ARTICLE IN PRESS

Building and Environment 40 (2005) 319–328

www.elsevier.com/locate/buildenv

Sustainable building solutions: a review of lessons from

the natural world
Godfaurd John, Derek Clements-Croome, George Jeronimidis
School of Construction Management and Engineering, The University of Reading, Whiteknights P.O. Box 219, Reading RG6 6AW, UK
Received 30 March 2004; accepted 27 May 2004

Abstract

The realisation that much of conventional, modern architecture is not sustainable over the long term is not new. Typical
approaches are aimed at using energy and materials more efficiently. However, by clearly understanding the natural processes and
their interactions with human needs in view, designers can create buildings that are delightful, functional productive and
regenerative by design. The paper aims to review the biomimetics literature that is relevant to building materials and design.
Biomimetics is the abstraction of good design from Nature, an enabling interdisciplinary science, particularly interested in emerging
properties of materials and structures as a result of their hierarchical organisation. Biomimetics provides ideas relevant to: graded
functionality of materials (nano-scale), adaptive response (nano-, micro-, and macro-scales), integrated intelligence (sensing and
actuation at all scales), architecture and additional functionality. There are many examples in biology where emergent response of
plants and animals to temperature, humidity and other changes in their physical environments is based on relatively simple physical
principles. However, the implementation of design solutions which exploit these principles is where inspiration for man-made
structures should be. We analyse specific examples of sustainability from Nature and the benefits or value that these solutions have
brought to different creatures. By doing this, we appreciate how the natural world fits into the world of sustainable buildings and
how as building engineers we can value its true application in delivering sustainable building.
r 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Sustainability; Biomimetics; Sustainable building; The natural world

1. Introduction from Nature not only about materials and mechanisms

but about risk. The natural world has an immense
Biologists and building technologists generally inhabit amount to tell us about how to achieve sustainability. It
different worlds. Science studies, proposes hypotheses uses energy far more efficiently and effectively and is
and collect proof. The technologist applies, innovates capable of producing materials and structures that are
and deploys through design. However, it is not self- far more benign than anything we have achieved in
evident that there are advantages to designers and industry. William McDonough (New Scientist, 20
constructors of the built environment in copying nature, March, 46–49, 2004) [22] asks the question Why can’t
beyond engaging in a fascinating intellectual pursuit. By a building be designed like a tree? He believes the tree
understanding and engaging the processes of creating model makes a very tantalising and exciting prospect for
the built environment it is possible to seek inspiration a building, which could make oxygen, sequester carbon
dioxide, distilled water, build soil, accrue solar energy,
Corresponding author. Tel.: +44-0-118-378-8201; fax: +44-0-118- create micro-climates, change colour with the seasons
931-3856.
and self-replicate.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (G. John), McDonough also describes the lessons he learnt when
[email protected] (D. Clements-Croome). he spent time with the Bedouins in Jordan. They wear

0360-1323/$ - see front matter r 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2004.05.011
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320 G. John et al. / Building and Environment 40 (2005) 319–328

layers of black clothing in temperatures of over 39
C. arrogant. The time scale may be different but design
The Bedouins protect themselves in this way from the constraints and objectives are similar: functionality,
sun’s ultraviolet radiation besides holding their own optimisation and economy of scale effectiveness. Some
moisture and increasing convection currents around the early examples of engineering structures which bor-
body. The average Bedouin lives in a litre of water a rowed ideas from Nature include the Eiffel Tower and
day, whereas other people need many times that amount Crystal Palace. To abstract ideas from biology and turn
to survive. McDonough also points out that their tents them into practical engineering solutions requires all
are made of loosely woven goat hair which makes a very disciplines to contribute [3]. Frei Otto, at the Institute
responsive tent. Buoyancy increases as the tent gets hot for Lightweight Structures, University of Stuttgart,
and sucks air through the loose weave. When it is followed a strict and extensive programme of bringing,
raining the goat fibres swell up and the tent gets very architects and engineers together in order to extract
tight. Hugh Aldersey-Williams [1] in his book Zoo- useful ideas from biology. Otto’s tensile web structures
morphic rightly stated that: that used to cover the Olympic Stadium in Munich
demonstrated this [3].
The attraction of biomimetics for architects is that it
This paper will touch on various aspects of sustain-
raises the prospect of closer integration of form and
ability, but will concentrate primarily on those related to
function (in this light, biomimetic architecture is seen
building materials properties, building envelope, environ-
as an extension of modernism). It promises to yield
mental considerations, sensors and monitoring, team
new means by which buildings respond to, and
integration and functionality. These areas are seen as the
interact with, their users-means more subtle and
main building blocks for delivering sustainable buildings.
more satisfying than present mechanical systems. At
a deeper level, according to George Jeronimidis of the
University of Reading, architects are drawn to the
field ‘because we are all part of the same biology’. The 2. Sustainable buildings
urge to build in closer sympathy with Nature is, he
believes, a genuinely biological, and not merely a According to the OECD Project, Sustainable buildings
Romantic, urge. [4] can be defined as those buildings that have minimum
adverse impacts on the built and natural environment,
However, there are a number of barriers to interpret- in terms of the buildings themselves, their immediate
ing and understanding the topic from the perspective of surroundings and the broader regional and global
buildings, other structures and mechanisms. These settings. Sustainable buildings may be defined as
barriers include: design to satisfy complex code require- building practices, which strive for integral quality
ments; the linear nature of structural materials that are (including economic, social and environmental perfor-
in common use today; the way that construction industry mance) in a broad way. Thus, the rational use of natural
develops things separately and then joins things together; resources and appropriate management of the building
‘fail safe’ structures; and the fragmented nature of stock will contribute to saving scarce resources, reducing
procurement and assembly of complex projects and the energy consumption, and improving environmental
associated mitigation of risk by all parties [2]. quality. The OECD project identified five objectives
Biomimetics on the other hand, seeks ideas from for sustainable buildings;
Nature and then applies them to a problem. For
example, the origins of Velcro are famously associated 1. Resource efficiency;
with this way of discovery and application. It is in the 2. Energy efficiency (including greenhouse gas emissions
solution to difficult and seemingly intractable problems reduction);
that a building technologist will look to for wider 3. Pollution prevention (including indoor air quality
inspirations, including those from Nature. Biomimetics and noise abatement);
is at the interface of three different disciplines and so 4. Harmonisation with environment;
requires understanding from biologist biophysics and 5. Integrated and systemic approaches.
material science. It is clear that open minds and
interactive dialogue will bring enlightenment about Sustainable building involves considering the whole
problems and opportunities. life of buildings, taking environmental quality, func-
Biology has had to solve engineering problems since tional quality and future values into account. Sustain-
the appearance of life on earth. Design and functions able building design is therefore the thoughtful
displayed in plants and animals have evolved over integration of architecture with electrical, mechanical
millions of years. These long lead times do not fit easily and structural engineering resources. In addition to
with the more frenetic pace of the engineering world express concern for the traditional aesthetics of massing,
today but to dismiss the solutions that Nature has orientation, proportion scale, texture, shadow and
arrived at on these grounds would be foolish and light, the facility design team needs to be concerned
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G. John et al. / Building and Environment 40 (2005) 319–328 321

with long-term costs: environmental, economic and material does not allow for an understanding of its
human. Buildings contribute to the quality of life much behaviour because at this scale the factors that
more than we realise. determine the response of the material itself cannot be
There are changes in the environment surrounding appreciated. It is like considering the response of a steel
building design that encourages an alternative and bridge to a given load without being able to analyse the
integrated approach. As sustainability increasingly stress in any one member. The bridge may carry a
impacts upon the lives of corporations, individuals and certain load but it may fail in time if one member is
wider society, the opportunities for responsible and overstressed.
holistic thinking is also increasing. There are four main To understand the physical and mechanical behaviour
targets for applying biomimetics to industrial sustain- of a material it is necessary to think of the material on a
ability: through energy and resource efficiency, elimina- micro-structure scale. Consideration must be given to
tion and control of hazardous substances, use of the grain, defined by crystalline or polymer molecules,
renewable and biological materials and added function- the assemblage of these into the many geometric
ality in materials and structures [5]. arrangements that occur, the space or porosity around
them and the nature and extent of the ‘bonds’, or forces
that hold these building blocks together.
3. Properties of building materials and materials of the A parallel study of basic biological materials, shows
natural world the chemical substances used by organisms to provide
the properties needed for the various mechanical
Building materials must serve their intended function functions. It is interesting to note that they are
not only when newly installed but also for some comparatively few, far fewer in fact than what are
acceptable length of time. Their service life may last available to the engineering community. They do not
for the life of the building or, as with paints, for only a have any especially outstanding characteristics and,
few years before renewal. The durability or the useful compared to many engineering materials, none of them
life of a material in place, however, is always related to has a particularly high Young’s modulus, tensile
the particular combination of environmental factors to strength or toughness. In other words they cannot be
which it is subjected, so that durability, or service life, classed as ‘high-performance materials’, though they do
must always be related to the particular conditions have much lower densities than most. They are
involved. Most building materials are complex in their successful not so much because of what they are but
chemical and physical natures. because of the way in which they are combined to
The chemical nature of materials is seldom mean- operate. Extremely successful engineering solutions do
ingful to the material user or specifier because they do not require esoteric and expensive materials.
not understand its implications. It is its chemical nature; Inspired by biological systems in which damage
however, that determines the reactivity of a material to triggers an autonomic healing response, researchers at
other materials and to some elements of the environ- the University of Illinois have developed a synthetic
ment. For example, volatile organic compounds are material that can heal itself when cracked or broken.
emitted by some material affecting indoor air quality. Once crack has formed within typical polymeric, the
The designer needs a sense of chemistry to appreciate integrity of the structure is significantly compromised.
the basic difference in the classes and types of materials. Often these cracks occur deep within the structure where
It is especially significant that small changes in detection is difficult and repair is virtually impossible. In
composition (even trace amounts of some substances, the new material, the repair process begins as soon as a
as with metal alloys) can have a profound influence on crack forms. When the material cracks, the micro-
the resulting properties. For example, the influence of capsules rupture and release the heating agent into
ultraviolet radiation on organic materials can be damaged region through capillary action. Filling the
appreciated when it is known that the organic molecule micro-cracks will also mitigate the harmful effects of
has bonds that can be broken and that other changes environmentally assisted degradation such as moisture
can be induced through action of solar radiation. This swelling and corrosion cracks. This technology could
does not happen with metals or cementituous increase the lifetime of structural components, perhaps
materials [6]. by as much as two or three times. The ability to self-
It is customary in structural design to consider a repair and restore structural integrity also could extend
material in terms of the practical unit in the total the lifetimes of polymer composite circuit boards, where
structure, whether it be a beam, column or plate. The micro-cracks can lead to both mechanical and electrical
engineering properties are given in terms of the bulk failure [7].
material, the assumption is made that the material is Rematerialisation in the industrial world refers to
homogenous and isotropic on a scale that is significant chemical recycling that adds value to materials, allowing
in the proposed design. This manner of thinking about a them to be used again and again in high-quality
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322 G. John et al. / Building and Environment 40 (2005) 319–328

products. This process suggests a design strategy aimed mental sustainable building materials is the easiest way
at maximising the positive effects of materials and for architects to begin incorporating sustainable design
energy and participating in the Earth’s abundant principles in buildings. Natural materials are generally
material flows cycle. Nylon 6 provides a good example lower in embodied energy and toxicity than man-made
of rematerialisation. This widely used polymer can be materials. They require less processing and are less
chemically recycled into raw material caprolactum, damaging to the environment. When low-embodied-
which can be used to make generation after generation energy natural materials are incorporated into building
of high-quality carpet fibre. The process virtually products, the products become sustainable.
eliminates waste with less energy than having to use
virgin materials or material lost. Given the hundreds of
millions of pounds of carpet fibre that each year are sent 4. The building envelope
to landfills or incinerators or recycled into products of
lesser value, the significance of rematerialising nylon 6 is The building envelope includes all the building
enormous. It suggests a new model for material flow components that separate the indoors from the out-
that will change real-world business [8]. doors. The envelope of the building consists of the
It is a fact of life that nearly all load bearing materials exterior walls, the roof, floors, windows and doors. In
in nature are fibrous composites of some kind or addition to giving the wall the desired appearance, the
another. The use of fibres for making structural envelope must withstand the stresses to which it is
materials offers a great deal of scope and flexibility in exposed and also must protect the enclosed space
design but it also presents a few problems. A major against the local climate. It also acts as a climate
problem with fibre is that they are most efficient when moderator. Designs for exterior walls for buildings have
they carry pure tensile loads, either as structures in their seldom been developed in a systematic, rational way.
own right (ropes, cables, tendons, silk threads in spider’s They have evolved slowly, keeping pace with gradual
web) or as reinforcement in composite materials used as changes in social and economic patterns and environ-
membrane structures in biaxial tension. This problem is mental requirements [2,10]. Today, with dynamic
common to both man-made and biological composites. architecture and many new materials, components and
There are four solutions available to this problem in construction techniques available, a large number of
Nature: Pre-stress the fibre in tension so that they hardly new designs are possible. Unfortunately, some are being
ever experience compressive loads; introduce high adopted without adequate consideration, and evaluation
modulus mineral phases intimately connected to the by the slow trial by use methods of the past is no longer
fibres to help carry compression; heavily cross-link the adequate.
fibre network to increase lateral stability, and change the It is now possible with the aid of building science to
fibre orientation so that compressive loads do not act recognise the pertinent factors affecting the performance
along the fibres [3]. One important aspect of fibrous of walls and to analyse wall designs systematically as to
systems is that they provide greater opportunities for their probable performance in respect of their varied
added functionality because there is no obvious dividing requirements. With this capability one may begin to
line between materials and structures. discriminate between various designs for particular uses,
Experience with traditional materials over many years and, even important to provide a basis for the
permits prediction of the performance of the same development of improved designs.
material under similar conditions. Such trials have It is important, at the outset, to recognise that the
provided an answer to how but not often why materials over-all function of an exterior wall or roof, in
react as they do. When new materials are to be conjunction with floors, is to moderate solar radiation,
developed or considered or when traditional materials temperature extremes, moisture (as vapour or liquid),
are to be used in an untried situation, the ability to dust and wind. The wall also provides barrier or filter to
predict may be greatly limited unless the ‘why’ of past noise, fire, particulate matter, insects, animals and even
experience, and thus the fundamental factors involved human intrusion. It may be required to transmit light
are understood. This is basic to the exercise of (window), while imposing a must contribute suitably to
judgement in design, which is a combination of the form and aesthetics of the building generally; and
experience and analysis [9]. Such an approach is also finally must satisfy a number of lesser requirements such
necessary in the development and interpretation of new as colour, texture and porosity. All of this must be
methods designed to improve new materials perfor- achieved at an acceptable life time cost.
mance. Exact prediction of performance requires a Determination of the outdoor environment and
complete understanding of material properties, the establishment of that desired indoors is essential first
processes involved in the interaction of the materials step in exterior wall design. Only when these factors are
with its environment, and the environmental factors to known is it possible to assess the overall performance
which it will be subjected. Careful selection of environ- requirements of the wall acting as a separator.
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G. John et al. / Building and Environment 40 (2005) 319–328 323

Table 1
Standard U-values for current and proposed Building Regulations ðW=m2 KÞ

Element 1995 standard 2000 standard Percentage reduction in Thermal

U-values U-values U-value (%) resistance (1/U)

Walls .45 0.35 22 2.86

Roofs .25 .16 36 6.25
Floors .45 .25 44 4.00
Windows 3.3 2.2 33 0.45

Table 2
The specific heat of several common building materials

Material Density (kg/m3 ) Conductivity (W/mK) Specific heat (J/kg K) Heat capacity (kJ m3 K)

Mineral fibre 25 .04 750 20

Carpet 190 .06 1360 260
Fibreboard 300 .06 1000 300
Timber 630 .13 1200 760
Lightweight 600 .16 1000 600
Plasterboard 950 .16 840 800
Brick 1700 .62 800 1360
Medium density 1400 .51 1000 1400
Stone 2180 1.5 720 1570
Dense concrete 2300 1.63 1000 2300
Water 1000 1.9 4200 4200

Inevitably, at this stage, some aspects of the building low running costs and comfortable internal tempera-
services become involved. Through them certain fea- tures. The surfaces around a room absorb and release
tures of the indoor environment are adjusted to the heat to the room depending on the temperature
desired levels. The day lighting characteristics of the conditions. From Table 2 it can be seen that generally
transparent portions of the wall must be considered in heat capacity increases with density. Also the thermal
relation to lighting, and heating and cooling require- conductivity increases with density: the denser materials
ments are related to the nature of the wall as a barrier to conduct heat faster. Heavyweight building materials
solar radiation, heat, moisture and air during both such as concrete blocks, brickwork or stone, can absorb
winter and summer. Other barrier requirements such as large amounts of heat. Lightweight materials, such as
those related to more dust and smoke may have timber, insulation or plasterboard are not able to absorb
implications also for the services required. Relative so much heat. An old stone cottage will have a very high
humidity indoors, of moisture condensation in indoor thermal mass but the wall U-value may be as high as
environment and the design of exterior walls for cold 2 W=m2 K (i.e. 0:50 m2 KW1 or 5.0 tog thermal resis-
weather conditions merits special attention. Durable tance)—six times the proposed wall U-value in the
walls can be achieved by judicious selection of materials revised regulations. To be effective the mass needs to be
to suit the environment, by modification of the well connected or ‘coupled’ with the space. Spreading
environment to suit the materials available, or a the mass around the surface is much more effective than
combination of both. Such manipulation however, having one very heavyweight wall, e.g., with other
requires an understanding of the pertinent properties lightweight partitions. Thus the effectiveness depends on
of materials and the phenomena that operate within the the mass and the area coupled to the space [11,12].
walls [10]. In contrast, Penguins are a specialised group of non-
New regulations to Part L of the Building Regulations flying aquatic birds that live in the southern hemisphere,
came into effect on 1 April 2002; there will be further most famously in the Antarctic. The ability of some
changes in 2005. As shown in Table 1, the U-values have species to withstand extreme cold whilst fasting for up to
been reduced by up to 44%. In simplistic terms masonry 120 days has excited much attention. Several studies
wall will require 65–100 mm, roof will need 200–260 mm, have investigated the thermal resistance of penguin
while floors will typically need about 100 mm insulation. ‘coats’ (feather & skin assembly) and found it to be
While the Building Regulation concentrate on insula- surprisingly low—an average of 0:74 m2 KW1 or
tion, they say nothing about the thermal mass of the 7.4 tog. Penguin feathers are heavily modified, being
construction. Combining high levels of insulation with short (30–40 mm), stiff and lanced shaped. Insulation is
thermal mass has an important role to play in providing provided by a long (20–30 mm) after-feather. Penguins
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324 G. John et al. / Building and Environment 40 (2005) 319–328

are unique in that the feathers are evenly packed over provided by the things we see, hear, touch, feel and
the surface of the body (30–40 cm2 ) rather than smell.
arranged in tracks. For insulation the penguin requires Issues of sustainability will force us to consider
a thick, air-filled, windproof coat (similar to open-cell buildings in relationship to towns and cities, and the
foam covered with windproof layer) that eliminates evaluation of building performance will involve the
convection and reduces radiation and convective heat quality of indoor environments. Since buildings are
losses to a minimum [13]. Perhaps there is a lesson to be responsible for half of the nation’s energy and hence
learnt here. carbon dioxide emissions, the design, construction and
An example of this is the way that the modern office operation of buildings is vitally important for people
developments need to moderate external environment now and in the future. This of course applies to the
through the fac- ade. In one such building, Plantation entire building stock of old and new buildings [2].
Place, London, the Client is a developer, The British Energy needs to be decreased not only because of the
Land Company. There are many levels at which the demand that is made on non-renewable fossil fuels, but
building responds to an environmental and social because buildings emit large amounts of carbon dioxide
agenda, but it is in the development of the fac- ade that and effectively this constitutes almost half of that which
the principles of biomimetics have been employed. is responsible for the greenhouse effect. The environ-
mental effects of other pollutants such as smoke, fumes,
chemical and noise is also an issue. The internal
5. Environmental consideration environment is important too if people living and
working in building are to experience a good sense of
There is an increasing recognition that buildings well-being and optimal productivity [21].
cannot be designed without consideration for their A lot can be learnt about the response of building
social impact on the environment. Waste and pollution materials to their environment by considering the
for example affects communities. Environment can be animal world. Termites are some of the most ingenious
defined as the combined effect of a number of factors of animal architects. There are more than 2000 species
that interact with the building: temperature, moisture, of termite living in tropical and sub-tropical regions and
solar radiation and foreign matter. In effect the this is reflected in the variety of dwelling styles that have
environment reacts with the various material compo- evolved, but they do have one unifying theme. They all
nents of the building, externally as well as internally. can maintain equilibrium between the heat that the ants
Although these can often be measured separately and release as a community living inside the termitanes and
recorded quantitatively against basic standards, their the heat gain and loss through dwelling due to the
significance to the performance of a material lies in the surrounding climate [14].
degree of their interaction with the material. The In Australia the compass termites build castles in the
material responds to temperature and its variation shape of huge flat chisels always with their long axis
inside the material. This may be different from the pointing north south. Such shapes expose the minimum
temperature of the air surrounding the material because possible area to the midday heat but catch the rays of
of thermal lag and radiant heat loss or gain [6]. the early morning and the late evening sun when the
Buildings filter the passage of light, air, sound and termites need some warmth especially in the cold season;
energy between the inside and outside environments. peak temperatures can be lowered by about 7
C with
They also offer the passage of time by the views and such orientation.
shadows they offer to occupants. Buildings provide Some termites have chimneys, others have rain roofs,
contrast between interiors and exteriors. The link but one of the most interesting species are those found
between them is provided by windows. The need for on the Ivory Cost of West Africa. A mound might reach
window is complex. It includes the need for natural a height of 3–4 m and can contain two million termites.
light, an interesting and contact with the outside world, They live, they work and they breathe. Their oxygen
at a fundamental level, it provides contrast for people consumption is considerable, and without ventilation
working in the office. It also gives one a sense of time. they would all be suffocated within a few hours, so that
The environment inside buildings is linked to that ventilation is essential and yet the solid outer surfaces
outside by entrances (or exits), windows and chimneys. show no signs of openings. These insects have evolved
The environment inside the building has many facets. an ingenious ventilation system which cuts vertically
There is the support system provided by facilities and through the centre of the mound. There is a royal cell in
various conveniences, besides information and commu- the centre which has many chambers and passages,
nication systems set up to aid the links between between it and the thick outer wall there are ridges with
organisation inside and outside of the building. There narrow air spaces very much like capillaries in the
is the social environment provided by the people human blood system. Below it is a large air space called
themselves and there is the physical environment a cellar; another air space above it reaches a long way
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G. John et al. / Building and Environment 40 (2005) 319–328 325

into the centre of the nest like chimney. Channels as have evolved buildings which not only demonstrate this
thick as an arm radiate from the upper air space into the harmony and unity between people and their environ-
ridges where they sub-divide in to many small ducts and ment but also offer a combination of engineering and
these come together again to form channels as wide as architecture which has an aesthetic quality.
those leading to the cellar. Built in Northern Ohio at Oberlin College, the Adam
The ventilation system is completely automatic and Joseph Lewis Centre for Environmental Studies was
maintains a temperature of about 30
C in the nest. The designed to ultimately generate more energy that it
air in the chambers is heated by fermentation processes consumes. Solar power is collected through southwest-
taking place there, the termites themselves causing a rise facing windows into a two-storey atrium, illuminating
in temperature. The hot air rises and is replaced by the public areas. Wastewater is purified by a constructed
streams of air from ridges. The exterior and interior mesh-like ecosystem that breaks down and digests
walls of these ridges are porous and allow diffusion of organic material and releases clean water. The uphols-
carbon dioxide outwards and oxygen permeates in- tery fabrics will feed the garden, and the carpets will be
wards. The ridges with their system of ducts act as lungs retrieved by the manufacturers and reused for new,
for the colony. There is so much debate going on today high-quality carpets. Lit by the sun, refreshed with
about indoor air quality and gas emissions and the fragrant breezes, in tune with its place through the local
amount of fresh air that is required for healthy working flows of energy and matter, the Oberlin building’s
conditions, but these insects mastered this art many ecological footprint strongly confirms that human
centuries ago. presence in the landscape can be positive, restorative
The City of Seattle in 2002 began an extensive and good [8].
reworking of the Southwest entrance of Key Tower Yeang is one of the pioneers in this field. Yeang’s
700 Fifth Avenue building. The new entrance vestibule designs follow the theme of ‘urban ecosystem’, a holistic
is designed to improve the flow of pedestrian traffic, design solution that deals actively with milieu for
increase safety, strengthen the connection between Key pedestrian flows, plant growth and the equilibrium of
Tower and the City’s new Civic Centre, and created a energy, water and waste. Yeang believes that all
new identity for the building. The new entry is an architecture ought to respond ecologically to the natural
unconditioned vestibule enclosed with glass and bathed environment as a whole. His designs aspire to making a
in daylight. This rework took advantage of natural direct contribution to a sustainable ecological future.
ventilation and passive solar, thereby foregoing the need The combination of engineering and qualitative spatial
for heating or air conditioning. The Key Tower remodel oversizing of linked internal and external spaces presents
design team borrowed from one of nature’s master new alternatives for high-rise building: ‘ecological’ or
architects, the termite, to provide thermal comfort and ‘technological’. Although this approach yield buildings
ventilation in the vestibule without using energy for that are exceptionally well adapted to their surround-
heating or air conditioning. ings, there are certain issues that continually recur in
The key Tower entrance vestibule uses concrete as Yeang’s oeuvre; and these may be reduced to two
thermal mass to store cold during the summer and heat points; wind and solar orientation. The wind is known
during winter. During the summer, the supply air flows as the ‘compass project’ and the solar as the ‘sunpath
through the concrete chamber under the vestibule. The projects’ [16].
concrete, cooler than the temperature outside, will cool Designs for the compass projects are on the whole
the air as it flows across its mass. As the air heats up in fragments and display countless openings to make
the vestibule it will naturally rise. Louver vents are thorough natural ventilation possible. The design takes
located near the roof and exhaust the hot air assisted by account of the prevalent wind direction to ensure that
a photovoltaic powered ventilation fan. During the the ventilation is as effective as possible. Furthermore,
winter the system is reversed. The thermal mass heats use is made of a variety of innovative ideas such as
incoming air and the cold outside air is warmed as it wind-wing walls, aerodynamic surfaces and roof-level
enters by heat stored in the concrete mass. The louver ‘sky courts’ to suck in the air. Yeang’s sunpath buildings
vents located near the roof are closed to keep warm air have a number of features in common. Like the compass
from escaping, and solar heat gain provides some designs, these projects use natural ventilation wherever
additional heat during the day. With the help of possible, even in ‘unsuitable’ places. The overall design
computer modelling and CFD, this innovative approach is however dictated by the sun. This goes beyond the
used thermal mass, natural ventilation and passive solar placing of glazing and sun barriers: the whole structure
design strategies [15]. is related to the diurnal and annual course of the sun.
The strength of vernacular architecture is that it He shows how the poetry of everyday life can be
blends buildings into various settings so that there is a ‘organised’ by the refined application of natural and
natural harmony between climate, architecture and technical alternatives, developed by interdisciplinary
people. In countries such as Iraq, Iran and Egypt there development/design teams. The most important new
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326 G. John et al. / Building and Environment 40 (2005) 319–328

idea is taking man in his environment as the departure for image processing, colour detection, light-intensity
point, variable and criterion. Design teams can develop calibration, and motion detection. These sensors trans-
buildings with alternative attributes for temperature, form mechanical, thermal, and optical energies into
wind, humidity, daylight and smells. Buildings similarly electrical signals to the brain, which provides feedback
gain a micro-climate that change in accordance with the to the sensors through sophisticated pattern recognition
time and the outdoor conditions, as well as a more procedures. Without the brain’s feedback and pattern
pleasant interior, a space that will endure longer than we recognition capabilities, sensors alone would not be able
imagine [17]. to achieve high resolution, sensitivity and selectivity.
In Ken Yeang’s green skyscrapers Bishopsgate Sensors rarely operate in a simple environment where
Towers at Elephant & castle, London, with character- only one parameter changes. Most physical and
istic greenery and partly open glazed facades, enclose a chemical sensors operate in complex environments
variegated programme: apartments, bars, a hotel, where various parameters change simultaneously. The
restaurant, sport facilities, parks and playgrounds. It is most critical problem is cross-sensitivity [18].
a good example of an inner city project. The towers are Presently the sensors within building are simple and
built and aligned to take the maximum advantage of not all multi-functional. The integration of sensors (e.g.
passive solar energy. Keeping the large area of the tower chemical sensors) with others offers new possibilities to
open allows sunlight to penetrate deep into the interior decrease the cross-links between adjacent sensors.
and gives the wind an obstructed passage. The aim is to Advanced sensors for multifunctional applications can
use these limits to create a varied look on each floor, be designed on the basis of the integration of new
both vertically and horizontally [16]. technologies, such as Micro-electro-mechanical systems
People in different countries have adapted to different (MEMS) and thin film technologies. For example,
levels of temperature of only some 4
C in climates motor racing started sometime in 1896 and the efficiency
where the diurnal range may be in the order of 17
C: and reliability of cars have advanced remarkably in the
There are many ways in which man has adapted to past century. In Formula 1 motor racing, the success of
climate whether it is the covered tents commonly found racing car depends on hundreds of components working
in hot countries; arranging streets so that the buildings together at peak performance under the most extreme
are close together, or the use of cloisters or verandahs conditions. Each car carries about 1.5 km of wiring that
around the courtyard of buildings to offer shade. What pulls data from approximately 120 sensors that are
is evident is the attempt to balance basic needs in a located around the body of the car, providing essential
simple way but also in a style which is pleasing to the eye information about performance, orientation or load
[14]. However, some of these ideas have been used in communicated back to the pit crew by onboard
modern architecture but there is still scope for more. telemetry [19]. Components such as displacement
sensors are designed to control and monitor a growing
number of vital functions on racing cars and supply
6. Sensors, monitoring and feedback systems information to engineers that help trim precious seconds
off the car’s lap times. The building industry is yet to
Thanks to the development of microprocessor elec- achieve this level of monitoring and feedback whereby
tronics, digital systems can be found everywhere in our building can approach the envisaged sustainable
industry from biological engineering to fashion compu- level. However, such technology can be utilised by the
ter design. New, computer-assisted technologies have industry for effective sustainable solutions. The Building
given birth to interdisciplinary sciences such as compu- Management System (BMS) monitoring sensors may
tational biology, neural robotics, artificial intelligence have to be raised to a standard comparable to those if
and combinational drug production. With a very high we are to fine tune our approach for sustainable
signal to noise ratio and negligible error coefficient, delivery.
digital systems have massively replaced old analogue Animals large and small have sophisticated sensor
devices. Still, those systems do not have the information systems. Crocodiles have arrays of mechanical sensors
capacity of natural biologic sensors, which are entirely near their jaws and over their back so they can detect
analogue. Biological sensors, operating at the complex very small vibrations and thus guide them in defence or
nature–animal interface, process gigantic volumes of attack. Imagine a wall with embedded sensors interact-
information in real time. Biological sensors have also a ing with detector chips on people so that the indoor
remarkable capability to operate as multifunctional climate becomes a system of localised and personalised
devices. The sensors located in the tips of our fingers microclimates. As well as sensor-based systems, it is also
are not only touching receptors, they are pressure worth looking at ‘adaptive’ response systems where the
sensors, sharp memory devices, temperature sensors, design at the material/structural levels embeds a specific
and liquid-viscosity sensors as well. The human eye is response triggered by external stimulus. There are
not just a photographic camera but a complex system several of these in biology, pine cones as one example.
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G. John et al. / Building and Environment 40 (2005) 319–328 327

7. Team integration and functionality is also the synergy between these disciplines that will
provide the means of increasing our understanding of
A building is a complex product. The technology what Nature does and being aware of advantages as well
applied to building involves almost every facet of pure as limitations towards delivering sustainable buildings.
and applied science. Its design and construction requires Rich rewards lie in a variety of established and emerging
the involvement of various disciplines and trades. For technologies, not only in taking the design rules and
successful application it must be understood by all paradigms offered to us by nature’s systems, but also
whose work touches on buildings: owners, architects, trying to take advantage of some of its self-assembly
engineers, contractors, material suppliers and operators. processes, self-repair process and optimum use of sensors
Most cannot be expected to have either depth or breadth and monitoring of our environment. Sustainable build-
in the knowledge available. It is clear, therefore, that ing components are waiting to be discovered and
participants in the building industry require assistance in adapted form nature’s designs.
matching available technology with the specific pro- Many of these lessons imply actions which impact on
blems encountered in their day-to-day activities. and overlap with one another. They should not,
One might define a good engineer as someone who is therefore simply be each considered in isolation. Many
capable of extracting maximum performance at mini- require concerted and integrated action across all
mum cost from the materials available and so achieve a aspects of the industry and some require involvement
design that is ‘fit for purpose’. This has been a recurrent of other sectors, some of which can contribute positively
theme in engineering courses since the material science towards future progress and change (financial institu-
became academically acceptable as a discipline and, tions being one example). Some of the actions proposed,
together with creativity; they are the yardsticks by which being interdependent, will only result in improvement
we judge success or failure. All too often, the problem is when some of the other elements on which they depend
not with the aims but with the methods we use to are in place. Equally, some technologies will take a
achieve them. In particular the fact that our traditional number of years to reach fruition, yet they need to be
approach to design has been severely limited by the planned now. Many of these elements depend on
labels we attach to ourselves, or that others see fit to partnering, collaboration and customer involvement.
identify us with; engineer (mechanical, structural, civil, They also demand a different way of thinking about
materials, medical, aeronautical, transport, electrical, building construction generally, which is an issue that
electronic, software). In the same way as in Nature, the the whole industry needs to respond to. The cost of
boundary between materials and structure is blurred; the obtaining new knowledge is not recovered until the
study of biological systems to understand those aspects knowledge is applied and the added value gained.
of design that might be useful for our purposes requires
an integration of all the disciplines above. The main
reason for this is that biological structures are often References
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