Biomimicry - Green Building Highrise
William McDonough’s Green Tower
Biomimicry is the science of taking inspiration from nature, its models, systems, processes and elements to solve design problems sustainably.
Nature provides us with unending inspiration including photosynthesis, natural selection, self-sustaining ecosystems, and evolution. Biomimicry is the art of consciously recapitulating the genius of 3.8 billion years of trial and error to improve everything we design.
Architect William McDonough was commissioned by Fortune Magazine to create a design-of-the-future green highrise. McDonough’s design is a biomimetic masterpiece that functions much as a tree, natures highrise, does. The building makes oxygen, distills water, produces energy and changes with the seasons.
While this is the Architect’s version of vaporware, it does serve to inspire a new look at what sustainable buildings can be. I hope Perkins and Will, Architects of the aesthetically challenged Antilla building in Mumbai, are open to a redesign.
Another example of biomimetic design that also is visually pleasing is the Eastgate building in Harare Zimbabwe.
Via: Inhabitat
May 18th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Hi, I would like to ask the following questions:
1.What problems will green highrise be sovlind in terms of economics.
2.What is your objective of going green.
3.What will be the economic value or advantage as compared to the conventional high tech highrise building.
I will appreciate your response.
Thanks
Laraba
May 20th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Laraba-
The advantages of green buildings are many. First, indoor air quality is better so people are less likely to get sick. People are healthier and more productive in green buildings.
The objective in going green is to make places for people that are healthy, reduce energy use, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the environment where they are built.
The economic advantages of green buildings are: first they cost less to operate because they use less energy. Second and more importantly people are more productive in green buildings. This means employees get more work done, and people think better in green buildings. The added value of healthy people is much greater than the value of energy savings.
Sources for the above information are available at the US Green Building Council and at the Rocky Mountain Institute.
If you can find it online, the paper “Greening the Building and the Bottom Line” by the Rocky Mountain Institute is a good study in the value of building green.
jsbarrie