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https://theconversation.com/what-mirrored-ants-vivid-blue-butterflies-and-monstera-house-plants-can-teach-us-about-designing-buildings-194636>
"Almost all buildings today are built using similar conventional technologies
and manufacturing and construction processes. These processes use a lot of
energy and produce huge carbon emissions.
This is hardly sustainable. Perhaps the only way to truly construct sustainable
buildings is by connecting them with nature, not isolating them from it. This
is where the field of bioarchitecture emerges. It draws on principles from
nature to help solve technological questions and address global challenges.
Take desert organisms, for example. How do they survive and thrive under
extreme conditions?
One such desert species is the Saharan silver ant, named for its shiny
mirror-like body. Its reflective body reflects and dissipates heat. It’s an
adaptation we can apply in buildings as reflective walls, or to pavements that
don’t heat up.
There are so many aspects of nature we can drawn on. Picture cities with
shopping centres based on water lilies, stadiums resembling seashells, and
lightweight bridges inspired by cells.
Water lilies can teach us how to design large buildings efficiently with smooth
pedestrian circulation. Seashells can inspire the walls of large-span buildings
without the need for columns. Cells can show us how to develop lightweight
suspending structures."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
