature. Scientific writer Janine Benyus, head of the Biomimicry Guild and the figure most prominently credited with the codification of biomimetic design principles, reduces an ideal relationship with nature and technology to three major roles: model, measure, and mentor. As a model, nature provides adapted solutions that can be translated into the design of human goods. Many of these natural solutions have been tested against time, acting as a natural measure against time of what prevails, what evolves, and what fails. This fundamental partnership, comprised of an agreement by humanity to explore, learn from, and respect the natural world, constitutes the role of nature as a mentor to our scientific aspirations.14 Benyus also describes a more performance-related set of design concepts for biomimicry, including: self assembly, carbon dioxide as a feedstock, solar transformations, shape, water collection, metal extraction, green chemistry, timed degradation, immunity and self healing, sensitivity, fertility, and natural support for the perpetuation of life.15 A third layer of principles is also illustrated in a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Design Spiralâ&#x20AC;? diagram presented by the Biomimicry Institute, which describes biomimetic design as a continuous process of distilling a desired function, translating it to the operations of nature, discovering natural precedents, emulating natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s solutions, and evaluating ways to evolve and adapt them to technological development. In defense of the movement, this concept provides a more rigorous criteria against which design efforts may be judged as being either true to the biomimetic process of discovery, adaptation, and evolution or simply an imitation of natural form for affect. Biomimicry seeks to represent the millions of species on the planet as millions of welladapted, environmentally integrated answers to the same problems facing the human race. Furthermore, the constant evolution and time testing of these biological constructs provides an unceasing source of research and inspiration.

See: Benyus, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. New York: Perennial, 2002; These three points are presented before the main content of the book, and are one of the major sets of principles identified by Benyus as being characteristic of biomimetic design. See: Benyus, "12 Sustainable Design Ideas from Nature." Lecture. Feb. 2005.TEDtalks. TED, Apr. 2007. Web. Sept. 2011. <http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_shares_nature_s_designs.html>, in which Benyus delivers a lecture describing her experience working with professionals in other fields in order to develop biomimetic designs. Each of the 12 concepts of biomimetic design are described with further elaborations and produced or theoretical examples of products conceived using the biomimetic design process. 15

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Figure 03: The Challenge to Biology Design Spiral

The viability of biomimicry as an avenue for the aforementioned synthesis of a “new environmentalism”16 therefore appears vast. Spiders silk is naturally produced to be stronger than any manufactured Kevlar®, the skin of the Galapagos shark is patterned with a bacteria-resistant micro-texture studied for the creation of hospital surfaces, and the Amazon electric eel demonstrates the ability to produce 600 volts of electricity, without self-harm, using the same chemicals found in the human body.17 As a discipline closely involved with technology, architecture often seeks to incorporate the same characteristics of material strength, surface functionality, and resource harvesting. Nature reinforces the development of naturally powered, self regulating, constantly recycling systems; today, architecture strives to achieve this same sense of balance. The beginnings of a framework for the application of biomimicry in architecture may be guided by two main focuses.

Amidon, “Big Nature.” In Design Ecologies: Essays on the Nature of Design, Tilder, Lisa, Beth Blostein, and Jane Amidon New York: Princeton Architectural, 2010, p. 175 17

Benyus, "Biomimicry in Action." Lecture. July 2007. TEDtalks. TED, Aug. 2007. <http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_biomimicry_in_action.html> (Sept 2011)

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Figure 04: Translation of natural models into architectural design elements

In order to adapt to the environmental changes already induced by humans, biomimicry provides strategies for energy production, energy efficiency, and carbon sequestration. To mitigate the waste of future systems, the biomimetic design process offers perhaps the largest index of naturally developed solutions to be translated into the built environment at any variety of physical or temporal scales.18 The benefits of a biomimetic design process in architecture range anywhere from economic to ideological factors within our own ecological construct. A new concentration on how the built environment may begin to exhibit the same self-sustaining behaviors of nature would provide a perpetual model for innovation within architecture, empowering the discipline as being both expressive of and instrumental to the progress of an inherently well-intentioned technology.

RE-FOCUSING BIOMIMICRY IN ARCHITECTURE: APPLICATIONS, OPPOSITIONS, AND ESTABLISHING A CRITERIA FOR JUDGMENT Regardless of the clear definitions of its principles or the unfathomable supply of its solutions, the physical manifestations of biomimetic design in architecture are often hard to judge based on varying agendas of affect versus functionality. The lack of an explicitly defined practice of biomimetic design has sparked some critique of its practice, particularly in the areas of high 18

Zari, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Biomimetic design for climate change adaptation and mitigation.â&#x20AC;? Architectural Science Review, Volume 53, Number 2, 2010 p. 174-181

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operational expenses, complex methods of manufacturing, and expensive material developments. Joe Kaplinsky argues for concentration on the potentials of human intelligence, critiquing highly theoretical biomimetic architecture proposals and asserting that, “freed from the burden of selfrepair and reproduction, our architecture can have a simplicity that is unimaginable in the living world… simplicity has its own elegance and economy.”19 Unfortunately, buildings are no longer free of burden as Kaplinsky claims them to be; buildings and the embodied energy of their materials are responsible for the use of 40 percent of energy use in the United States.20 Our uncompromising demand for thermal comfort has resulted in the development of wasteful, albeit increasingly efficient,21 heating and cooling systems that turn building design into the meticulous engineering of structures as “producers of nature.”22 The solutions developed independently of the natural world have ultimately failed, demanding a new focus on the way in which buildings use resources and manage system waste. Built examples of biomimicry in architecture have begun to address this challenge. The Eastgate Center, located in the harsh climate of Harare, Zimbabwe, exhibits a passive cooling system designed by architect Mick Pearce and inspired by the temperature regulating capabilities of termite mounds facing the same thermal loads. The building exhausts elevated warm air through 48 brick funnels, using fans to introduce fresh air into the building at night, therefore using only 10% of the cooling energy of a building of comparable size.23 However, it has been proven that the phenomena of thermo-siphon and stacked ventilation are not responsible for the operational and commercial success of the building. Passive cooling thought to be inspired by concepts of airflow and nest infrastructure is instead credited to the porous composition and thermal mass of the actual mound walls.24 In this sense, perhaps the Eastgate Center serves as a learning tool for the future direction of biomimicry in architecture. While large-scale form and function are valid avenues for exploration, 19

Kaplinsky, “Biomimicry versus Humanism.” Architectural Design, 76, June 2006, p. 71.

Koelman, "Building the Future of Buildings." BioInspire. 27 Sept. 2004.

See: Tonkinwise, “Weeding the City of Unsustainable Cooling, or, Many Designs rather than Massive Design.” In Design Ecologies: Essays on the Nature of Design, Tilder, Lisa, Beth Blostein, and Jane Amidon New York: Princeton Architectural, 2010, p. 30-38; in which the author examines variations over time in the cooling solutions of New York City. 21

David Gissen further discusses the role of “mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and curtain wall systems” in the conversion of “raw natural matter – solar-radiation, convective forces, moisture, and wind – into forms of indoor natural matter” that create a synthetic environment that we have collectively established as mandatory for human productivity. Gissen, “APE.” In Design Ecologies: Essays on the Nature of Design, Tilder, Lisa, Beth Blostein, and Jane Amidon New York: Princeton Architectural, 2010, p. 63, 70-72 22

Lefaivre and Tzonis, “2003 Prince Claus Fund.” Citation of Award, December 10 2003.

Turner J.S & Soar R.C. (2008), “Beyond biomimicry: What termites can tell us about realizing the living building” in First international Conference on Industrialized, Intelligent Construction, May 14th – 16th 2008, Loughborough University, Leicester, UK, p. 3, 6-11 24

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Figure 05: A beetle in the Namib Desert collecting water on its back Figure 06: Water droplets collected on a surface designed to mimic that of the Namib Desert beetle’s wing covers

the study of high performance building façade and envelopes may serve as a plausible concentration.25 The extraction of criteria specifying requirements of employed biomimetic principles, passive versus active operation, and the potential for future implementation or further innovation might begin to focus efforts in biomimetic design and will serve as such in the remainder of this discussion. The frontier of building skin material development refutes critiques demanding a more simple form of its manifestation while simultaneously providing a method for effectively emulating the self-regulatory behavior of nature.

W ATER AS A MECHANISM: REPURPOSING, INSTRUMENTALIZING, AND RENEW ING While the current and projected crises regarding ocean-land encroachment and the availability of potable water prove to be a reality, provokes means of repurposing water within the building envelope for both environmental remediation and climate change adaptation. Rising sea levels may result in a rise in water table height, while the infiltration of coastal waters into onshore ecosystems results in contamination of freshwater supplies with sewage and saltwater. With the conception of water as a building material also comes the opportunity to integrate actual living ecologies into the performance of the nonliving environment. Koelman imagines a synergy between the built environment, economy, and sustainability, in which self-sustaining biomimetic buildings and 25

This idea is described further by the researcher and principals of KieranTimberlake in the development of dwellings outfitted with SmartWrap, a thin building envelope membrane designed to “generate energy, control climate, and provide lighting and information display on a single printed substrate.” Kieran, Stephen, James Timberlake, and Roderick Bates, “Toward an Ecological Building Envelope: Research, Design, and Innovation.” In Design Ecologies: Essays on the Nature of Design, Tilder, Lisa, Beth Blostein, and Jane Amidon New York: Princeton Architectural, 2010, p. 210-237

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landscaping establish a working relationship between its inhabitants and local plant and animal ecologies.26 A new interweaving of living and artificial realms27 would create an intimate and cooperative interface with nature in both rural and urban locations. The following projects represent possibilities in the integration of bioprocessing or remediating systems to extend a project’s success past the limitations of biomimicry while still operating under its design principles. Supporting the development of such a dynamic is a strong foundation of compelling experiments with potentials for integrating water and living systems into the building envelope. Paul Stamets’ experiments in water treatment have enacted a process coined “mycofiltration,” which uses layers of mycorrhizal fungi in order to remove harmful toxins. Enzymes produced by mycelia cell mass found in common fungus species can be used to rapidly break down the hydrocarbon structures of substances such as oils, fuels, pesticides, and even chemical-warfare agents. Organized into mycelial “mats” echoing the form of a building insulation layer, oyster mushrooms strains were also employed as landscape elements used to filter property runoff and restore the local ecosystem.28 Layered at the water’s edge, the mushrooms were shown to prevent the contamination of a lake’s commercially farmed oyster system, meanwhile thriving on the toxins it removed from fuel runoff. As the fungus rotted, the organic matter attracted life at growing scales, eventually encouraging a miniature backyard ecology. While integration of this strategy into the built environment is clearly effective, a passively operating translation into the building envelope resembling anything other than a compost system seems improbable. In a more largely scaled idea such as John Todd’s Restorer Eco-Machines, however, bio-remediation and the support of natural ecology is integrated into existing infrastructure in a far more appealing way. Existing bioprocessing strategies for the reclamation of contaminated water are physically manifested as solar powered, landscaped, floating walkways that also provide new public circulation.29 A system installed in a once heavily polluted canal in the city of Fuzhou, China was shown to have completely transformed both the purity of the water30 and activity of plant, animal, and human populations along its expanse. 26

Koelman, "The Biomimicry Way." BioInspire. 13 Dec. 2004.

Potential benefits of a more intimate relationship between the disciplines of architecture, biology, engineering, and science are described and explored through studio projects. Green, K. “The ‘Bio-logic’ of Architecture,” Proceedings for the 2005 ACSA National Conference, Chicago, 2005, p. 526-530 27

Stamets also describes additional benefits of what he calls “mycoremediation,” describing actions beyond the lifecycle of fungi used as landscape filters. The rotting organic matter of the mushrooms attracts insects, in turn attracting birds, therefore spreading the seeds of local plants and attracting nearby animal species. Altogether, this process provides environmental remediation through active ecosystem restoration. Stamets, "Earth's Natural Internet: Healing the Planet with Mushrooms." BioInspire. 24 Feb. 2005. 28

Todd, John. "Restorer Eco-Machines for the Culture of Aquatic Animals and the Restoration of Polluted Aquatic Environments." BioInspire. 18 July 2004. 29

Water visibility depths were recorded to have increased from less than six inches to several feet.

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Though potentially publicly funded installation and maintenance costs are inevitable in this case, energy costs are reduced to zero and the economic benefits of commercial redevelopment along derelict waterfronts provide additional incentive. This transformation of existing built or natural infrastructure into an environment that reclaims contaminated water, revitalizes wildlife, and reactivates forgotten patterns of use exemplifies Green’s vision of all-encompassing humannonhuman ecology. A second translation of the same technologies through the biomimetic lens may work to maximize their efficiency or productivity. While the Restorer system requires the integration of a sufficiently yielding solar energy collection system, species of the mangrove tree exhibit the ability to collect and treat water using only the fine interior structure of its roots. The capillary action of water draws it vertically through the plant, where filtering membranes trap the water’s salt content.31 This allows the mangrove to function similarly to Todd’s Eco-Machines, but with the added value of selfpowering. Though the intervention occurs in a zone removed from the building envelope, using the same strategy for similar but varying functions could suggest a new utilization of the conventional wall section assembly.

Figure 07: Smart Skin wall section diagrams studying extreme temperature conditions Figure 08: Water droplets collected on a surface designed to mimic that of the Namib Desert beetle’s wing covers

The grounds for such a solution have in fact already been well developed. Derived from historical Dutch construction techniques, the translucent Smart Skin system utilizes groundwater in order to thermally insulate a potentially zero-energy home. A simple layering of safety glass and anti-

Tributsch, How Life Learned To Live. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1984, p. 184

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infrared finishes on either side of vertical tubes of water32 forms the assembly of a passively acting insulation system without compromising the transmittance of light, as would typical opaque wall section materials. With a utilitarian rationale for the presence of still volumes of water within the building envelope comes opportunity for its maximum exploitation. Reports on test assemblies also suggest an incorporation of algae carbon sequestration, accomplishing a restorative effect similar to that of Stamets’ experiments with fungi. The remediating potentials of algae communities have captured ample attention; it has been theorized that carbon sequestration through mixes of

Figure 09: Backscattered electron image of abalone shell nacre Figure 10: Microstructure of the NeroShield laminate product, developed to perform similarly to the abalone brick and mortar system Figure 11: Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of abalone shell

microalgae and chemical agents may be able to capture 100% of carbon emissions.33 When completely saturated, the carbon can be transformed into solid forms and stored to prevent its future release into the atmosphere. This provides a point of departure from which one can envision a hybrid assembly of groundwater drawn into the wall cavity by means of material made to recreate the capillaries of mangrove roots. Water might then travel through similarly inspired membranes for desalination, then either used to feed grey water systems within a building or continue to house color-changing algae that populate primary sun-exposed façades for the capture and storage of carbon in the atmosphere. Though maintenance and labor may be required for the successful continued operation of such a system, the idea can again serve as yet another conjecture on the way to an even more refined integration within wall assemblies.

Kristinsson, “Smart Skin – A Step Aside in Zero-energy Building.” 3rd CIB Conference on Smart and Sustainable Environments, 2009. 32

Additional efforts exploring the design of a zero-impact coal burning method through the sectional layering of algal pools over coal gasification zones are described, Watts, “China recruits algae to combat climate change.” The Guardian, June 28, 2009. <http:// www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/28/china-algae-carbon-capture-plan> (Oct 2011) 33

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W ATER AS A STIMULUS: EXAMPLES IN SURFACE RESPONSIVITY AND HARVESTING POTENTIALS As global temperatures increase, the development of a new dialogue between water and the building envelope is provoked by the emergence of a possible new proximity with nature’s most precious resource. Rising temperatures in mountain chains cause a shift in snow fall elevation, limiting stored freshwater and causing snow to instead fall as precipitation. In addition, a constant intensification of catastrophic weather events caused by higher surface temperatures of tropical waters places further stress on both the natural and artificial worlds.34 In order to adapt to these conditions, it may be valuable to reconsider how these consequences might be employed to prevent or remediate the byproducts of human activity. In this sense, solid, liquid, or gaseous states of water may act as stimuli upon a responsive building envelope designed to utilize its resources as efficiently as do systems in nature. Whereas the previous studies seek to repurpose water as a building material, following examples address possibilities in adapting building system sensitivity to new and perhaps extreme variances in the physical form and presence of water in the sea, earth, and atmosphere. Water’s role as the planet’s most abundant resource sets the basis for the idea of selfconstructing, carbon sequestering solid surfaces activated by seawater. Currently, the process of “bio-mineralization” that produces durable nacre of the soft shell abalone has been translated into the design of spray-on coatings. At a microstructural level, the nacre is comprised of an electrostatically charged three-dimensional mesh substructure. The charge attracts floating calcium ions into the framework, filling in the empty cells to create layers upon layers of what is already manifested within construction as a type of brick and mortar system. The supporting network of flexible polymers provides impact absorption for the surface, altogether creating a self-forming, selfhealing, durable modular surface.35 Simultaneously, recent breakthroughs in carbon sequestration through the production of concrete add a restorative possibility to the concept. Building construction and operation constitutes a growing percentage of the country’s energy usage, with carbon emissions growing at rates of up to three percent annually.36 Calera, founded by Brent Constantz, PhD., has developed a carbon capture technique that sequesters half a ton of carbon dioxide for every ton of cement produced. With nearly a billion tons of cement produced annually between the United States and China alone, Calera’s almost guarantees a viable sequestration solution that 34

Brown, Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to save Civilization. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008 p. 53-64

Koelman, "Biomimetic Buildings: Understanding & Applying the Lessons of Nature." BioInspire 20 Oct. 2004.

Zari, “Biomimetic design for climate change adaptation and mitigation.” Architectural Science Review, Volume 53, Number 2, 2010 p. 173 36

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would result from the already extensive use of a common building material. Additionally, the cement process removes the calcium and magnesium from seawater, one of Caleraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s raw materials, potentially adding to the process of desalinization.37 While the development of these products may be of more direct relevance to the field of material engineering, they have the ability to inspire a more designed set of solutions to climate change adaptation and alleviation. Though both the carbon sequestration of concrete and creation of automatically materializing surfaces represent viable, low-effort, low-impact biomimetic solutions, the translation of the former into the latter suggests a rationale for further experimentation. One might imagine a hybrid of both the self-assembling surfaces and carbon sequestering material as existing within the same process or step of construction. Previously envisioned prefabricated framework panels38 distributed to impoverished populations could be easily erected and activated by easily accessible seawater to create self-assembling wall systems that sequester carbon emissions throughout their lifespan. The resulting form of low-cost, kit-of-parts architecture could augment humanitarian efforts while introducing a building envelope material that both mitigates and remediates the effects of global warming. In order to take advantage of possible new levels of atmospheric moisture content, sensitive, self-managing building skins have been conceived based on both highly technological complex fabrication processes to a simple exploitation of natural material properties. Hydrogel-actuated

Figure 12a: Hydrogel contraction and nanostructure range of motion Figure 12b: Assembly of nanostructure, bonding, and hydrogel layers Figure 12c: Examples of aggregated nanostructure elements, including inherent ranges of motion for desired effects Figure 12d: Hydrogel-actuated integrated response system in action

Biello, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cement from CO2: A Concrete Cure for Global Warming?â&#x20AC;? The Scientific American, August 2008, <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=cement-from-carbon-dioxide> (Oct 2011) 37

Koelman, "Biomimetic Buildings: Understanding & Applying the Lessons of Nature." BioInspire 20 Oct. 2004.

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integrated responsive systems (HAIRS) rely upon the results of a simple relationship between two independently operating complex systems. Nanostructures of varying massing geometries are designed in aggregated patterns reproducible in silicone through a process of soft lithography. A layer of hydrogel expels or retains water in response to thermodynamic activity between its constituent polymers, causing a variable shift in the volume of the substance. When the nanostructure layers are embedded within a layer of the fluctuating hydrogel, chemical activity within the gel forces the deformation of the physical protrusions. These systems are rich in biomimetic influences; principles of solar transformation and sensitivity are implemented on naturally inspired arrangements. In this case, nanostructure aggregations potentially influenced by examples of efficient tessellation in nature are naturally modified by the gel, which acts as a simulated muscle of sorts. A number of hydrogels exist to respond to conditions of light, temperature, humidity, and the presence of glucose.39 Though currently most commonly translated into the built environment at the small scale of window films and coverings used to achieve changes in reflectivity or color, a denser or larger scale iteration of the same system might more effectively address issues of visibility, ventilation, and temperature gains within surfaces that may be perceived to be either solid or translucent. Larger scale assemblies of the same elements controlling visibility might comprise of layers of material operating at a smaller, porous level in order to regulate airflow. Alternatively, both visibility and ventilation may be controlled through a series of HAIRS layers, creating a building envelope mass that reflects or creates conditions of visibility, airflow, and thermal insulation in a manner more accurate to the patterns of natural forces. Although methods of easy manufacturing and maintenance for the HAIRS system remain largely undeveloped, the actions of independently acting stimulus-response networks that swell and contract to control exterior forces provide a compelling model for the invention of similar building skin assemblies. A more simple manifestation of the same concepts is designed in Raspberry Fields, a project by Jason Payne’s firm Hirsuta that renovates a northern Utah schoolhouse with a cladding system reflective of its environment. Payne was first inspired by the weathering visible on the already existing wood cladding structure, which had retained its original order and appearance to the northeast while demonstrating significant deformation and discoloration on the southwestern façade. The intervention populates the exterior surfaces of the schoolhouse with identical wood planks, uniformly attached to the structure at a top control point. As the direction of the wood grain aids the curling of the bottom of the shingles in response to varying conditions of humidity, a warm gradient of vibrant colors reminiscent of the building’s surrounding raspberry fields is revealed on

Kim P et al. “Hydrogel-actuated integrated responsive systems (HAIRS): Moving towards adaptive materials.” Curr. Opin. Solid State Matter. Sci. (2011), doi:10.1016/j.cossms.2011.05.004 p. 3-6 39

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Figure 13: Gradual curling of wooden shingles, from Jayson Payne/Hirsuta’s “Raspberry Fields.”

the now upwardly curling interior surfaces of the panels.40 The project explores temporal material effects, celebrating the simple affect and potential complication and tangling of the textural cladding system as accomplished by an understanding of the behavior of natural materials under environmental stresses. The same concept of water acting as an independent stimulus, governing the behavior of another set of materials as described in the HAIRS system exists here, yet at a significantly more straightforward, efficient, and easily propagated solution. What it does not take into account, however, is the potential utility of similar cladding systems for projects of comparable scales. Rather, naturally deforming shingles might only act as a base armature upon which hybrid systems are constructed for possible water or solar energy harvesting. Were a similar strategy to be employed in a different climate, shingles of a more dramatically performing material might lift during periods of intensified humidity in order to enable ventilation at the desired localities. Additional biomimetic strategies could then be layered on top of this system, for example in the coating of shingles with a material conducive to the collection or repulsion of water. The Namib Desert beetle, native to one of the most arid climates on the planet, finds its source of fresh water in fog. Tiny hydrophilic, or water-loving surfaced projections on the beetle’s wing covers catch tiny droplets of water vapor traveling through the air. As these droplets continue to aggregate, they are synthesized into larger droplets that travel along the waxier surface of the beetle’s abdomen towards its mouth.41 Another solution may be derived from the microstructure of the skin of the thorny devil lizard. Tiny capillaries between larger expanses of hydrophobic scales create a network of tissue that attracts water and transports it towards the lizard’s mouth.42 This allows it to absorb water from any part of 40

From the architect’s description online: Payne, "Raspberry Fields." Hirsuta Architectural Design and Research. 2009. <http://www.hirsuta.com/RASP.html> (Oct 2011) Benyus, "Biomimicry in Action." Lecture. July 2007. TEDtalks. TED, Aug. 2007. <http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_biomimicry_in_action.html> (Sept 2011) 41

Mueller, Tom. "Biomimetics: Design by Nature." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, Apr. 2008. <http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/04/biomimetics/tom-mueller-text> (Oct 2011) 42

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its body much like the Namib Desert beetle does with its exterior shell. If reduced to a simple vocabulary of elements consisting of a passively operating material element coated with a pair of complementary textures and geometries, an amalgamation of both biomimetic water collection techniques and inherent property-induced climate adaptation delivers a design strategy rich in outcomes for mitigating the already apparent effects of global warming. Concurrently, as the search for an alternative energy source intensifies in urgency, the natural and perpetual movement of water provides a potentially exploitable abundant resource. Tidal energy harvesting facilities have been and continue to be installed, with planned locations around the globe ranging in capacity from 200 to 10,000 megawatts per annum. While an estimated 850 gigawatts of power were generated by hydroelectric facilities in 2006, projections envision a growth of this figure to 1,350 gigawatts by the year 2020.43 Although these figures paint waterpower as a promising replacement for fossil fuels, precedents in recent history call for further care to be taken when considering the possible threats to biodiversity resulting from the construction of such a potentially ecologically invasive infrastructure. While it may be argued that the balance achieved by nature will eventually compensate for the effects of new construction into the landscape, a vision in which human activity also benefits nonhuman populations would more effectively redesign our relationship with the planet. InfraNet Lab/Lateral Office’s “Ice Road Truck Stops,” one of a series of theoretical projects exploring possibilities of simultaneous “ecological and social empowerment”44 in Canada’s Far North, is an exemplary demonstration of the use of biologically inspired envelope and surface systems to benefit both human and nonhuman populations. The notion of an actual building envelope is here abstracted to consist of an ice-road reinforcing “net,” which thickens at key locations to build the foundations of seasonal truck stops for northern diamond and gold mines. The motion of trucks passing over the surface is translated into a hydrodynamic wave in the water, which is converted to energy in a buoy grid system that also houses several distinct multi-elevation habitat conditions for the nurturing of aquatic wildlife. Biomimetic design principles of shape, sensitivity, and water collection may potentially be drawn upon for the development of the buoy energy collection system, using for example the forms and water propulsion techniques of marine animals such as the blue fin tuna. Despite the assumed costs of implementing a new infrastructure of this scale, the

See: Brown, Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to save Civilization. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008 p. 258-261; in which Brown discusses both built and potential hydroelectric power projects constructed domestically and internationally, foreseeing a 70-90% drop in fossil fuel usage by 2020. The plan provides a widely renowned vision to restore the environment and implement necessary measures to ensure a less destructive human ecology in the future. 43

Bhatia, et al. Coupling: Strategies for Infrastructural Opportunism. Vol. 30. New York: Princeton Architectural, 2011. Print. Pamphlet Architecture. p. 46-55; Also includes noteworthy projects “Caribou Pivot Stations” and “Liquid Commons” 44

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operation of the energy harvesting system as being completely passive and resultant of already occurring patterns of human activity is another argument for the encouragement of similar examples of “infrastructural opportunism.” The project also takes into account a responsibility for the temporal nature of its intended program, allowing for the ice roads to melt and for the abandoned truck stops to be used as fishing camps during the summer and showing the beginnings of an adaptation to the already occurring effects of climate change on marine ecosystems. Most convincing, however, is the potential for similar systems to be developed for the modular retrofitting of the same tidal power projects planned for construction around the world. As water comprises a majority of the planet, the project establishes a possible avenue for the fabrication of a global network of hydroelectric power facilities inspired by nature, benefitting local ecosystems, and providing a low-impact alternative to current energy sources.

Figure 14: “Ice Road Truck Stops,” Infranet Lab/Lateral Office, 2011; Bhatia, Neeraj, Maya Przybylski, Lola Sheppard, and Mason White. Coupling: Strategies for Infrastructural Opportunism. Pamphlet Architecture, Vol. 30. New York: Princeton Architectural, 2011.

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DISCUSSION The already present effects of climate change reflect a substantial past disregard for the wellbeing of our natural resources as influenced by human activity and the built environment. While the factors responsible for and resulting from global warming have fortunately been well documented, the impending severity of the planetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crisis warrants an intensified hunt for durable, effective mitigation and remediation strategies. As planners of the artificial world responsible for much of this predicament, architects possess undeniable responsibility to join in this pursuit. With the destructive consequences of global warming, however, also come new opportunities. Our relationship with water is dynamic; it is the medium of much of the destruction caused by climate change, yet is crucial to the existence of life on this planet. While the conventional attitude towards water in the design of the building envelope has largely been negative, a potential new proximity with water in the form of rising sea levels and changing levels of humidity could be perceived of as providing a set of either new challenges or new possibilities. Rethinking the dynamic between water and architecture suggests an instrumentalization of the resource as a tool or stimulus by which buildings might become more sensitive or valuable to their surroundings. The governing principles and philosophical associations of biomimetic design yield an undeniably appropriate platform for innovation in adapting to changing global temperatures. A practice based on observation and analysis, biomimicryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vast potentials cannot be comprehensively communicated within even the longest list of examples. On top of an immense, self-perpetuating collection of successful environmental adaptations, biomimicry provides compelling and valuable inspiration. In comparison to professionals in similar industries of a service-oriented, utilitarian nature, architects encounter the unique opportunity to explore the functionality of their creations through an aesthetic expression. With this idea in mind, the intriguing synergies, structures, and patterns in nature therefore provide a perfect point of departure for future innovation in architecture. The self-healing, self-powering, self-regulating behaviors of nature provide proven strategies for the development of building envelope systems that establish a more harmonious relationship between the built and natural environments. Though already built manifestations of biomimetic architecture begin to draw upon the model of nature on often comparably shallow levels, experimental efforts in the realm of material engineering for architectural application

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appear promising and not too distant in terms of timeline and feasibility. The potential benefits of biomimetic design pursuits in architecture originate from an almost symbiotic interdependence in which biomimicry provides a means of empowering the discipline of architecture as a productive field of experimentation, while the implementation of biomimicry in the built environment promotes the nurturing of and renewed respect for nature. If anything, the creation of interlaced human-nonhuman, natural-artificial networks of activity manifested through interactions provoked by the built environment facilitates an undeniably significant and necessary exposure of the intelligence of nature and the power of design.

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REFERENCES Altomonte, S. "Biomimetic Architecture in a Climate of Change." The Oxford Conference: a Reevaluation of Education in Architecture. WIT, 2008, p. 315-319 Altomonte, S. “Climate Change and Architecture: Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for a Sustainable Development.” Journal of Sustainable Development Volume 1, Issue 1, 2008, p. 97-112 Amidon, Jane, “Big Nature.” In Design Ecologies: Essays on the Nature of Design, Tilder, Lisa, Beth Blostein, and Jane Amidon New York: Princeton Architectural, 2010, p. 164-181 Benyus, Janine. "12 Sustainable Design Ideas from Nature." Lecture. Feb. 2005.TEDtalks. TED, Apr. 2007. <http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_shares_nature_s_designs.html> (Sept. 2011) Benyus, Janine. "Biomimicry in Action." Lecture. July 2007. TEDtalks. TED, Aug. 2007. <http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_biomimicry_in_action.html> (Sept. 2011) Benyus, Janine M. Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. New York: Perennial, 2002. Berkebile, Bob, and Jason McLennan. "The Living Building: Biomimicry in Architecture, Integrating Technology with Nature." Editorial. Web. <http://jasonmclennan.com/articles/The_Living_Building.pdf> (Oct. 2011) Bhatia, Neeraj, Maya Przybylski, Lola Sheppard, and Mason White. Coupling: Strategies for Infrastructural Opportunism. Pamphlet Architecture, Vol. 30. New York: Princeton Architectural, 2011. Biello, David, “Cement from CO2: A Concrete Cure for Global Warming?” The Scientific American, August 2008, <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=cement-from-carbon-dioxide> (Oct 2011) Brown, Lester Russell. Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to save Civilization. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008. Brownell, Blaine, “Material Ecologies in Architecture.” In Design Ecologies: Essays on the Nature of Design, Tilder, Lisa, Beth Blostein, and Jane Amidon New York: Princeton Architectural, 2010, p. 220237 Colman, Scott, “Float On: A Succession of Progressive Architecture Ecologies.” In Design Ecologies: Essays on the Nature of Design, Tilder, Lisa, Beth Blostein, and Jane Amidon New York: Princeton Architectural, 2010, p. 146-163 Harding, Stephan. "What Is Deep Ecology?" BioInspire 31 Jan. 2005. <http://resurgence.gn.apc.org/185/harding185.htm> (Oct 2005) Geist, J. “Integrative freshwater ecology and biodiversity conservation” (2011) Ecological Indicators, 11 (6), p. 1507-1516 Frazer, John, An Evolutionary Architecture, Architectural Association Publications, Themes VII, copyright John Frazer and the Architectural Association 1995.

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Gissen, David, “APE.” In Design Ecologies: Essays on the Nature of Design, Tilder, Lisa, Beth Blostein, and Jane Amidon New York: Princeton Architectural, 2010, p. 62-75 Green, K. “The ‘Bio-logic’ of Architecture,” Proceedings for the 2005 ACSA National Conference, Chicago, 2005, p. 522-530 Gruber, Petra, and Dietmar Bruckner. Biomimetics - Materials, Structures and Processes: Examples, Ideas and Case Studies. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 2011. Gruber, Petra. Biomimetics in Architecture: Architecture of Life and Buildings. Wien: Springer, 2011. Kaplinsky, J. (2006), Biomimicry versus Humanism. Architectural Design, 76: 66–71. June 2006. Kieran, Stephen, James Timberlake, and Roderick Bates, “Toward an Ecological Building Envelope: Research, Design, and Innovation.” In Design Ecologies: Essays on the Nature of Design, Tilder, Lisa, Beth Blostein, and Jane Amidon New York: Princeton Architectural, 2010, p. 210-237 Kim P et al. “Hydrogel-actuated integrated responsive systems (HAIRS): Moving towards adaptive materials.” Curr. Opin. Solid State Matter. Sci. (2011), doi:10.1016/j.cossms.2011.05.004 Koelman, Onno. "Biomimetic Buildings: Understanding & Applying the Lessons of Nature." BioInspire 20 Oct. 2004. (Oct 2011) Koelman, Onno. "The Biomimicry Way." BioInspire. 13 Dec. 2004. (Oct 2011) Koelman, Onno. "Building the Future of Buildings." BioInspire. 27 Sept. 2004. (Oct 2011) Kristinsson, Jon, “Smart Skin – A Step Aside in Zero-energy Building.” 3rd CIB Conference on Smart and Sustainable Environments, 2009. Lefaivre, Liane, and Alexander Tzonis, “2003 Prince Claus Fund.” Citation of Award, December 10 2003. Merchant, Carolyn, “Environmentalism: From Control of Nature to Partnership,” University of California, Berkeley, May 2010. Merchant, Carolyn, “The Violence of Impediments: Francis Bacon and the Origins of Experimentation," Isis, 992, 2008, p. 731-760 Mueller, Tom. "Biomimetics: Design by Nature." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, Apr. 2008. <http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/04/biomimetics/tom-mueller-text> (Oct 2011) National Adaptation Strategy and Plan of Action on Climate Change For Nigeria (NASPA – CCN). Publication. Building Nigeria’s Response to Climate Change (BNRCC) Project, Sept. 2011. <http://nigeriaclimatechange.org/naspa.pdf>. Orupabo, S. “Coastline Migration in Nigeria,” Hydro International 8 (3), April 2004. Payne, Jason. "Raspberry Fields." Hirsuta Architectural Design and Research. 2009. <http://www.hirsuta.com/RASP.html> (Oct 2011)

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Rogers, Peter P., and Susan Leal. Running out of Water: the Looming Crisis and Solutions to Conserve Our Most Precious Resource. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Stamets, Paul. "Earth's Natural Internet: Healing the Planet with Mushrooms." BioInspire. 24 Feb. 2005. Todd, John. "Restorer Eco-Machines for the Culture of Aquatic Animals and the Restoration of Polluted Aquatic Environments." BioInspire. 18 July 2004. Tonkinwise, Cameron, “Weeding the City of Unsustainable Cooling, or, Many Designs rather than Massive Design.” In Design Ecologies: Essays on the Nature of Design, Tilder, Lisa, Beth Blostein, and Jane Amidon New York: Princeton Architectural, 2010, p. 26-39 Tributsch, H., How Life Learned To Live. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1984 Turner J.S & Soar R.C. (2008), “Beyond biomimicry: What termites can tell us about realizing the living building” in First international Conference on Industrialized, Intelligent Construction, May 14th – 16th 2008, Loughborough University, Leicester, UK, pp. 1-17, (publisher unknown). Watts, Jonathan, “China recruits algae to combat climate change.” The Guardian, June 28, 2009. <http:// www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/28/china-algae-carbon-capture-plan> (Oct 2011) "World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision.” Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, June 2009. Zari, Maibritt Pedersen, “Biomimetic design for climate change adaptation and mitigation.” Architectural Science Review, Volume 53, Number 2, 2010 p. 172-183

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INDEX OF FIGURES Figure 01: Diagrammatic Discussion Outline; author’s own. Figure 02: Downstream Effects of Upstream Water Use; Rogers, Peter P., and Susan Leal. Running out of Water: the Looming Crisis and Solutions to Conserve Our Most Precious Resource. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, p. 193 Figure 03: The Challenge to Biology Design Spiral; Credit: Biomimicry Institute, <http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/images/stories/challenge_spiral.jpg> Figure 04: Translation from Natural Models into Architectural Design Elements; Gruber, Petra. Biomimetics in Architecture: Architecture of Life and Buildings. Wien: Springer, 2011. Figure 05: Backscattered electron image of abalone shell nacre; Credit: University of Technology Sydney, <http://www.science.uts.edu.au/multimedia/smgallery/mau/06.jpg> Figure 06: Microstructure of the NeroShield laminate product, developed to perform similarly to the abalone brick and mortar system; Credit: NeroShield, <http://www.neroshield.com/sites/all/sites/neroshield.com/files/abalone%20shell(4).jpg> Figure 07: Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of abalone shell; Credit: Eye of Science/Science Photo Library, <http://www.sciencephoto.com/image/374401/350wm/Z4750189Abalone_shell,_SEM-SPL.jpg> Figure 08: A beetle in the Namib Desert collecting droplets of water on its back; Credit: Solvin Zankl, <http://solvinzankl.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/NamibDesert/G00007mcVUzfl9rQ/I0000f.ixQmoz73Q> Figure 09: Water droplets collected on a surface designed to mimic that of the Namib Desert beetle’s wing covers; Credit: Sandia laboratory, <https://share.sandia.gov/news/resources/releases/2008/images/coating.jpg> Figure 10: Wall section diagrams studying extreme temperature conditions; Kristinsson, Jon, “Smart Skin – A Step Aside in Zero-energy Building.” 3rd CIB Conference on Smart and Sustainable Environments, 2009. Figure 11: First Smart Skin prototype; Kristinsson, Jon, “Smart Skin – A Step Aside in Zero-energy Building.” 3rd CIB Conference on Smart and Sustainable Environments, 2009. Figure 12a: Hydrogel contraction and nanostructure range of motion; Kim P et al. “Hydrogel-actuated integrated responsive systems (HAIRS): Moving towards adaptive materials.” Curr. Opin. Solid State Matter. Sci. (2011), doi:10.1016/j.cossms.2011.05.004 Figure 12b: Assembly of nanostructure, bonding, and hydrogel layers; Kim P et al. “Hydrogelactuated integrated responsive systems (HAIRS): Moving towards adaptive materials.” Curr. Opin. Solid State Matter. Sci. (2011), doi:10.1016/j.cossms.2011.05.004

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Figure 12c: Examples of aggregated nanostructure elements, including inherent ranges of motion for desired effects; Kim P et al. “Hydrogel-actuated integrated responsive systems (HAIRS): Moving towards adaptive materials.” Curr. Opin. Solid State Matter. Sci. (2011), doi:10.1016/j.cossms.2011.05.004 Figure 12d: Hydrogel-actuated integrated response system in action; Kim P et al. “Hydrogel-actuated integrated responsive systems (HAIRS): Moving towards adaptive materials.” Curr. Opin. Solid State Matter. Sci. (2011), doi:10.1016/j.cossms.2011.05.004 Figure 13: Gradual curling of wooden shingles, from Jayson Payne/Hirsuta’s “Raspberry Fields.” From the architect’s website, Payne, Jason. "Raspberry Fields." Hirsuta Architectural Design and Research. 2009. <http://www.hirsuta.com/RASP.html> (Oct 2011) Figure 14: “Ice Road Truck Stops,” Infranet Lab/Lateral Office, 2011; Bhatia, Neeraj, Maya Przybylski, Lola Sheppard, and Mason White. Coupling: Strategies for Infrastructural Opportunism. Pamphlet Architecture, Vol. 30. New York: Princeton Architectural, 2011.