Jargon Watch: Biomimetic Design
Great article in the Economist [subscription reqd] about how biologically inspired design can help reduce the environmental impact of development.
This concept resonates with me. Growing up on a farm in southeastern Pennsylvania, I came to greatly respect two things:
- Nature designs for performance. There is very little about natural design that does not serve a purpose or essential function.
- Nature always gets last bat. As little as 20 years after man has left an area, nature reclaims the site and continues to do what it has always done--grow, reproduce, transform, and return to the soil--a closed loop.
Biomimetic principles can be taken to a point where they add measurable value to a building through increased tenant demand for the building's brand identity, reduced operating costs, and increased investor demand. At a minimum, a building should be able to generate it's own energy.
"Nature has had the benefit of a pretty long R&D period."
It is going to take a while to get this right--so start with simpler techniques, like incorporating smog eating concrete into the facade, employing photo-voltaics to harvest the available solar resource, understanding a site's environmental attributes, and maximizing daylighting/solar orientation.
"Part of the challenge, I believe, is to reconnect people with resources."
Precisely.
