Various examples is creation of spaces, using Nature - its form and function. The examples in initial slides are worst examples, what people usually think about nature in Architecture. It is not mimicking Nature, but using it.

1. Nature in Architecture
Semester III
B.Arch II
PIAR
By: Prof. Dimpal Singh

2. WHAT IS NATURE?
HOW CAN NATURE AND
ARCHITECTURE MERGE?
IS IT NECESSARY..???

17. BIOMIMICRY
OR
ARCHITECTURE ZOO..???

18. Bio Architecture
Bionic Architecture
Biotechnological
Bioreactor façade
Bioclimatic
Biomimitics
Biomimicry
Biomorphology

19. Bionic architecture is a movement for the design and construction of
expressive buildings whose layout and lines borrow from natural (i.e.
biological) forms. The movement began to mature in the early 21st
century, and thus in early designs research was stressed over
practicality.
The field of Bio-mimetics is the abstraction
of a GOOD design from nature.
Bio-inspired???

20. Biomorphism models artistic design elements on naturally occurring
patterns or shapes reminiscent of nature and living organisms. Taken
to its extreme it attempts to force naturally occurring shapes onto
functional devices.
Sagrada Familia
Antoni Gaudi

23. The steel frame pioneered by Louis
Sullivan and the Chicago school
from the 1880’s enabled internal
structure and external cladding to
be regarded as separate.
Comparison with skin and bone in
vertebrates was inevitable.

24. Hennebique and Wayss had
shown by 1900 that concrete with
steel bar reinforcement
embedded in it was a universal
construction material; it could be
used in place of wood or stone, or
even steel, except in long spans.
Reinforced concrete was highly
suitable for exploring an
architecture of ribs and bones
as it stretches and bends in all
directions, the chief constraint on
its use being the cost of building
the timber formwork into which it
is poured.

25. These developments
eventually led to an
eruption of structural
forms
inspired by natural
forms. Although the
designs of the Art
Nouveau movement
were shapes that were
predominantly vegetal -
there was also
similarities with
organisms.

26. The 20th C saw
architects and
engineers such as
Pier Luigi Nervi and
Gio Ponti as well as
Felix Candela
exploiting
reinforced
concrete’s
structural
potential.
The decade’s
‘greatest triumphs’
were also manifested
in the works of Eero
Saarinen’s aquiline
TWA Terminal at New
York’s Kennedy
Airport and
John Utzon’s
polysemous Sydney
Opera House.

27. The design of the Grand Central &
Penn Station by architect Santiago
Calatrava is a prime example. His
main goal with the PATH Terminal
was to create a landmark; a new
focus for the city, and a grand
welcome "gate" for those arriving in
Manhattan for the first time by train.

28. Another structural expression
with reference to nature
occurs when the structure
strives to emulate nature’s
principles, and means to do so
with the repetition of parts.
• The Museum of Science in
Valencia, Spain, Stadelhofen
station in Zurich
• Milwaukee Art Museum.
• Organic Architecture

29. • To adapt and increase
efficiency, natural forms
prefer tension members, as
compression members
buckle.
• Man-made structures such
as shells and tents provide
maximum efficiency.
• Frei Otto’s Olympic
Stadium in Munich,
Germany.
• Santiago Calatrava’s design
for the roof of a multi
purpose hall in Suhr,
Switzerland.
• Relying on the principle of
recurrence - Jakem factory,
Calatrava.

30. The structural forms of the
engineer Robert Maillart’s
(1872-1940) are worthy of note.
Although not an architect, his
structurally innovative designs
have contributed greatly to
structural design and
architectural concepts with
reinforced concrete as the
primary building material for
construction.
Through several bridge designs
in his native Switzerland, his
contribution to structural design
was made in 1908 when he
invented the mushroom slab.

31. Frank Lloyd Wright later
adopted the structural
form of the ‘Mushroom
columns’ or ‘dendriform
columns’ in his design for
the Laboratory tower for
S.C. Johnson and Son in
1949
These slender columns
that were
constructed of concrete
reinforced with steel mesh
and shaped to taper down
at the base supported the
building.

32. As in nature, structures have
been applied to man-made
forms and
examples abound. Bridges
are typical examples of
structures found in nature:
the beam bridge made by a
fallen tree; the arch bridge
created by the erosion of
rocks; and the hanging
bridge formed by different
types of vines. These three
types of structural principles
have remained unchanged for
thousands of years.

33. There are basically four light structures derived from natural models:
• Cable networks inspired by spider’s webs;
• pneumatics inspired by bubbles;
• vaults inspired by shells and eggs and finally,
• geodesics inspired by radiolarians.
LIGHT WEIGHT STRUCTURES INSPIRED FROM NATURE

34. Cable networks
Spiders produce elastic, resistant
webs with a minimum amount of
material and a t phenomenal
speed.
The static principles used in
building a web are the same as
those used in 8000 BC by the
nomadic tribes making tents from
animal skins to protect themselves
from the wind. Later, they
designed primary structures
with synthetic material. Later
still, to shelter in larger spaces,
they designed a network of cables
as the principle structure, covering
it with a membrane in materials
such as acrylic, canvas and
FIBREGLASS.
Matthew Nowicki - Cow Palace,
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA,

35. Yale University Hockey
Rink (1956-1958) by Eero
Saarinen.
the roof of Dulles Airport
in Washington, DC, By
Eero Saarinen

36. At Expo ’70 in Osaka,
Japan, - The Fuji
Pavillion
BUILDING WAS ABLE
TO RESIST WINDS OF
hurricane intensity
PNEUMATIC STRUCTURES
In nature a great many forms are made up of micro spheres (pneumatic structures).
The microsphere behaves like a soap bubble in water, with a consistently flexible and
resistant layer around a water or gaseous content. Every animal or plant cell is a
pneumatic structure made up of membranes and contents- the protoplasm.

37. VAULTS
The application of the structural principles of the shell is common to
architecture as it is in nature: a curved, three-dimensional shape of
rigid material and minimum thickness under the law of maximum
efficiency and minimal material. Some examples of large roofs built
using this method are resistant, due exclusively to their shape.

38. Another variety of shell shapes is the hyperbolic paraboloid designed
by Felix Candela in Mexico during the 1950’s and 60’s.

39. BIOMIMICRY IN PRODUCTS

44. Biomimicry Potential

53. Sagrada Familia, Antonio Gaudi
The most ambitious of his works is
the Sagrada Familia cathedral.
Gaudi took over design in 1883 and
the building is due to be finished in
2026, 100 years after his death
(tragically, he was hit by a tram
and died days later on 10 June
1926, aged 73).
The cathedral’s awesome interior is
inspired by the idea of a forest that
invites prayer.
Tree-like columns branch off near
the roof for support, and in-
between skylights contain green
and gold glass to reflect light.
Enhancing the feeling of standing
on a forest floor and Gaudi's plan to
create a contemplative atmosphere
are large coloured glass windows
letting in dappled sunlight

54. Milwaukee Art Museum, Calatrava
Most eye-catching
feature is its huge
sunscreen roof which is
reminiscent of great
white wings thanks to
an open and closing
mechanism controlling
the 90 tonne screen.
The design took into
account the “culture” of
the lake front including
boats and sails.

55. Kunsthaus Graz, Peter Cook
“We always imagined it
as a building that was
responsive," he says.
"So the nozzles that
exist on the roof that
are very distinct – they
were supposed to
move and interact with
the sun. And we
always thought about
the skin as being like a
creature – creating
areas of opacity and
transparency and
translucency, and it
would vary according
to these environmental
changes and changes
of use.”

56. National Taichung Theater
“Such geometries were
totally unthinkable before,”
says Cruz. “This could
never have been done
before the digital era.”
“Computational tools are
currently enabling us to
draw and design buildings
in such a manner that then
the fabrication tools in the
factories and on site can
replicate that on a larger
scale, with a high level of
precision and rigour.”
Inspiration from the
formation of rocks, caves
and the transience of
water

58. The Gherkin, London
Completed in 2004, the
180m tower has an air
ventilation system
similar to sea sponges
and anemones, Tang
points out.
These creatures feed by
directing sea water to
flow through their
bodies.
And similarly, The
Gherkin is supported by
an exoskeleton
structure, and is
designed so ventilation
flows through the entire
building.

59. Eden Project, Nicholos Grimshaw
The project houses an
extraordinary collection of plant
species from tropical rainforest
and the Mediterranean.
But the domed building itself is a
large part of the spectacle: its
“curvilinear” shape is an
example of “softer edge”
geometries which fascinate
architects today, says Cruz.
Architect Nicholas Grimshaw’s
huge transparent semi-spherical
creations were inspired by the
shape of soap bubbles, and the
building’s “Core” education
centre mimics the Fibonacci
spiral pattern found in many
natural objects such as
pinecones, pineapples,
sunflowers and snail shells.

61. The “algae house”
One side of the green-hued
tower’s largely transparent
surface contains tiny, growing
algae which can control light
entering the building and
provide shade when needed.
It’s the world's first example
of a “bioreactor façade”.
Algae produced within the
transparent shell are
continuously supplied with
nutrients and carbon dioxide
by a water circuit which runs
through the building’s
surface.
The algae creates a sun filter.
When enough algae have
grown they can be harvested
and used to make biogas

62. The Eastgate development,
Zimbabwe
Inspired by the way the insects use
very limited resources to create
ventilated mounds, permeating them
with holes over the surface, Pearce
set out to construct a building also
peppered with holes all over the
building’s “skin”, says Rupert Soar.
The result stands as a pioneering
example of “passive ventilation”
The tower’s “skin” takes heat from
outside air during the day and
absorbs it into the structure’s body.
The air is cool when it reaches the
middle of the building.

64. Inspired by the work
of Gaudí and Frank
Lloyd Wright, Javier
Senosiain has brought
to Mexico City another
sparkling example of
what he calls “Bio-
Architecture” — the
idea that buildings
based on the natural
principles of organic
forms bring us back to
local history, tradition
and cultural roots, in
turn creating harmony
with nature.
Nautilus House: Unique Shell Shaped House by Senosiain
Mexico - 2007

70. Architecture inspired by Nature
THE VOTU HOTEL, BRAZIL
A Hotel designed with Biomimicry, inspired by praire dogs for
ventilation system, toucan peak for thermal exchange and cactus for
self-shading

71. The bungalows have
constant air
renovation inspired
on prairie dog, whose
caves are below
ground with airflow
system following
Bernoulli Principle.
The design created a
barrier to decrease
the airflow velocity
with the guardrail
adjacent to the
concrete structure
that has the
ventilation holes. The
air continuous to flow
through the tubes
inside this structure
and exits freely
throughout the
louvers on the top of
the wall.

72. The thermal mass, corresponding to the soil for the prairie dog
burrows, is obtained with the concrete structure and roof
garden. This concrete structure is a multifunctional design
element, since its bottom part works as the toilet walls and its
upper part becomes the roof structure as it expands.

73. The scheme demonstrates the thermal convection between the hot
and cooler air. The shape of the cactus allows always shade in one of
the sides. The shaded side has cooler air comparing to the one
exposed to the sun. This gradient on temperature promotes air
circulation allowing air renewal at the facade and minimizing heat
absorption.

74. The specie Ramphastos toco, known as toco toucan lives on canopy of
the Tropical Rainforest, where they receive a lot of heat during the day
and often have cooler nights. A very good thermal exchange system is
required to regulate temperature. Heat loss from the peak is highly
variable, and depending on air speed could account for as little as 25%
(minimum) to as much as 400% (maximum) of resting heat production
in adults, the largest reported for an animal

75. http://futurearchitectureplatform.org/projects/3cdd032b-bcc4-4e80-b52a-
f03375143da7/

76. ANTONI GAUDI
What was the inspiration of Antoni Gaudi?
In case you haven't heard of him, Antoni Gaudi was a Spanish architect
and is well known as the face of Catalan architecture. He was fond of
nature, and work is often cited as being inspired by his love of natural
design and modernism. His most famous work is the Sagrada Família in
Barcelona, but more on that later.
SANTIAGO CALATRAVA
EERO SAARINIAN
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
DAVID PEARSON

78. Build in Nature
Build with Nature
Preserve Nature
Conserve Nature
But understand Nature, not just
mimicking it.
Thank You