Application of Biomimetics to Architectural and Urban Design: A Review across Scales

Yuta Uchiyama, Eduardo Blanco and Ryo Kohsaka
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Yuta Uchiyama: Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya 4648601, Japan
Eduardo Blanco: Centre Européen d’Excellence en Biomimétisme de Senlis (CEEBIOS), 60300 Senlis, France
Ryo Kohsaka: Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya 4648601, Japan

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 23, 1-15

Abstract: Application of biomimetics has expanded progressively to other fields in recent years, including urban and architectural design, scaling up from materials to a larger scale. Besides its contribution to design and functionality through a long evolutionary process, the philosophy of biomimetics contributes to a sustainable society at the conceptual level. The aim of this review is to shed light on trends in the application of biomimetics to architectural and urban design, in order to identify potential issues and successes resulting from implementation. In the application of biomimetics to architectural design, parts of individual “organisms”, including their form and surface structure, are frequently mimicked, whereas in urban design, on a larger scale, biomimetics is applied to mimic whole ecosystems. The overall trends of the reviewed research indicate future research necessity in the field of on biomimetic application in architectural and urban design, including Biophilia and Material. As for the scale of the applications, the urban-scale research is limited and it is a promising research which can facilitate the social implementation of biomimetics. As for facilitating methods of applications, it is instrumental to utilize different types of knowledge, such as traditional knowledge, and providing scientific clarification of functions and systems based on reviews. Thus, interdisciplinary research is required additionally to reach such goals.

Keywords: biomimicry; built environment; interdisciplinary collaboration; sustainability; biophilia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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