EmilianoClara

Biomimicry

throughoutgenerationsthehumanracehasneverseizedtoencountermajor
problemsthatcouldpotentiallydamagetheirexistence.Eachoftheseproblemslanded
inadifferentscenariothatequallychallengedthestrengthofourspeciestoovercome
andprogressthroughtheobstacleslaiduponus.Inresponsetotheoverwhelmingand
unpredictablechallengesthatareyettobediscovered,scientistshavedevelopeda
scienceforsolelythispurpose,solvingcomplexproblems.Notonlydoesthisnew
methodhelpfigureouttheproblems,butalsohastheabilitytoduplicateandreplicate
theneededsolutionorwhateverisneededtomakethesolutionpossible.It'sapplication
doesn'tjustrealminthefieldofsolving,itsmereabilityhasthecapabilitytocreate,
influence,progress,improve,andpreservewhatweholddeartous,oursurvival.So
whatisit?

Biomimicryisagreektermderivedfromthewordsbio(meaninglife)andmemesis
(meaningtomimic)whichbydefinitiondescribesitsmeaning,toimitate.Withthatalone
thefirstpurposeassumptionmadeiscopyingstructures,medicinaladvancements,
inventions,ideas,butthetruthbehindthetermliesmoreonthebroaderperspectiveof
life,resourcesandimprovingthenaturallyselectedbestofthebest.Oneoftheearliest
examplesofbiomimicrywasseeninoneofsciencesmostprevalenteras.
Inthemid
1400sandearly1500s,experimentation,inventionanddiscoverywasatitsfinest,butalso

wasoneofthemostearlysignsofindepthobservationandreplication.Specificallyspeaking,
LeonardoDaVincifocusedhisattentiontotheskiesandthosewhoruleit,thebirds.the
wonderofwingsandthedesiretocopytheirstructurespikedtheveryfirstwellknownand
recognizedbiomimicrace.AlthoughDaVincineversucceededincreatinghisbirdinspired
contraption,hedevelopednumerousnotesandsketchesthatrepresentedthedynamicsand
thestructureofthewingstoleavebehindalegacy.Hislegacywasindeedfulfilledbythe
wrightbrothersandthepigeonvisionblueprintgavebirthtotheveryfirstflightintheearly
1900s.Inessence,thebirdswingsimplementedintothewingsofaplanesparkedthe
premiertothescienceitselfindirectly.Thishoweveronlyfallsintooneofthethreetypesof
biomimicryknowntoday.

Likeanymajorscience,therearecounterpartsanddifferentaspectsthatapplytodifferent
situations.Anexampleofthisischemistry,itisapplicabletoseveraldifferentsituationsusing
thesametypeofchemicalorchemicalreactioninadifferentmanner.Thisultimatelyrevolves
aroundtheideaofadaptationandefficiencyinamethodtoobtainavarietyofresultsora
specificdesiredoutcome.Withthisinmind,therearethreedifferenttypesofbiomimicrythat
applytodifferentusages,scenarios,andsituations.Leonardowastheinspirationtothe
organismversionwhichspecializesinthedesignandinspirationofnatureanditsinhabitants.
thisspecifictypefocusesonanimalsororganismsthemselvesthentheirformsorfunctionsor
appliedtocreateanarchitecturalstructureorreplicationofwhateverwasobserved.Abizarre
exampleofthispracticecanbelookedatfromtheEdenProjectin2001.Thisenglishseries
consistsofartificialbiomesusingdomesmodeledaftersoapbubblesandpollengrains.this
connectsthenaturalhabitattotheartificialcreationofanotherinwhichaparallelofanother
organismismade.thebubblesweremadeofEthyleneTetrafluoroethylenewhichwasblown

andinflatedresultingintheGeodesicHexagonalshape.infactthefinalsuperstructure,ended
upweighinglessthantheairitwasmadeof.Anotherexamplecanbepulledfrom2003when
theNormanFosterTowerwasbuilt,GherkinTower.Inspiredbythevenusbasketsponge
flower,thebuildingwascraftedwithahexagonalskininorderidentifyitstexturesimilarlyto
theflower.Theactualspongeitselfsitsinanunderwaterenvironmentagainstpowerfulwaves
andcontainsalatticelikeexoskeletonalongwitharoundishshapetohelpitagainstthe
naturallyfacedstresses.inthissense,thestructurefallsmoreintobehavioralsideof
biomimicry.itsonethingtocopythefeaturesandphysicalattributestheworldandits
organismshastooffer,butanothertoreplicatethebehaviortheyhaveononeanother.

Behaviorbiomimicryfocusonexactlythat,behavior.Itsmoreofaninteractionmimicrywhere
whateverisbuiltormadecanalsofitwithouthavingtoresistitssurroundingenvironment.in
simplerterms,theidealeffectofthebehaviormimicfallsmoreintotheeffectandreactionto
thesurroundingscenarioandhowtoadapttoitusinglocalorganismsasexamplesand
inspiration.AnexampleofthismethodcanbefoundintheEastgatecentrewhichwas
designedbyarchitectMickPearcewhocollaboratedwithengineersatArupAssociates(a
largeofficeandshoppingcomplexinHarare,Zimbabwe.Oneofthemajoreconomiccosts
Pearcewouldhavetofacewastheregulationofthebuildingsinnertemperature.inorderto
avoidthispotentialinvestment,Pearceturnedhisattentiontowardstheselfcoolingmounds
ofafricantermites.thisdoesntnecessarilymeanthatbuildinghadtocopytheactualphysical
appearanceofthemoundstoachievetheireffect,butinsteadaestheticallydrawfromthe
indigenousZimbabweanmasonry.AnotherexampleistheQatarCactiBuildingwhichwas
designedbytheBangkokbasedAestheticsarchitects.thisgroupofpeopleworkedforthe
ministerofmunicipalaffairsandagriculture.Thisbuildingwasaprojectthatusedcactusand

itsrelationshiptothedesertinordertoconstructandbuildinthatparticularenvironment.the
functionalprocessesworkingquietlyareaninspirationtakenbythewaycactisustain
themselvesinahumid,burningclimate.sunshadesarestrategicallyplacedonwindowsin
ordertocloseoropeninresponsetotheheat,justlikeacactusinitiallyundergoes
transpirationthroughoutthenightinsteadofthedaylightinordertoretainwater.thisproject
alsohasanadjoiningbotanicaldomewhosewastewatermanagementsystemhascertain
processesthatabidebycertainguidelinesthatpreservewaterandhasminimumwaste
outputs.withtheincorporationoflivingorganismsinthebreakdownprocessofthe
wastewater,theexternalamountofenergyresourcesneededtofulfillthetaskisminimized.
Thedomewouldcreateacontrollableorpreferableclimateandairspacethatcanpotentialbe
usedforfoodsourcecultivation.Thisportionofthestructurefallsintoanevenmorebroad,
butalsostrategicallyintricateaspectofbiomimicry,theecosystemlevel.

Ecosystembiomimicryfocusesmoreonhowtheenvironmentsmanycomponentswork
togetherthereforeresultinginamoreurbanscaleandlargeroverallprojectcontaining
multipleelementsinsteadofasinglesolitarystructure.Insimplerterms,theecosystemlevel
tendstoliemoreontheenvironmentitself,howitworksandwhat'sessentiallynecessaryto
keepitgoing.Inotherwords,itsalmostlikeaweborcycleofchainsorlevelsthatultimately
revolvearoundapurpose,outcome,orresult.Thisspecifictypeisgenerallyalotmorebroad
andconsequentlycanbemoretimeconsuming,fragileandhardtomaintain.Anexampleof
thisincrediblemethodcanbeseenintheCardboardCaviarprojectfoundedbyGrahamwiles
whoisfromWakefield,UK.Theprojectisactuallyacyclicalclosedloopsystemthatuses
naturalwasteasaproductornutrient.Thisprojectpaysrestaurantsofanysortforthe
cardboardtheydisposeof,theythenshredit,andendorseittoequestriancentersforhorse

bedding.Afterthehorseshavesoiledtheshreddedcardboarditsboughtbackandthenput
intoacompostingsystem,whichproducesseveraltypesoforganismsonebeingworms.The
wormsthatareproducedarethenfedtospecificfishthatproducecaviarthatisacquiredand
soldonceagaintotherestaurants.theideaitselfistransferrabletomuchmorecomplex,but
usefulplacesandsystemsoutsideofthefoodindustry.Anotherexamplecanbeseeninthe
SaharaForestProjectwhichwasmappedandoutlinedbythefirmExplorationArchitecture,is
agreenhousethatstrivestorelyonsolarpowerenergyspecificallytoworkasazerowaste
system.Thisprojectfallsintotheecosystemcategorybecauseofitsvariouscomponents
workingtogetherinacyclicalsystem.Thediscoveryofpreviousforestswheredesertsare
nowlocateddroveExplorationtodecidetointerveneattheforestanddesertoutskirtsto
reversedesertification.ThisprojectreplicatestheNamibiandesertbeetlethatfightsclimate
changeinanaridenvironment.Itpullsthefromthebeetlesabilitytoindependentlychange
bodytemperaturebygatheringheatbydayandcollectwaterdropletsthatformonitswings.
Thegreenhousesreflectionofthatusesasaltwaterthatprovidesanevaporativecoolingand
humidification.Theairparticlesthatareevaporatedcondensetofreshwaterwhichallowsthe
greenhousetoremainheatedatnight.Thecycleproducesmorewaterthantheplantswithin
actuallyneedinorderfortheexcessamounttospewitoutforthesurroundingplants.Thisis
knownasasolarpowerplantofftheideathatsymbioticrelationshipsaremoreimportantin
nature.OnelastexampletoclarifytheecosystemlevelcanbefoundinLavasa,India.Thisis
acitydesignedforIndiasmonsoonflooding.TheHOKteam,Hellmuth,Obata,and
Kassabaum,decidedthatthecitysoriginalecosystemusedtobeawetdeciduousforest
beforeitbecamethearidlandscapeitisnow.Asaresponsetothetimelyflooding,theteam
designedbuildingstructurestostorewaterlikethepredecessingtreesdid.Inaddition,their
rooftopsmimicthebanyanfigleafpayingattentiontoitsdriptipsystemthatmakeswaterrun

offthetopwhilealsocleaningitasitgoesdownthesurface.Thisparticularstrategywas
adaptedfromlocalantsthatusmultipathchannelstoguidewaterawayfromtheir
nests/homes.Biomimicryhasalotofstructuralvalueappealingtothecommonnecessities
andidealwaysoflivinginthegeneralenvironmentoneislivingin.Alotofitsusesfocuson
theideaofcollectinginformationonawondrousphenomenonandcreatingasyntheticman
madeversionofit.Itsanintricateconnectiontotheincrediblefeaturestheworldhastooffer
andthedesiretomaketheattributesavailabletoourpeople,thepopulation,butitalsoserves
asatoolandneverendingblueprinttothewellbeingofourexistence.Inotherwordsthereis
alsoamedicinalvaluetobiomimicry.

Pills,medication,anddoseshavealwaysbeenacommonitemduplicatedforitstreatment
value,butbiomimicryhastakenonestepforwardandchangedthetreatmentcompletely.
Researchhasdiscoveredthatthehumanbraincanloweritstemperatureanddiminish
metabolismforneuroprotection.Ultimatelythismeansinanalmosthibernativestateweare
nowabletoreplicatetheeffect,butwithouttheelusiveandenigmaticfeatofananimal.The
waypatientswouldbetendedwouldchangedrasticallyforpeoplewhomayhaveserious
lifethreateningconditionssuchas:strokes,cancer,burns,bloodloss,epilepticseizures,
chronicobesityandsoon.Notonlydoesbiomimicrystrengthenstructures,acquireidealliving
preferences,createcompletelynewwaysoftreatingillness,inspiringinvention,innovatethe
future,butitalsohelpsdecorateit!

Displaytechnologyisanotherwayofapproachingandtakingadvantageofthemimicmethod.
Averysubtle,butpopularexampleofthiscanbefoodinanythingthathastodowiththecolor
shiftingscheme.chameleonsandtheirabilitytoblendintotheshadeofwhateveritstouching

inspiredanincredibleamountofdesignersandengineerstocreateanumerousamountof
itemsorobjectsthatthesameabilitytoshiftcolor.Notonlydidtheyachievethis,butalso
tookitonestepfurtherandincorporatedthemoodtoenhancethecolorshiftingscheme.

Inconclusion,Ibelievethatthefuturesliesinthecumulativeworldweliveinnow.the
progressionandadvancementwesodesperatelywantisrightwherewearentlooking,the
prevalentandtraditionalworldwecallnature.Theadaptationanswerslieonthespecieswho
timeaftertimehavesurviveddisaster,industrialization,andhumanity.Technologystemsfrom
theverysametechnologiesusedtoobtainsolarpoweredenergyortoproducean
independentandsufficientamountoffood.Theassuranceofourarchitectureishidden
amongtheanimalsandstrainsofplants/treesthattothisdaysurvivestandtallandendure.
theanswerisaroundusallweneedtodoisharnessthemagnificenceofoursurroundings
andimplementthemintotheobstaclesthrownatus.