Finalists (12)
Life in Desert
The question is how nature makes life possible in hot and dry climate, where the sunlight, extreme dryness and hot winds together contribute to making it harder. To find the answer, we took a look at different types of creatures living in this condition. Two general categories of living creatures could be identified in desert: one is those living and walking on the surface such as camel, porcupine and snail; the other is those living underground most of the time to provide themselves comfortable conditions. Among all these, we focused on snail because of its amazing form and mechanism, which make its life possible in a quite architectural way, rather than using mostly biological procedures to survive, like the other creatures. The secret lies behind the shell locating on its back. Its form and structure provide the snail with the livable temperature. In this presentation, the solutions suggested by the shell of snail in making life easy are analyzed. These solutions include self-shading, surface reflection and air insulation. These characteristics were considered as the basic principles of design. Some primary physical models were built to experiment it in reality. Furthermore, a conceptual model was analyzed in Ecotect Building Analysis software in which it is demonstrated how the purpose of lessening sunlight effect and providing comfortable conditions was achieved. Finally, some solutions towards its construction were suggested and applied in physical models to provide sustainable construction in building forms of this type.
The BioFacade: Keeping Buildings Cool
Over 100 million tons of carbon enters the atmosphere each year as a result of energy use in air conditioning systems. The BioFacade is a novel structure intended to reduce the amount of energy needed to keep buildings cool by harnessing solar energy shielding buildings from the thermal exchange mechanisms that cause buildings to heat up. The BioFacade’s structure and function are inspired by evaporative cooling mechanisms found in plants and animals (transpiration and perspiration) as well as boundary layer effects observed in desert plants and solar tracking mechanisms used by sunflowers. Additionally, the façade reuses greywater from the building and rain to facilitate the evaporative cooling mechanisms. The façade is modular, constructed from two types of panels – solar panels and ‘waterfall’ panels. The panels may be positioned in a manner that creates an effective boundary layer between the building and the outside environment. Rather than heating the building’s exterior walls, thermal exchange mechanisms such as convection and radiation have their energy dissipated in the panels.
Thermoregulation in Forced Air Heating Systems
To address energy utilization in our local environment, our team of biomedical and chemical engineers consulted civil engineers and environmental studies and biology majors to identify an energy-related weakness on Bucknell University’s campus. In 2008, Bucknell University, in Lewisburg, PA, emitted 42,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of greenhouse gases and one of the three major sources of emissions was heat loss. The primary heating issue that we address on Bucknell’s campus is the misuse of heating systems in dorm buildings. In some dorms, heat runs even if windows are open, which causes heat loss to the environment and is a problem in the winter. Additionally, heat loss through pipe walls is a secondary problem with heating systems. Our team developed a building thermoregulation system that conserves energy. The proposed design addresses the need for heat-loss control through biomimetic thermoregulation principles exhibited in a wide variety or organisms by triggering pipe constriction and restriciting heat flow to rooms when windows are left open, and insulating pipes to prevent heat loss to the building. It has significant potential for positive impact on Bucknell’s campus and beyond. The system could be used to retro-fit old buildings, meaning implementation will not be as costly as building an entirely new structure. The proposed thermoregulatory heating system is energyefficient, has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and can be implemented on our own University campus. The design is cost effective and represents a realistic way to conserve energy loss due to excessive heating.
Phenomold - A Natural re-interpretation of Manufacturing
In the opinion of our team, a high-level change in how products are manufactured and designed in general will precipitate greatly reduced carbon emissions, no matter what the products manufactured are. Our overall aim is to re-imagine product design, manufacturing, distribution, use, feedback, and post-use in a holistic closed-loop system for all polymer-based goods. We have used more general natural metaphors for our overall system, and specific natural inspirations at the details of the manufacturing stage. We realized that the design of a product (as represented by CAD data) is equivalent to the DNA (or genotype) of the product and the mold is the physical manifestation (or phenotype) of this information. By viewing products as organisms in their own right, we were able to envision a sustainable future for product design in general. By expanding on Smart Mold technology researched by MIT Media Lab’s “Mediated Matter” group, we cut wasteful and expensive steel tooling out of the typical polymer manufacturing process. The fact that smart molds can be driven directly from CAD with no intermediary opens up a number of exciting possibilities for a revolution in product manufacturing:
Cranfield Biomimicry Submission
Inspired by the white-fronted bee-eater and ants, Cranfield University has designed an organisational structure for their “Green Team” that optimizes their strengths and mitigates losses inherent with yearly student turnover. A more effective Green Team will encourage campus-wide behaviour change and support the Cranfield Carbon Plan.
Insnowlation
With our team of landscape architecture and architecture students we designed a click-on facade panel that can insulate existing buildings with snow. We took Lapland as our design location and the panel can be used there as well as in other arctic areas. Our panel gathers snow passively by using the knowledge we got from the pine tree structure. We took our design concept from hibernation processes and winterfur. The panel, that is made out of woven coir, a coconut fibre, is modular. There is only a minimum amount of vertical, diagonal or horizontal support needed, where it can click onto. That makes our panel applicable to any existing building facade. The panel will provide extra insulation during winter. When the temperature rises in spring, the melting water can be gathered and used for other purposes and the panel can be used for fencing during summer. The insnowlation brings besides insulation also light, due to the reflective properties of snow, this is a big advantage in the dark winters of Lapland. Our team got support from Anna Maria Orru, an ecological and biomimicry-practicing architect and Annelie Brand, a biologist.
Hickory Hydroponic Systems
Trees are nature’s model for moving water vertically. Therefore learning from trees and applying their strategies to hydroponic farming is the basis of our biomimicry challenge; we call it “Hickory Hydroponics.” By mimicking the natural capillary action in trees, we have designed a biomimetic solution to conventional tomato production that reduces energy inputs, conserves and preserves soil and water, drastically cuts fossil fuel use and CO² emissions, and could potentially provide a new source of income for defunct family-farms across America and the world. Hickory Hydroponic Systems are designed—not exclusively, however—to fit into old, abandoned grain bins or silos that are commonplace on most family-farms. Old structures like silos can be repurposed to breathe new life into currently dead farms, and provide a steady source of income for farm families year-round. If conventional farming is the epitome of unsustainable, Hickory Hydroponics is the epitome of sustainable. By only using nature’s example, we can double the amount of tomatoes we produce and cut energy use and fossil fuel emissions by around 90 to 95%. At the same time, we can address some of the key ways conventional farming is unsustainable.
BioDry Hand drying system
Our design is a sustainable option to hand drying systems in public bathrooms. BioDRy is based on the natural behavior of human and mammals to get rid of excess water.
Azototem: an ammonium synthesizing device that mimics bacterial cytosol
As ammonia is one of the main, if not the only, forms of nitrogenous nutrients that plants need for sustaining lives, ammonia fertilizer has significantly accounted for high productivity of crop plants, which is directly proportional to the amount of dollars that farmers can earn through each cycle of plantation. Currently, the major source of ammonia cannot be anything but anhydrous ammonia produced by the Haber-Bosch process. However, the Haber-Bosch process is far from the notion of sustainability due to a gigantic energy consumption that can be as high as 12,000 kilowatts/hr/ton NH3 produced. The remedy to this massive energy consumption is to examine the biological ammonia production process by soil bacteria named Azotobacter vinelandii, which convert atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia for the plants to assimilate. This soil bacterium has an all-in-one enzyme called nitrogenase that catalyzes every step of ammonia production from the nitrogen fixation to the liberation of ammonia as a final product to the bacterial cytosol. The goal of this mimicry project is to design an on-site ammonia production facility for small farm owners by taking a model from the ammonia production reaction found in Azotobacter, in particular, how the bacteria overcome a thermodynamically unfavorable process and create a gradient of chemical species involved.
Sunlight induced shading system
Our goal was to creatively make new, energy efficient, simple, cheap system which could be able to save energy, money and resources. Our main problem was greenhouse, which needed to be renovated. We thought about warmth, electricity, water collection and shadowing system. We evolved idea about shadowing system. It was based on flower opening and closing system and stomata movement. We chose develop a small shadow device who could work directly by the sun energy. It has leaves which are moving up and down by the pressure which changes in the device. When sun is shining copper warms up. Copper then warms gas up. Gas pressure moves elastic material. Elastic material moves leaves up and shadows area. When sunlight ends device stops shading. Device is not connected to energy source. Many devices may be ordered together, so that their shadow area could be wider.
Bioluminescence
Light visible energy that is released similar to heat, sound, etc. Production of light also requires energy input. We concluded that the most efficient production of light (that can be replicated and efficiently used in a human environment) in nature is through bioluminescence.
Mimesis: a cold climate study
Team Mimesis proposes the design of a small-scale research facility to be situated in Resolute, Nunavut, Canada. The design takes a three-tiered approach, looking to be environmentally responsive, emulate nature and natural processes, and take into account vernacular strategies of the region, so as to create a space in tune with its natural surroundings and completely off-grid. Specifically, the facility makes use of renewable resources, passive heating and lighting strategies, and harnesses energy from both the sun and the wind through an active facade system and a small wind turbine. Implementation of such strategies formulates a space both comfortable for human life, and with positive impact on its surrounding environment. The design thus becomes holistic in nature, fostering the use of sustainable strategies, which on a larger scale can easily be implemented in any architectural design practice.
