G1.6.St2

Re-thinking Modern Design: Biomimicry and Sustainable Beauty

Veena Yelamanchili - a1882682

Barsha Neupane - a1878817

“ Design always presents itself as serving the human but its real ambition is to redesign the human. The history of evolving conceptions of the human. To talk about design is to talk about the state of our species.”

- Colomina and Wigley, ‘Are we Human? Notes on an Archaeology of Design’ (2016)

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SUMMARY

Sustainable design aims to address the needs of contemporary society while prioritizing environmental considerations and aesthetics to a limited extent. Design inspired by nature known as Biomimicry offers a pathway to efficient problem solving. We argue that preoccupation with aesthetics and appearance undermines the drive towards sustainability. We also argue that biomimicry is a way of achieving sustainable beauty. This builds on Colomina’s and Wigley's discussion of user-centric design that evokes emotional resonance, fosters comfort, and defines what ‘human’ is. Integrating Biomimicry into sustainable design practices thus offers a compelling framework for achieving both environmental harmony and human well-being.

(99 Words)

INTRODUCTION

McHarg mentions in his book ‘Design with Nature’ that sustainable design is about designing based on the functioning of natural systems that exist on site. On the urban scale, it is about designing keeping in mind a broader knowledge of the ecological context of the region we design in.1 Using renewable resources available in and around site conditions accounts for sustainable design. By doing so, we increase the longevity of designed architecture. However, using non-renewable energies such as incorporating artificial air-conditioning or materials imported from other sources adds to the building load and economy cost. This leads to questioning the uncertainty of energy efficiency in buildings.2 The World Commission on Environment and Development identified Sustainable design as a goal to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.3

Image 1: Different strategies applied to make the building sustainable (Author: Daniel E. Williams in Sustainable Design: Ecology, Architecture, and Planning)

Image 2: Lotus flower and Egyptian capital.

(Author: Javier Senosiain in Bio-Architecture)

In the modern world, ‘Interior Comfort’ has become a mandated luxury that burdens the natural resources, leading to ‘higher levels of energy consumption. Sustainable design is defined as a response to the efforts of modern human requirements. 4

In a way, Biomimicry partly helps achieve sustainability indirectly. Nature Inspired Design leads to an efficient form and facade, but integrating the architecture with the existing site resources, by responding to them makes the designed architecture entirely sustainable. Biomimicry offers a framework for sustainable innovation by getting inspiration from nature’s solutions.

Nature excels in minimizing waste and maximizing efficiency as organisms have evolved to utilize materials and energy in highly efficient ways, this is what sustainability is all about, so they go hand in hand. As Colomina and Wingley talk in the first three initial chapters of their book, ‘Are we Human?’ they mention how Design is sometimes about shaping things rather than finding something new and that we live inside design and every layer of design rests on one another. This also leads us to think of how this affects the end user of a particular design proposal. The authors have talked about how we cannot be separated from the artifacts we produce, and how archaeology is a kind of reverse engineering of design. Since ancient times, design has always been upgraded to accommodate human needs and requirements while creating solutions to humans.For instance, the human hand evolving in the shape that serves the purpose to grab the stones and weapons.

However, beneath the surface, design also has the power to influence and shape human behavior and perceptions.5 Humans learn from shapes, forms and the characters of plants and animals and try to replicate them in design because they know that the natural form and function will always work as they have been created in that way for those beings.

How the evolution of technology has helped humans to understand not just the materiality of any object but also the things beyond the outer surface. Colomina and Wingley believe that design is precisely a form of thinking ahead and they stress the thought that a good design is meant to be thought well. The smallest objects are also thought about how to change the wellbeing, emotions, and thoughts of whoever is the user or viewer of itself is.

WIDER SCOPE OF SUSTAINABILITY

Achieving Sustainability for a building has a wider scope to it apart from just the exterior; our argument is re-thinking sustainability because current approaches to design are pre-occupied with aesthetics and appearance. We also state that that designers and architects can efficiently use nature-inspired technology to achieve sustainable beauty. Janine M. Benyus, who is a biologist, author, innovation consultant, talks about designing objects of everyday life inspired by nature, also known as biomimicry.

Biomimicry would be a great topic to discuss in general and in terms of architecture as humans are co-living along with other organisms on this planet, sharing needs and learning from each other every day in life. Nature-Inspired design known as Biomimicry is currently successful and is going to be a viable thing in the future. This concept of sharing comes from understanding nature as a reference model. In her words ’doing nature’s way’.

According to her, anything, and everything a human wanted to invent had traces of a similar idea created by nature. We have moved past the era of improving nature.6 Our primary task is to only re-instate the idea in a new form or technology. Imitating nature for solving human problems has three wider aspects to it. Firstly, mimicking the form of the natural element as it is. For Instance, the Lotus Temple in New Delhi, India. Secondly, adapting the behavioral aspect of a natural element - the Ant Communities Inspire efficient traffic control, Velcro which is a hook and loop fastener is based on how the burdock plant has small hooks that could attach to anything loop shaped, and the nature of kingfisher inspired faster and quieter trains. Even the architectural supports – strut and beam that are used to support roof load takes nature as its guide, as this technology is already found in Lily pads and Bamboo Stems.

Janine also makes us understand that biomimicry is beyond just imitating nature to generate designs for human needs by taking inspiration from nature, but also considering her as our mentor and how we are learning from her. By doing so, we get to immerse ourselves in nature.7

In chapter 5 of the book, ’Are we Human?' Colomina and Wingley mention that in the last 12000 years, humans adjusted themselves accordingly, as per the changing times, situations, and needs. Humans are those species that keep on reflecting on the possible uses of the artifacts and try to make them better and better by flickering back and forth.8

Therefore, we agree with them that the choice of form and materials for a design should align with the functional requirements of a building design. This leads to understanding the third aspect of Biomimicry of imitating the looks, materiality, construction methodology and the successful functioning of the natural element. Given most of the current examples only address the two aspects of Biomimicry, there is room for the third to become prominent and address wider sustainability issues.

Image 3: Principles of fluidity and continuity applied by humans to their buildings and Infrastructure (Author: Javier Senosiain in Bio-Architecture)

NEED FOR MIMICKING FUNCTIONALISM

In between all the energy resources our planet provides us with, there are lot of sustainable natural energy we get as a gift. Yet, in the process of our progression, we often overlook the potential of renewable resources and try to overuse them by taking them for granted and acting as if they are infinite. Instead of settling for less non-renewal energy, we should aspire for designs that are in harmony with nature and that use all potentials of nature’s offerings.

In the book Sustainable Design: Ecology, Architecture and Planning, author Daniel E Williams, dives deep into the relationship between ecological principles, architectural designs and urban planning offering an exploration of how biomimicry emerges as a powerful tool for achieving sustainable goals.

From passive solar heating technologies employed by dessert organisms to natural ventilation systems observed in termite mounds, biomimetic architecture helps take natures wisdoms to create designs that are effortlessly energy efficient and responsive towards their surroundings.9 For Instance, Frank Lloyd Wright, an American architect used the structural principles of the Alejandro Martinez Mena mushroom for the design of interior pillars in the Johnson wax interior office.10

By mimicking nature’s strategies of resource management and biodiversity conservation, planners can develop sustainable urban landscapes that promote human health, ecological honesty, and social fairness. For instance, getting inspired by the restorative effects of spending time in natural settings, designers and planners integrate biophilic elements such as natural lighting, ventilation and water features into buildings and urban settings to promote health and well-being while maintaining a deep connection to nature.

‘Functionalism’ is a common fuel to both nature and architecture. If one closely observes nature, they have an apparent reason for being that way. It is what drives the usage. As we mentioned earlier, In the field of Architecture we often take inspiration from nature that translates into the building form. The innovative task is to understand what the internal functional requirements are, and how nature can respond to it in terms of energy efficiency. Nature, being a good teacher, guides us in terms of being efficient and sensitive towards architectural design proposals.

Designing a building is more than just putting together the form and inserting programmatic requirements, it is also about responding to the energy, light, and ventilation concerns of the design, and how this affects the end user. Here, designers need to creatively imbibe an existing technology found in nature and establish a collaboration between Biomimicry and Sustainable Architecture. This drives us to achieve an elevated level of comfort within the building using minimal resources. Additionally, we also get to achieve our goal of designing an architectural setting that is truly sustainable in all aspects of building experience.

Image 4: The mushroom and the pillars inspired from its structural principles (Author: Javier Senosiain in Bio-Architecture)

The books Sustainable Design: Ecology, Architecture, and Planning by Daniel E. Williams & Bio-Architecture by Senosiain Javier introduce us to different perspectives on what exactly is sustainable design and what different key people have a say on it. They also talk about achieving energy efficiency and its limitations in buildings presently.11 In the Article Biomimetic Design for Adaptive Building Façades: A Paradigm Shift towards Environmentally Conscious Architecture, they discuss the novice understanding of Biomimicry has always been looking at nature for taking inspiration in terms of how a particular natural element looks like and how it would well suit our site context.

The authors talk about how there is a need for wider investigation in nature to better develop the facades to solve the issue of thermal comfort in sustainable architecture experienced inside buildings.12 Here the book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature guides further by talking about the importance of not just imitating nature for designs but thinking beyond that to solve human problems.13 Genuine sustainability extends beyond aesthetics and appearance. In the book Biomimetics in Architecture by Petra Gruber, the previous statement is supported by mentioning that any element found in nature simply does not exist, it has undergone several trials and transformations before becoming a successful example for mimicking. She also guides us in understanding how a building construction process is like evolution of a natural element, this establishes a strong foundation for re-thinking sustainability through the lens of Biomimicry.14

What made our argument stronger is when we read further articles that talked about the use of artificial cooling with an increase in urban population leading to an extensive need for wider study and research in terms of the choice of using renewable resources over non-renewable resources, that affect the load a building puts on nature. The Books we went through helped us understand the topic of Sustainable design at a broader level, understanding different concepts associated with it and its relevance in architectural building design in depth. This foundation helped us understand the concerns associated with the application of sustainability in buildings so far and link to our position that genuine sustainability must extend beyond aesthetics and appearance. The moment we started to understand Biomimicry, the book by Janine M. Benyus, became a starting point for us. Biomimicry would be a potential tool to explain and address the current lag of buildings design and internal user experience.15

Specific articles helped us understand different stages of Biomimicry and read different examples of each stage. Furthermore, different selected articles and books helped us in establishing a relation between sustainability and biomimicry by understanding the impact latter can have in filling that small void that is left behind even after applying sustainable strategies to buildings. We made a deliberate approach to sources. There were quite a few sources that we had to overlook as they were talking solely about green buildings, or a specific building category, or weren’t clear on linking Biomimicry, thermal comfort and Sustainable building envelope. The published books and articles give a clear idea about what we want to re-think about sustainability and why, and a strong lead on how biomimicry comes into being. Every chosen source brings in different perspectives with a common background, which is our argument that that making buildings sustainable involves more than just their outer appearance and that looking into nature can improve thermal comfort through energy efficiency by designing buildings that work more like natural systems.

Our position is that preoccupation with aesthetics and appearances undermines the drive towards sustainability and that architects and designers clearly need to take a wider inspiration from nature to achieve sustainability in building design taking inspiration from nature while still giving it a beautiful appearance. The carefully selected sources are written and established with strong research. The work that went behind in gathering and illustrating different examples of case studies in each source clearly helped us make the argument we want to present stronger. For Instance, the books Sustainable Design: Ecology, Architecture, and Planning by Daniel E. Williams16 and Bio-Architecture by Senosiain Javier provide guidance on understanding sustainability and talk about the lack of achieving accuracy in the same field.17 Janine on the other hand talks about Biomimicry in detail.18

The rest of the books and articles support by providing tangible evidence established through their research. They helped us understand that there is always a discipline collaboration required to achieve accurate results. Through the integration of Biomimicry into architectural design, buildings can be crafted to mimic natural systems, resulting in enhanced thermal comfort and energy efficiency, thereby advancing sustainability.

The authors personally studied several articles and did a few investigative case studies to understand the importance of putting in more effort right from the start of any project to achieve high levels of energy efficiency using the building facade as a barrier rather than just as a medium to control the thermal levels and address the lack in sustainability of buildings, which links to our argument.

The articles additionally address the importance of relying on renewable energies to lessen the load on nature, which is also being sustainable.

‘We argue that preoccupation with aesthetics and appearance undermines the drive towards sustainability’.

Finding the right balance

When we talk about making things that are good for the environment, there’s often a big debate about what matters more; how things look or how good they are for the planet. Daniel Williams ‘Sustainable design: Ecology, Architecture and Planning’, says that sometimes people care more about making buildings look nice than making sure they’re good for the environment. It also indicates that making buildings that are good for the environment isn’t just something people talk about but rather important. Buildings use a lot of energy and produce a lot of pollution, so using Eco-friendly building practices isn’t just a trend; it’s crucial for protecting the planet.19

Negin Imani and Brenda Vale who put together the journal ‘Biomimetic Buildings: Copying Nature for Energy Efficiency’ say that even though it is important to reduce the impact buildings have on the environment, right now, making buildings look nice is what people think is most important in design.20 While modern trends may prioritize visual appeal, sustainable design reminds us that the environmental consequences of our built environment cannot be ignored. Hence, architects aiming for Eco-friendly buildings must tackle the challenges of modern design styles, ensuring that the appearance and functionality come together seamlessly. The goal is to create buildings that not only look impressive but also contribute positively to the environment.

The Depth of Sustainability

Daniel Williams in ‘Sustainable design: Ecology, Architecture, and Planning’ emphasizes that sustainability extends far beyond surface-level aesthetics. It underscores the urgent need to prioritize eco-friendly building practices, considering the significant energy consumption and environmental impacts of building globally.21 By embracing eco-friendly building practices, such as energy efficiency, use of renewable resources, and integration of green technologies, architects can create buildings that not only look good but also minimize environmental footprints. Moreover, sustainable design can make life better for the people who use those buildings.

By prioritizing factors like indoor air quality, natural lights, and access to green spaces, architects can create healthier and more comfortable living environments. Janine M.Benyus through her book, ‘Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature’ introduces the concept of Biomimicry, which advocates for drawing nature’s design principles and observing the efficiency and resilience of natural systems to create more sustainable solutions.22 While aesthetics will always play a role in architecture and design, sustainability must take one step forward in shaping the built environment of the future. By going beyond the preoccupied aesthetics and embracing a full scale approach to sustainability, architects can create buildings that not only delight the eye but also nurture the planet and its inhabitants for generations to come.

Image 5: Use of local, indigenous moss to create a self-maintaining living roof at no cost.

(Author: Daniel E. Williams in Sustainable Design: Ecology, Architecture, and Planning)

‘We also argue that biomimicry is a way of achieving sustainable beauty’

Biomimicry and Beauty

ARGUMENT 2

The key aspect of Biomimicry is to consider nature as an inspiration to better work out the efficiency of building design in the same manner nature carries out its tasks in an efficient manner. Over the years, nature has evolved with its own patterns, and it operates accordingly. By patterns, it means the way and functioning of a system.

Nature has perfected its systems over time and there’s a lot we can learn from her. The beauty of a sustainable building lies in recognizing this pattern to address the current problem with modern aesthetics. The integration of biomimicry into architectural design presents a compelling pathway toward enhancing sustainability, particularly in terms of thermal comfort and energy efficiency.

This is explored in the book ‘Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature’ written by Janine M.Benyus in which she talks about deriving innovative solutions from observing and emulating nature. This book highlights how biomimicry can lead to the development of materials, structures, and systems that optimize energy usage and enhance environmental sustainability. It also highlights that Designers can draw inspiration from nature’s experience to inform the building design and construction process and keep in line with human needs and design strategy for a building.23

Sustainable Beauty

The buildings that are classified as sustainable, based on the imitation of nature’s harmony through its outer construction layer, have a beautiful appearance. However, the link between biomimicry and architecture is the best way to show real sustainability through structural and material efficiency. The reason is that Biomimicry, as it seeks to achieve the efficiency of nature, is already sustainable. Nature has abundant solutions of successful design strategies to solve human requirements. Thereby applying this to architecture by magnifying the scale of existing solutions found in nature to achieve structural stability and material application. This combined approach of beauty found in nature with the successful functionality of existing systems leads to a design that is cherished and is central to sustainable thinking.

Sustainability is dynamic - a life-long process, like the alwaysevolving nature. Nature always renews its resources to improve the process while appealing to the surroundings. This explains why no better than nature to express a building truly in its sustainable form for optimal performance. Through the integration of Biomimicry into architectural design, buildings can be crafted to mimic natural systems, resulting in enhanced thermal comfort and energy efficiency, thereby advancing sustainability.24 This establishes a connectivity between nature and humans in a sustainable yet aesthetic manner enabling better appreciation of modern architecture.

Image 6: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian capitals inspired by the sea urchin of the Mediterranean Sea, the mollusc and acanthus leaves, respectively. (Author: Javier Senosiain in Bio-Architecture)

As Eugene Tsui, who is an American architect noted for his use of ecological principles and biologic design, says:

I do not look to nature as inspiration merely to mimic its forms as other architects have done. I am concerned with the profound intelligence of nature, the how’s and why’s of it’s designs and living processes, to understand the very mind of nature and the universe to free the heart and mind of man.

CONCLUSION

This links to our argument for nature as a potential tool to achieve sustainable and efficient design practice, rather than just copying its shapes. By seeing to comprehend the complexities of nature’s intelligence and living processes, Tsui aims to tap into the intelligence that surrounds the universe. His approach suggests a quest to unlock the secrets of nature’s problem-solving strategies, adaptability, and efficiency, rather than superficially mimicking its outward appearance.25

In conclusion, the integration of biomimicry into architectural design offers a transformative approach to address the challenges faced in achieving sustainable beauty. In the Book, Biomimetics in Architecture: Architecture of Life and Building by Petra Gruber who is an architect with a passion for biology and biomimetic design, she talks about how building construction is similar to the natural process of evolution. This idea helps us re-think sustainability using Biomimicry. Gruber’s research suggests several strategies for moving forward. These include fostering interdisciplinary collaborations to expand knowledge and promote the integration of biomimicry and sustainability.

Additionally, she emphasizes the importance of being better aware of our surroundings, utilizing locally available renewable resources, and exploring architectural design within the set framework of nature.26 By harnessing the unique environmental characteristics of each site and region, architects can minimize the ecological footprint of their projects while creating buildings that are inherently more resilient and responsive to their context. The wisdom and efficiency of Biomimicry invites us to learn from billions of years of evolution that has shaped the natural world, offering variety of innovative solutions to complex human challenges. Design and build inspired by nature is sensible and efficient.

Nature has abundant examples that are already visually appealing and efficient in terms of the way they function at an overall level not just at the exterior as discussed earlier coming from various sources. This comes from a Biologist, Janine M.Benyus who mentions the transformation nature undergoes to become logical with a reason for why it is the way it is. By studying how nature solves problems, adapts to changing conditions, and maximizes durability, we as architects and designers can unlock new avenues for sustainable design.

This extends the sustainability value in all aspects of the building architecture, adding an intangible aspect, beauty. Embarking on a journey towards sustainable beauty in architecture means to embrace biomimicry as a transformative tool for shaping a more resilient, harmonious, and sustainable future for generations. This aids to a design that contributes towards the user comfort and wellbeing.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

1. Williams, D.Edward. 2007. Sustainable Design: Ecology, Architecture, and Planning. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

2. Benyus M. Janine. 1997. Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

3. Senosiain Javier. 2003. Bio-Architecture. Massachusetts: Elsevier Ltd.

4. Wigley Mark, Beatriz Colomina. 2016. Are We Human? Notes on an archeology of Design. Switzerland: Lars Muller Publishers.

5. Petra gruber. 2011. Biomimetics in Architecture: Architecture of Life and Buildings. Germany: Springer-Verlag/Wien.

Articles

6. L. Badarnah, Y. Nachman Farchi and U. Knaack. 2010,’ Solutions from nature for building envelope thermoregulation.’ Design and Nature 138.

7. Imani Negin and Vale Brenda. 2022, ‘Biomimetic Buildings: Copying Nature for Energy Efficiency.’ Biomimetics 7: 18-26.

8. Ali M. A. Faragalla and Somayeh Asadi.2022, ‘Biomimetic Design for Adaptive Building Façades: A Paradigm Shift towards Environmentally Conscious Architecture.’ Energies 15: 1-22.

9. Banu Çiçek Avcıoğlu and Hüdayim Başak. 2020, ‘Increasing efficiency with biomimetic approach in thermoregulative building envelope strategies supporting internal thermal comfort.’ World Journal of Environmental Research 10.

10. Gastón Sanglier Contreras, Roberto A.González Lezcano, Eduardo J. López Fernández and María Concepción Pérez Gutiérrez. 2023,’ Architecture Learns from Nature. The Influence of Biomimicry and Biophilic Design in Building.’ Modern Applied Science 17.

11. Dr.Gehan.A.N.Radwan and Arch. Nouran Osama. 2016, ‘BIOMIMICRY, AN APPROACH, FOR ENERGY EFFECIENT BUILDING SKIN DESIGN.’ Procedia Environmental Sciences 34.

END NOTES

1 Daniel E.Williams, 2007, Sustainable Design: Ecology, Architecture and Planning (New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons), 23-25.

2 Miguel Chen Austin, Kevin Araque, Paola Palacios, Katherine Rodríguez Maure and Dafni Mora, 2022,’ Numerical Assessment of Zebra-Stripes-Based Strategies in Buildings Energy Performance: A Case Study under Tropical Climate’, Biomimetics 7, 2-26 3 Williams, 2007. 4 Niloufar Varshabi, Semra Arslan Selçuk and Güne¸s Mutlu Avinç, 2022,’ Biomimicry for Energy-Efficient Building Design: A Bibliometric Analysis’, Biomimetics 7, 18.

5 Beatriz Colomina, Mark Wigley, 2016, Are we Human? Notes on an Archaeology of Design (Switzerland: Lars Muller Publisher), 9-49.

6 Janine M. Benyus, 1997, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature (United States of America: HarperCollins Publishers), 1-9. 7 Benyus, 1997,1-3.

8 Colomina, Wigley, 2016, 63.

9 Williams, 2007, 13-16 10 Senosiain Javier, 2003, Bio-Architecture (Burlington: Architectural Press),110. 11 Williams, 2007 12 Ali M. A. Faragalla and Somayeh Asadi, 2022, ‘Biomimetic Design for Adaptive Building Façades: A Paradigm Shift towards Environmentally Conscious Architecture’,Energies 15. 13 Benyus, 1997. 14 Petra Gruber, 2011, Biomimetics in Architecture: Architecture of Life and Buildings (Germany: SpringerWienNewYork). 15 Benyus, 1997. 16 Williams, 2007. 17 Senosiain, 2003. 18 Benyus, 1997. 19 Williams, 2007.

20 Imani Negin and Vale Brenda, 2022, ‘Biomimetic Buildings: Copying Nature for Energy Efficiency’, Biomimetics 7: 18-20.

21 Williams, 2007.

22 Benyus, 1997, 1-10.

23 Benyus, 1997, 3-5.

24 Williams, 2007, 15-17.

25 Senosiain, 2003,125.

26 Gruber, 2011, 261-262.

Word count of Article- 4012 Words

Word count of Summary - 99 Words