Bio-inspired Approaches for Sustainable Cities Design in Tropical Climate

Austin, Miguel Chen; Solano, Thasnee; Tejedor-Flores, Nathalia; Quintero, Vanessa; Boya, Carlos; Mora, Dafni

doi:10.1007/978-981-19-1812-4_11

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 57 publications

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“…To cope with such mechanisms, natural, composite, or smart materials are needed allowing a dynamic interaction/reaction with the building surroundings for the abovementioned harvesting; for example, they should be capable of self-cleaning or protecting itself from humidity, e.g., with a hydrophobic feature. Having an envelope able to harvest occupant needs as well as self-caring [ 123 ] reduces the need to exploit or negatively impact the ecosystem’s services, i.e., water supply, energy provision, air purification, habitat provision, and climate regulation [ 190 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmentally Responsive Materials for Building Envelopes: A Review on Manufacturing and Biomimicry-Based Approaches

2023

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Buildings must adapt and respond dynamically to their environment to reduce their energy loads and mitigate environmental impacts. Several approaches have addressed responsive behavior in buildings, such as adaptive and biomimetic envelopes. However, biomimetic approaches lack sustainability consideration, as conducted in biomimicry approaches. This study provides a comprehensive review of biomimicry approaches to develop responsive envelopes, aiming to understand the connection between material selection and manufacturing. This review of the last five years of building construction and architecture-related studies consisted of a two-phase search query, including keywords that answered three research questions relating to the biomimicry and biomimetic-based building envelopes and their materials and manufacturing and excluding other non-related industrial sectors. The first phase focused on understanding biomimicry approaches implemented in building envelopes by reviewing the mechanisms, species, functions, strategies, materials, and morphology. The second concerned the case studies relating to biomimicry approaches and envelopes. Results highlighted that most of the existing responsive envelope characteristics are achievable with complex materials requiring manufacturing processes with no environmentally friendly techniques. Additive and controlled subtractive manufacturing processes may improve sustainability, but there is still some challenge to developing materials that fully adapt to large-scale and sustainability needs, leaving a significant gap in this field.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmentally Responsive Materials for Building Envelopes: A Review on Manufacturing and Biomimicry-Based Approaches

2023

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The path of human civilization in the Anthropocene: Sustainable growth or sustainable development?

Winkler,

Vaverková,

Koda

2023

The Anthropocene Review

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This paper discusses the difference between growth and development in plants, and how these concepts can be applied to human civilization. While growth refers to the quantitative gain of biomass, development is characterized by qualitative changes in the specialization and functioning of cells, tissues, and organs. In human society, growth is often prioritized over development, as evidenced by the focus on gross domestic product without considering its social and environmental impacts. Waste, which is produced during consumption, is a significant problem for human civilization as it contributes to pollution and environmental degradation. Waste management and finding new uses for waste are important efforts to utilize waste production; however, their effectiveness is often unclear. Sustainable development of human society should focus on creating systems inspired by nature, which can be achieved by reducing waste production and increasing the share of waste utilizable in biological processes. The functional interconnection between decomposer (waste) and producers (raw materials) in human society is essential for achieving sustainable development. Ultimately, this path leads to the reduction of waste and improves the effectiveness of human activities, thereby reducing threats to ecosystems.

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How bio-inspired solutions have influenced the built environment design in hot and humid climates

Solano,

Bernal,

Mora

et al. 2023

Front. Built Environ.

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The rapid increase in the population, which has been concentrated mainly in urban areas, has caused an environmental imbalance over the years since the built environment developed as a foreign element to the ecosystem, which prevents having resilient environments capable of adapting to the challenges posed by climate change. This research aims to provide an updated knowledge base of bio-inspired strategies emulated in hot and humid climates to achieve an efficient built environment, restoring resources, and bringing nature closer to cities. A systematic review is conducted based on keyword selection to answer i) what has been achieved in built environments to be more efficient and sustainable (including tropical climates) and ii) how natural patterns, strategies, and models are mimicked. Implementing these strategies is very little in regions with hot and humid climates. Bio-inspired approaches are concentrated in those that try to emulate the functions of nature, followed by approaches that imitate the form of nature, biomimicry, and biomimetics being the most used approaches, leading to the development of efficient and resilient cities.

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Bio-inspired Approaches for Sustainable Cities Design in Tropical Climate

Cited by 4 publications

References 57 publications

Environmentally Responsive Materials for Building Envelopes: A Review on Manufacturing and Biomimicry-Based Approaches

Environmentally Responsive Materials for Building Envelopes: A Review on Manufacturing and Biomimicry-Based Approaches

The path of human civilization in the Anthropocene: Sustainable growth or sustainable development?

How bio-inspired solutions have influenced the built environment design in hot and humid climates

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