62 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
62 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Bionic architecture"
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chunk: 2/2
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source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bionic_architecture"
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category: "reference"
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tags: "science, encyclopedia"
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date_saved: "2026-05-05T13:59:07.553644+00:00"
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instance: "kb-cron"
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---
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Following the rise of the Industrial Revolution, many theorists became concerned with the underlying implications of modern, technological advancements and thus, re-explored the idea of 'nature-centred architecture'. Most bionic architectures built during this era can be seen drawing away from the common iron construction and instead, exploring more futuristic styles. For example, Antonio Gaudi's Sagrada Familia's interior design drew its inspiration from various shapes and patterns of plants while its pillars mirrored the structure of human bones. Such influences were based on Gaudi's realisation of the potential for mimicking nature in order to enhance the functionality of his buildings. Joseph Paxton's, Crystal Palace also uses lattice grids in order to mimic the human bone structure and thus, create a more rigid structure. The Crystal Palace has also imitated the vein tissues found in water lilies and the human thighbone. This reduced the building's surface tension, thereby allowing it to carry more weight without the use of an excessive amount of materials.
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=== 20th–21st century period ===
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Due to growing concerns surrounding global warming and climate change, as well as the rise of technological improvements, architectural bionics became primarily focused on more efficient ways to achieve modern sustainability. An example of the modern architectural bionic movement includes the 30 St Mary Axe (2003), which is heavily inspired by the 'Venus Flower Basket Sponge', a sea creature with a lattice-like exoskeleton and round shape that disperses force from water currents. The building's design features an aluminium coated steel diagrid structure. This allows for passive cooling, heating, ventilating and lighting. Nicholas Grimshaw's, The Eden Project (2001) features a set of natural biomes with several geodesic domes inspired by bubbles joined. These are made of three layers of Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), a form of plastic that provides a lighter steel frame and allows for more sunlight to enter the building in order to generate solar power. Its pillows are also built to be easily detachable from its steel frame should more efficient material be discovered in the future.
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== Evaluation ==
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=== Advantages ===
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The main advantage of bionic architecture is that it allows for a more sustainable living environment through its reliance upon using renewable materials. This allows for an increase in monetary savings due to the increased energy efficiency. For example:
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The BIQ (Bio-Intelligent Quotient) House in Germany was designed by Splitterwerk Architects and SSC Strategic Science Consultants. It is completely powered by algae. It features a heat exchanger which cultivates micro algae within its glass panels in order to be used as a resource for providing the building with energy and warmth. This produces zero carbon electricity, which is twice as effective as photovoltaics.
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The Sahara Forest Project in Tunisia is a greenhouse project that is heavily inspired by the Namibian fog-basking beetle, which can regulate its body temperature and develop its own fresh water in arid climates. Like the beetle, this building features a saltwater evaporating, cooling and humidifying system that is suitable for year-round cultivation. The evaporated air condenses to fresh water, allowing the greenhouse to remain heated at night.. The salt extracted from the evaporation process can also be crystallised into calcium carbonate and sodium chloride, which can be compressed into building blocks, thereby minimising waste.
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=== Disadvantages ===
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Bionic architecture has been heavily criticised for being difficult to maintain due to its tendency to be overly technical. For example:
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The East Gate Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe had to follow a strict set of rules during its creation. Its engineers claimed that the outer walls must not be under direct sunlight, the window to wall ratio must be approximately 25% and the windows must be sealed with ventilation, in order to combat noise pollution and unpredictable weather.
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== Future use ==
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With the rise of technological advancements, the full potential of Bionic Architecture is still being explored. However, due to the rapidly growing demand for a more effective, ecologically sustainable design approach that does not compromise the needs of society, many ideas have been put forth:
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=== Ocean Scraper 2050 ===
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This essentially involves creating floating buildings inspired by the buoyancy of icebergs and the shapes of various organisms. In particular, its internal structure will be based on the shape of beehives and micropal-radiolares in order to house different residential and office spaces. Its proposed design allows for the building to be self-sufficient and sustainable as it will aim to generate energy from various sources such as wind, biomass, solar energy, hydro energy and geothermal energy. Moreover, as the ocean scraper is intended to be built on water, its designers are exploring the idea of extracting and generating electricity from new sources such as under-water volcanoes and earthquake power.
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=== Supercentre Beehive Concept ===
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This idea explores the possibility of creating an area that requires less travel time between places, thereby reducing the amount of fossil fuel emissions and CO2 pollution. As this design is meant for sites that are 'already a large hub for activity', it will particularly be useful for high schools, colleges and grocery stores. The architectural design is also very compact and aims to increase the amount of green area, thereby allowing for the full advantage of space.
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=== Pod Housing Units ===
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This idea focuses upon creating a set of interconnected living units that 'can be networked together in order to share and benefit from one another's utilities'. The design is also intended to be self-sustaining and can be changed based on the needs of the user. For example, the roof can be modified to be slanted in order to collect solar energy, pitched to collect rainwater, or smoothed in order to allow for better airflow.
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== Related terms ==
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Bionics
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Eco-tech
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Organi-tech
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Bio-tech
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Biourbanism
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== Architects of Bionic architecture ==
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Greg Lynn
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Bates Smart
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Nicholas Grimshaw
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Santiago Calatrava
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Ken Yeang
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Daniel Libeskind
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Jan Kaplický
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Moti Bodek
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Cecil Balmond
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Vincent Callebaut
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Jacques Rougerie (architect)
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== Reference list == |