Research Paper 1.
Resiliency, Biomimicry, Aerodynamics
Specialization 2- Resilient Building Design
Natural hazards have become prominent with the worsening of climate
change. Small-scale mishaps to most fear-inflicting disasters have spread over the
world that preparedness and precautionary measure is being implemented in the
design process. Resilience in architecture is described as the capacity to quickly
recover from a disadvantage situation. Architecture turned into an adaptive
countermeasure to natural disasters and created its own design approach. First is
adaptability. In every design process, architects learn from what environment the
building is in. Resilience also implies that the user and those involved in the
building's conception are directly involved in the design process. This helps the
structure to be more responsive to its surroundings. Second is Mitigate. A thorough
investigation should be conducted to determine the building’s weaknesses, dangers,
and hazards, as well as the impact of the surrounding environment. Incorporating
renewable energy is also possible. Last approach is Restoration. Post-event access
and response must be provided and should be extended with access points and
avenues of approach. An effective building design must be anticipated and
incorporated in resilience achievement elements.
Biomimicry in architecture is the implementation of construction strategies
found in our natural surroundings that can be transformed into sustainable and
practical solutions in shaping our buildings. Nature turned to be the new model and
countermeasure for builders to emulate a new-fangled forms, processes, and system
especially those who foster a future that coexist with the environment. Biomimicry
employs an ecological benchmark to assess the long-term viability of our innovations
and structures. Current built structures are unresponsive to Earth dynamics and are
not fully adapted to the forces of the ecosystem. This detail raises serious concerns
in the global building industry about its future resiliency and potential risks from
natural disasters. To prevent the inefficiency of the current building paradigm, a
construction revolution, in a form of biomimicking, is now considered to be a major
movement towards more sustainable built environments, leading for buildings to be
more focused on learning from nature rather than simply extracting elements from it.
There are three levels of biomimicry architecture; organism level, behavior level and
ecosystem level. The organism level is where the design form, shape and pattern
are inspired by organisms or natural elements to create a new form of concept. The
behavior level is when the buildings imitate the process or how the element interacts
with the environment and ecosystem level is a larger scale and interprets how each
component works in an ecosystem to form a one entity. This revolutionary movement
of building construction is promising in gaining positive and sustainable bond
between architecture and nature.
One example of biomimicry architecture is Morarjee Textiles, Nagpur. A
Nagpur-based factory, Morarjee Textiles which aims to address both human and
environmental challenges to create an organic and energy efficient building designed
by Exploration Architecture, a UK-based company. For the design of the building, the
team took inspiration from nature. Exploration architecture who specializes in
biomimicry architecture took ideas from biology such as Euplectella glass sponge or
the Venus flower basket, which is used for the structural members like steel columns
and trusses. As the aim of the team was to design sustainable and energy-efficient
buildings with natural light, the roofing material used is profiled aluminum which has
many advantages like, lightweight and decreases the cost of the structure. The
products of the textile firm are zero waste and so was their aim to construct the
factory this inspiration was drawn from the ecosystem.
Morarjee Textiles,Nagpur Euplectella glass sponge
Retrieved from: Biomimicry Architecture: A Unique Art Of Mimicking | The Design Gesture
In basic aerodynamic theory, the influence of laminar and turbulent boundary
layers on the attributes of air circulation around bodies such as rectangular structure
is accented. A building's architecture defines its aerodynamic behavior, which drives
the steady and fluctuating forces caused by wind load capacity. This in turn defines
the level of structural resistance required for formwork, elements, and a building's
main wind force resisting system. With a growing emphasis on distinctive, or
benchmark on buildings and structures, the boundaries of architectural design are
being pushed significantly, resulting in structures with distinctive exterior geometry
and equally distinctive aerodynamics. The development of versatile high-strength but
much more dynamic building materials has contributed to the wide range of
architectural features seen on modern structures. These features incorporated such
as solar panels, green roofs and more energy efficient system is the result of
progression toward sustainability. One example is Mashhad City Entrance, Iran.
Visitors entering the city of Mashhad in Iran could be greeted by this massive bird-
like structure, a gateway that “has been designed so that entry and exit of any
vehicle will cause changes in the structure.” The weight of vehicles passing over a
speed bump causes a movement in the structure’s wings, making it appear to fly.
The busier the entrance, the more active the flying movements become.
Mashhad City Entrance, Iran
Retrieved from Aerodynamic Avian
Architecture: 12 Bird-Inspired
Buildings | Urbanist
(weburbanist.com)
