Biomimicry

As humans, we haven't been on Earth all that long. Nature has...

In my research of architecture, it became apparent that biomimicry is one of the most fascinating ideas I've come across. The whole concept of us humans mimicking the design of what we assume to be simple creatures, is incredible.

Nowhere in nature are there square boxes, perfectly flat surfaces, or corners. Fluidity and continuity might be a huge challenge for specifiers in Architectural design, but it needs to be thought of. Perhaps we have designed homes, buildings and structures with too much aesthetic rigidity.

A facade of natural beauty may be all that is necessary to trick our minds into believing that our creations are more in-tune with nature. It may just be the future. Maybe we should look at what has survived far longer than we have.

Ashley

Keeping cool, in a design sense

Imagine a house. A regular home, roughly 2000 sqft. What do you see, hardly an architectural masterpiece but it not what you see that I want to discuss.

Instead look at what the building you see could be. The aesthetic panels could be solar panels, the windows made more reflective, and the roof made to absorb less sunlight. All of these could save people money. Hundreds of millions is spent on cooling homes/business/office buildings because their roofs absorb heat.

It's like going out in the heat of summer, wearing all back and wondering why you get hot. I just doesn't make sense! So why not flip the tradition on his head and offer reflective roof panels. Granted this has already been thought of, but as I continue to mention the matter of price, it remains vital. ENERGYSTAR qualified roof products can help reduce the amount of air conditioning needed in buildings, and can reduce peak cooling demand by 10-15 percent.

Would be great to see reflective coatings gaining a greater market share and eventually becoming mainstream

Thanks for reading!

Ashley