Designing Buildings (DB) wiki resource – host to IHBC’s Conservation Wiki – explores linkages between Nature and buildings.
…the specific way in which nature and its biological systems….interact with the built form has led to a number of different terms…
DB writes:
The influence of and reaction to nature and the natural world can be seen in many the different architectural styles that have developed since humans first started to build shelters. The specific way in which nature and its biological systems influence, inspire, form or interact with the built form has led to a number of different terms, philosophies, approaches and styles of design and engineering, some of which are described below.
Dominant influences
The influence and impact of the built environment and all its supply chains on the natural world and its systems is undeniable. This has led to a shift in terminology from the Holocene or last 11,000 years, from the end of the last major glacial ice age, to the current geological age, which is said to have started in the 1950’s. That period saw a dramatic increase in human activity that started to affect the planet. The Anthropocene is the age of humans and is the current geological epoch (Crutzen & Stoermer 2000, Ellis 2018) – a period when humans are the dominant influence on global climate and the environment.
Symbiotic relations
In around 2010 the Professor of Sustainability and environmental philosopher, Glenn Albrecht coined the phrases solastalgia and symbiocene. Where nostalgia describes, melancholia or homesickness through separation, solastalgia describes distress in people directly connected to their home but caused by environmental change. He argued that human history should enter a new era, characterised by harmonious interactions between humans and nature in symbiosis. This term he coined as the next geological epoch, the symbiocene, a period in the Earth’s history that sees deep interconnectedness of all life on Earth, including humans.
The idea of design being symbiotic with nature is not new, but perhaps the specifics of the relationship between design, buildings and nature have only more recently been studied in greater detail. Either way a number of different terms, philosophies, approaches and styles in both design and engineering have developed, some of which are outlined here in brief with links to further information. The list is extensive but not exhaustive and many terms are interpretable and often debated to a greater or lesser extent but they describe to varying degrees relationships between nature and design that perhaps are searching for a greater symbiosis between the two.
Biophilic design
Biophilic design interprets and reacts to the philosophy of biophilia, which describes the tendency of humans to want to be near or interact with the natural environment. It is an approach used in building design, material selection, interior design as well as urban planning, and more recently has also been referred to as nature based solutions. For more information see: Biophilic design.
Biomimicry
Biomimicry is design that takes its inspiration from nature, in particular emulating natural solutions from an engineering perspective at all scales. It is the application of recognised biological concepts to fields that lie outside the discipline of biological science. For more information see: Biomimicry.
Bio-inspired design
Bio-inspired design is a broader generalisation that considers mimicking nature’s processes in terms of scientific understanding, in particular how things function, which may or may not impact form.
Biomorphism
Biomorphism relates to design solutions that resemble different elements from life and nature visually. Bio-design is a term more common to the field of medicine, via the implementation of inventions and interventions using biomedical technologies.
Bionics
Bionics describes a science and design approach that combines natural biological systems with modern technology. It is an interdisciplinary field dealing with structures, methods and processes of biological systems, that considers both form aspects and functional principles of design.
Biobased
Biobased is a loose term that describes an organic material or product that contains in whole or in part, biogenic (from biological sources) carbon. It refers to materials that derive from living matter and may be used interchangeably with ‘biogenic’, though the former may only describe the base material rather than the whole.
Biomaterials on the other hand have come to have a specific meaning which relates to synthetic, bio-based or natural biomaterials in contact with biological systems such as cells or tissues, these must be biocompatible.
Bio-diverse
Biodiversity (or biological diversity) is the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem. It includes: species diversity, ecosystem diversity and genetic diversity. In terms of building design and urban planning it usually involves space for wildlife and green infrastructure within wider developments. For more information see: Biodiversity.
Natural building
Natural building refers to buildings that are constructed primarily using natural materials, often sourced locally from the site, such as earth, clay, timber, cob or straw. Such buildings may use less technology and rely on simple passive design solutions to achieve thermal comfort, perhaps incorporating some more technological renewable energy but also often including simple natural ventilations solutions, reed bed water systems, natural insulation and earth burring. They sometimes have closer relationships to vernacular architecture which historically would also have been self made and constructed using local materials.
Nature based solutions
Nature-based solutions was first used in the late 2000s (MacKinnon et al. 2008, Mittermeier et al. 2008) in the context of finding new solutions to mitigate and adapt to climate change effects whilst also protecting biodiversity and improving sustainable livelihoods.
See more on IHBC’s Conservation Wiki
