Nature Inspired Structure. This building is being inspired by Termites and hoe they regulate temperature in their mounds. One of its kind building.

1. Biomimetic Architecture
Structure Engg.
M.tech Ist Sem.
32012304
Aman Verma
Advanced Structural Analysis
MCE1C01

2. Biomimetic Architecture ?
~Biomimicry

3. Ar. Mick Pearce
Architect
Harare, Zimbabwe.
In 1992, he as commissioned to
“Design a Shopping Centre and
Office Block in Central Harare,
Zimbabwe”
‘Eastgate Centre’

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=620omdSZzBs

5. EASTGATE CENTRE
 Country’s largest office and shopping complex.
 It opened in 1996 on Robert Mugabe Avenue and Second Street.
 The Eastgate Centre's design is a deliberate move away from the
"big glass block".
 Eastgate is emulated by London's Portcullis House (2001), opposite
the Palace of Westminster.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Westminster_station_building_Portcullis_House.JPG

6. CHALLENGE
• To designed a shopping centre and office
building to be ventilated and cooled by Entirely
Natural Means.
• Because of its altitude, Harare has a temperate
climate despite being in the tropics, and the
typical daily temperature swing is 10° or 14° C.
• Zimbabwe has the problem that the original air-
conditioning system and most spare parts have to
be Imported.
• To provides 5,600 m² of retail space & 26,000
m² of office space and parking for 450 cars.

7. Important Design Points
http://www.thesavorytort.com/2020/03/shop-like-termite-sustainable.html
• No direct sunlight must fall on the external
walls at the north face [direction of summer
sun]
• window-to-wall area must not exceed 25%.
• Balance between artificial and external light
to minimize energy consumption and heat
gain.
• All windows must be sealed because of
noise pollution and unpredictable wind
pressures and temperatures.

8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=620omdSZzBs

9. 35°-40°
25°-30°
• The termite tower functions as a Lung
to the nest. The hot air goes up and the
cold air enters through smaller vents at
the sides of the termite nest.
• Termites in Zimbabwe farm a Fungus
that is their primary food source.
• Outside temperature is 35°-40° &
Inside temperature is 25°-30°
• The termites achieve this remarkable
feat by constantly opening and closing
a series of heating and cooling vents
over the course of the day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=620omdSZzBs

10. Eastgate Centre
https://twitter.com/zimsphere/status/991067990597820422
• Building is mostly made-up
of Masonry and Concrete.
• The complex consists of
Two Buildings side by side
that are separated by an
open space that is covered
by glass and open to the
local breezes.

11. Eastgate Centre
https://in.pinterest.com/pin/740279257479777443/?nic_v2=1aj5QujaA https://twitter.com/Nanjala1/status/1068125461929213952/photo/1

12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=620omdSZzBs

13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=620omdSZzBs
• Air is continuously drawn from
open space by Fans inside the
building.
• It is then pushed up vertical
supply sections of ducts that are
located in the central spine of
each of the two buildings.

14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=620omdSZzBs
• The fresh air replaces stale air
that rises and exits through
exhaust ports in the ceilings of
each floor.
• Negligible energy is being
used in pumping this warm air
out.

15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=620omdSZzBs
• Ultimately it enters the exhaust section of the vertical ducts before it is
flushed out of the building through chimneys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=620omdSZzBs

16. Design…
• Prickly bodies are poorer absorbers of heat
by day and good emitters of heat at night.
This form allows for a quicker dispersal of
heat, a great technique for warmer climates.
• Massive projected stone elements are
provided in the design. It not only protect
the small windows from the sun but also
increase the external surface area of the
building.
• These are made of precast concrete. The
horizontal projecting ledges are interrupted
by columns of steel rings supporting green
vines to bring nature back into the city.
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/792844709373531748/?nic_v2=1aj5QujaA

17. Design…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIKYjriWgiY
• Patterns are being inspired
from traditional Zimbabwean
arts.
• A Floating Pathway is also
provided in centre of the
building to be used by
pedestrian traffic.

18. Advantages
• First building in the world to use natural cooling to this level of sophistication.
• The Eastgate Centre uses less than 10% of the energy of a conventional building
its size.
• Only 12% of total material is being imported.
• Eastgate’s owners have saved $3.5 million alone because of an air-conditioning
system that did not have to be implemented.
• Outside of being eco-efficient and better for the environment, these savings also
trickle down to the tenants whose Rents Are 20% lower than those of occupants
in the surrounding buildings.

19. ‘We're not buildingfuture for a few years,
we'rebuilding for a lifetime.’
~ AbeReichental

20. References…
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIKYjriWgiY
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=620omdSZzBs&t=2s
• https://www.mickpearce.com/Eastgate.html
• https://in.pinterest.com/pin/740279257479777443/?nic_v2=1aj5QujaA
• https://www.slideshare.net/binoyjob/the-eastgate-centre-biomimicry-
architecture
• https://cpb-us-
e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.uoregon.edu/dist/9/10058/files/2017/11/greenfield
megan_69766_4440791_Biomimicry-presentation_reduced-1-1qf73rd.pdf
• https://prezi.com/r4hduhhqendb/case-study-east-gate-harare-zimbabwe/
• https://twitter.com/Nanjala1/status/1068125461929213952/photo/1