Primary task response and discussion board participation

Sustainable Design

Biomimicry

Biomimicry is the use of the natural environment as a model for the built environment (Goss, 2009). This term was first used by Janine Benyus in 1997, in her book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. As a biologist, she was ideally suited to notice how nature 'invents' solutions to challenges presented by the natural environment and how humans do the same. The major difference between the two solutions is that the first is sustainable and the latter is too often not.

Goss (2009) provides several examples of how architects and engineers have tried to mimic natural systems to provide more sustainable solutions for human needs. Architect Mick Pearce entered into collaboration with Arup Associates, an engineering firm, to design a large commercial building based the methods that termites use to maintain an even indoor temperature (Biomimicry Institute, 2013). Termite mounds in Zimbabwe are capable of maintaining an invariant 31? C. despite outside temperatures ranging from 3? C. To 42? C. As a result of incorporating the termite-inspired design innovations into the building in Zimbabwe, energy use was reduced by 90% relative to comparable adjacent buildings built using conventional designs.

Biomimicry is not limited to the built environment alone, but can also be applied to system processes as well. At Harvard's TERMES Project, researchers are attempting to model the construction methods of termites and incorporate them into human construction projects. Termites are capable of building complex environments on a scale much larger than what humans have been able to accomplish so far. The termites appear to operate without direct supervision, yet are cable of building comparatively massive and complex structures. The TERMES Project's goal is to incorporate automation into the construction process, by using autonomous robots capable of moving in and around structures as it increases in size and complexity. Increased speed and efficiency, as well as lower cost, are some of the benefits predicted to come from such a system.