Generating a Design Concept of a Multi-regulation Biomimetic Envelope as an Approach to Improving Comfort Conditions of the Built Environment

In line with the current world circumstances and global strategies for year 2030, which focus on the improvement of energy efficiency and the enhancement of human health and well-being, and based on the proven contribution of buildings to global warming and climate change due to their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, built environments need, not only to overcome the negative impact on the environment in the future, but also to achieve an overall positive environmental impact. This can be achieved by mimicking the strategies of natural systems that are critically distinct from many man-made systems in their reliance on homeostasis, rather than energy or non-renewable sources. In spite of the research and efforts that have been carried out over the past decade to develop reliable biomimetic methodologies and envelopes, only a few have dealt with the multi-regulation of environmental aspects. While living systems in nature do not address every environmental aspect individually, but rather are unique in their ability to regulate number of them simultaneously. Proceeding from that, this paper comes to test the hypothesis that in the existence of a coherent biomimetic methodology, generating a design concept of a multi-regulation biomimetic envelope is possible. For that purpose, following the BioGen methodology, this research studied specific natural systems, such as human lungs, termite mounds, prairie dogs’ burrows, veins in human legs, zebra, elephant, and Mescal Cactus plant, to analyze their control strategies of air, heat, and water and then implemented these strategies in the design of an outdoor pavilion’s envelope. This resulted in a multi-regulating bio-envelope design that can improve air exchange rates between indoors and outdoors, increase indoor cooling efficiency by dissipating excess heat, and benefit from the humidity in the surrounding environment. Through this result, the research concludes that, while translating natural models and strategies into architectural models remains a challenge and a multidisciplinary process, it is still possible to generate a design concept of multi-regulation envelopes in the presence of a well-structured methodology and the appropriate biological background it provides. Additionally, the research paves the way for more studies that address the generation of multi-regulation bio-envelopes, even leading them in further steps; digital simulation and the fabrication of physical prototype which were out of limit of this research.