Bio-inspired Adaptive Building Skins - Biotechnologies and Biomimetics for Civil Engineering - page 112

Chapter 5
Bio-inspired Adaptive Building Skins

R.C.G.M. Loonen

Abstract How do living organisms capture, convert, store and process energy,
water and sunlight? How does nature cool down, heat up, provide shade, and
control light? Adaptability, the ability of a system to act in response to variations
in environmental conditions often plays a key role in this context. Unlike living
organisms, buildings are typically conceived as static, inanimate objects. Because
a building's surroundings and internal conditions are constantly changing, there is
a lot to learn about how inspiration from nature can foster more adaptability of the
façade for enhanced building performance. After highlighting the need for more
adaptability in the built environment, this chapter reviews state-of-the-art exam-
ples of research concepts and design applications with bio-inspired adaptable
solutions for the building envelope. All examples are in the scope of building
physics and energy efficiency with a focus on improving indoor environmental
quality. The chapter concludes with an outlook of design support methodologies
that can potentially incite the practical uptake of bio-inspired adaptive building
skins in the future.

5.1 Introduction

Building envelopes separate the ambient environment from indoor spaces and their
occupants. On the one hand, the building envelope has to offer protection against
inclement influences from outside, such as wind, rain, excessive radiation and
extreme temperatures. On the other hand, the façade functions as the connecting
element between occupants and the outside world, by regulating the exchange of
energy and admitting access to, e.g. views, daylight and fresh air.