Biomimicry
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Nature inspired innovation
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The Termite and the Architect

The Termite and the Architect | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

"In  1991, the multinational Old Mutual investment group approached the Zimbabwean architect Mick Pearce with an audacious assignment. The group wished to construct a retail and office complex called the Eastgate Centre in Zimbabwe’s capital city of Harare that, at 55,000 square meters, would be the country’s largest commercial building. What Old Mutual didn’t wish to do was pay the high cost of air-conditioning such a massive space. Could Pearce, working with the Arup construction firm, devise a design that relied solely on passive, natural climate  control? Pondering the problem, Pearce found inspiration in the termite mounds that dotted the savannas across his country. "

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5 Natural Air-Conditioning Designs Inspired by Nature

5 Natural Air-Conditioning Designs Inspired by Nature | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

"With heat waves gripping much of the planet, electricity grid operators are sweating even more than their customers. Air-conditioning uses a tremendous amount of energy, but a new group of designers think they can solve the problem by mimicking Mother Nature's craftiness."

 

 

David Parr's comment, July 9, 2013 6:35 AM
Interesting thing about birds is their two-phase lungs. I did the first steps of analysis on adapting that kind of system to a building scale heat exchanger last year.
David Parr's curator insight, July 9, 2013 6:36 AM

Interesting ideas, though being inspired by tornadoes and hurricanes should be 'meteomimicry'. Also, I've always found bird's two phase lungs a more interesting model than their feet.