Towards environmentally responsive architecture : a framework for biomimic design of building's skin

Abstract EN

As it has always been, nature is the main source of inspiration.

Its ability to sustain the coexistence of an endless number of organisms in perfect dynamic balance makes its behavioral patterns as a model to be followed.

The key principle of these patterns is adaptation.

Understanding its related concepts helped to interpret the continuous organisms' change to achieve the equilibrium that is responsible for sustainability.

However, this pattern is widely inspiring researchers to find solutions to a more and more sophisticated complexes beyond the limits of their scopes.

One of these current emergent problems is energy conservation in general and at architectural domain in particular.

This paper investigates the potentials of 'Biomimicry' –defined as an innovation inspired by nature- to come with original visions to building's skin as a mediator surface between internal and external environmental conditions.

It addresses a number of environmental concerns; energy balance, humidity, temperature, visual perception, noise, carbon dioxide concentration, and light intensity that the building's envelop has to reconfigure their performance moving from the outer environment to the inner one.

It presents a framework for biomimic design of building's skin based on detailed studies for number of biomimic design processes, adaptation techniques and strategies for skin configurations.

It also makes an in-depth analysis to a number of related examples to show the updated trends in adaptation related techniques.

Finally, it comes up with recommendations concerning the most appropriate techniques that could be utilized to come with innovative solutions inspired by the native Egyptian biological conditions.