Biomimicry and Biophilia: A Juxtaposition

Biomimicry is the imitation (mimicry or mimesis) of nature. It ‘promotes the transfer of ideas inspired by Nature to the design of our world, for a more sustainable, healthier planet,’ according to The Biomimicry Institute’s website. The site also says that as we learn from nature and study “how to grow food like a prairie, build ceramics like an abalone, create color like a peacock, self-medicate like a chimp, compute like a cell, and run a business like a hickory forest,” that “the conscious emulation of life’s genius is a survival strategy for the human race, a path to a sustainable future.”

On the topic of sustainable buildings, the Biomimicry Institute specifically cited the Eastgate Building, an office complex in Harare, Zimbabwe and a model of sustainability and biophilia. Impressive Architect Mick Pearce teamed up with Arup Associates to design Eastgate, and it has won numerous awards and been heralded for its innovation and place-sensitive design.



Biophilia (coined by Harvard Biologist Edward O. Wilson in 1984) does what Biomimicry does not: it reaches into the human desire for an affinity with nature on both the meta- and individual levels. Biophilia is different from Biomimicry because it is based more in the appreciation of nature. To my mind it (-philia) is more on a spiritual/emotional plane rather than a quantitative/measured level. The following quote is an extrapolation on this concept:

“Architecture needs the existence of something old and permanent, like the cycle of the years, the rhythm of the moon, the majesty of the streams, or the old moss-covered rock. I feel that the most important aspect in modern architecture is the attempt to make man re-discover these fundamental values” –Aulis Blomstedt, 1950-70

More concrete examples of these are that Biophilia is the belief that natural light should be maximized in a building for humanitarian/health purposes while Biomimicry finds a more outward aesthetic expression in systems and ratios—taking an ecosystem as a model for a city, for example.These concepts are not entirely separate, and further, the concept of Biomimicry is embedded in Biophilia, but the inverse is not always the case.

Biomimicry and Biophilia are both important for the future of architectural strategies of design, but their influence is not new. The Finnish Architect, Alvar Alto worked primarily in the first half of the 20th century, was both a proponent of modernism and he "dreamed of an architecture without style, buildings determined only by the diverse needs of the people using them and the conditions dictated by the building site, the materials available and financial considerations" (quote link). Aalto also believed that as nature and architecture should be derived from the same concepts.

“Nature, biology, offers profuse and luxuriant forms; with the same constructions, same tissues and same cellular structures it can produce millions and millions of combinations, each of which is a high level of form” –Alvar Alto, 1935

Though Alto's words are from long ago, we are now more widely accepting that we need to incorporate sustainable architecture, design, and daily choices into the fabric of cities. The status of a building is changing—it is a crucial participant in our uphill battle for sustainability and overall well-being. This natural model is the way to discuss and to design buildings in our milieu.

Image from: http://i.treehugger.com/files/th_images/termite_mound.jpg

Cob Methods and ChiCobCo

One can find a deep shade of "green" (in terms of the environmental consciousness and connectedness) to be pervasive in architecture’s history from the passive solar solutions of Ancient Greece (I found links 1, 2, and 3 helpful for more information on this) to the long history at Taos Pueblo. These and other examples can provide wonderful models, and should be looked at to inform the contemporary push for eco-friendly city/community planning. Building practices in ancient societies necessarily used 'green technologies’ such as passive solar space heating, local materials, etc. which were neglected or undervalued in the last few centuries, and are now being re-discovered and utilized; established vernacular forms and materials are reappearing in a modern and even urban context. Cob building is one prime example of this phenomenon.

Cob building is a traditionally based method of construction is uses earth (dirt/mud) and straw. Historically the technique comes primarily from the United Kingdom area, but ancient Cob buildings can also be found in Africa and the Middle East. This method is still being used today, and it is being exported to South America and Asia as a grassroots-inspired alternative building strategy.

"It is quite similar to adobe in that the basic mix of clay and sand is the same, but it usually has a higher percentage of long straw fibers mixed in. Instead of creating uniform blocks to build with, cob is normally applied by hand in large gobs (or cobs) which can be tossed from one person to another during the building process. The traditional way of mixing the clay/sand/straw is with the bare feet; for this reason, it is fairly labor intensive" (Green Home Building).

It is the epitome of local, sustainable material. Cob also lends itself to sculptural forms. It is a cost-effective and sustainable building method: it utilizes local materials and elements such as passive solar heating can be incorporated. It is fireproof and can be used in a variety of climates.

Here is a polaroid of a friend and I at a cob bench/gazebo site in Portland, OR (March 2008).

The ChiCobCo group has created buildings and benches out of this time-tested method of Cob building. In the Chicago neighborhood of Edgewater they were commissioned to create a bench outside a health foods store (at 1034 N. Broadway St.). This bench includes a tri-partite seating arrangement, orange and yellow coloring, a whimsical-looking owl’s face, wings, and feet, and white mosaic tiles atop. Its curving back and use of tiles are remarkably similar to Antoni Gaudi’s serpentine seating in Park Guell.

Miguel Eliot, founder of ChiCobCo, has also built a merged oven/bench structure in Cabrini Green. A leap beyond constructing benches, however, is the Butterfly Social Club (at 722 W. Grand Ave. in Chicago). This all-organic nightclub has a Mayan theme created with benches, trees, tables, a DJ booth, and bar; with all these, the club features the world’s largest cob sculpture. The aesthetic is not within the mainstream nightclub vocabulary, but the fact that such a large space has incorporated cob is indicative of a readiness in the zeitgeist for eco-friendly spaces that push the aesthetic envelope.