1

2

3

Through biomimicry of ant colonies, are we able to implement their functionality in

order to make our cities sustainable for the future?

Word count: 5232

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"A community of ants. As part of their daily activities, they:

- safely and effectively handle their own material wastes and those of other species

- grow and harvest their own food while nurturing the ecosystem of which they are part

- construct houses, farms, dumps, cemeteries, living quarters, and food-storage facilities

from materials that can be truly recycled

- create disinfectants and medicines that are healthy, safe and biodegradable

- maintain soil health for the entire planet"

[Braungart, M. and McDonough, W. 2009. p 73]

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Introduction pages 1-3

Section one - why cities must change, using ants colonies as a model

Cities must become sustainable 5 - 7The link between the human city and the ant colony 8 - 9Biomimicry of nature's genius 9 - 11

Section two - analysis of ant colonies and implementation of their principles

Evolution and adaptation 13 - 17Closed-loop systems 17 - 20The city in coherance with the environment 22 - 24Compact and contained boundaries 26 - 30Danger of biomimicry 30 - 32

Conclusion 35 - 46

References and bibliography 41 - 45

Contents

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Introduction

1

The world’s population is currently undergoing the fastest population growth in history

and is estimated at seven billion people. This is an increase of thirty-five percent in the

last twenty years (fig. 1) [Rogers, R. 2000][U.S. Census Bureau. 2011]. Cities, now home to

fifty percent of the entire population, are beginning to show the strain as they are forced to aug-

ment their boundaries and cast their nets further afield (fig. 2).

With so many living in the city, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted accounts for eighty per-

cent of the entire planets emissions (fig. 3). The urban population is expected to reach five billion

by the twentieth century; emissions are set to increase further [WWF, p. 1][UNFPA. 2007]. As a

result, the environment is being damaged. The planet is a self-regulating system and “if we fail to

take care of the earth it will take care of itself by making us no longer welcome on it” [Lovelock, J.

2007 p. 3]. This will be the eventual outcome of Climate Change.

While human civilisations wreak destruction on the planet, ant colonies continue

to function sustainably, having little impact on the environment. With ants living much longer

than humans, they have adapted and evolved over time so that they are perfectly suited to the

specific environment in which they inhabit, consuming only essential resources [Kelly, K. 1995].

In contrast, “cities are increasingly drawing in resources from across the globe” [Newman, P. and

Jennings, I. 2008]. The lack of environmentally sustainable infrastructure in current cities has re-

sulted in a resource-wasteful living. It is important to change how cities function by learning the

methods and principles of ant colonies.

Looking to nature for answers is called Biomimicry. It is to study nature’s best ideas and

2

then imitate these designs and processes to solve human problems. “Innovation inspired by

nature” [Benyus, J. 2003 p. ]. The main principle is that nature has been around for 3.8 billion

years of research and adaptation, in contrast with the first full behavioural modernity human

around fifty thousand years ago. Therefore, nature has defined and knows the solutions for what

survives on the planet [Benyus, J. 2003]. Consequently, biomimicry is known as the conscious

emulation of life’s genius.

This writing will investigate the idea: through biomimicry of ant colonies, are we able

to implement their functionality in order to make our cities sustainable for the future? To draw

a conclusion to this question I will first make an argument for why it is imperative that cities

change their functionality by looking at the effects cities are having on the planet. I will then

explore why ants have grown to be so in sync with the natural environment and explain their

sustainability. Following on from this, through investigation, I will show how similar the structure

of insect colonies are to the structure of cities, making a case for the use of biomimicry. Through

the explanation of ‘biomimicry’, I will explain its importance in solving the sustainability problem

of the city. From here, I will begin to investigate the ant colonies. I will examine what makes an

ant colony so resource-driven with such little waste output and how they are so self-dependant.

I will be able to discover the reasons for them being so sustainable and whether it is possible

to mimic these principles in cities to make them sustainable for the future. Finally, I will con-

clude whether or not it is beneficial for cities to use biomimicry in their structure and ultimately,

whether it is feasible.

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4

Section one

why cities must change, using ants colonies as a model

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Cities must become sustainable

It is important that cities change their current unsustainable living. Cities are accountable for

eighty percent of the world’s entire carbon dioxide emissions. These emissions are responsible

for sixty percent of the ‘enhanced greenhouse effect’, which is causing the rise in world tempera-

ture, known as ‘global warming’ [BBC, 2010]. If human civilisation is to stop the repercussions

of global warming, cities must act to lower their damage to the planet by becoming more self-

dependant and resource-driven.

Currently, “cities use too many resources and produce too much waste“ [Deelstra, T. and

Girardet, H. p. 3]. They are operating beyond their means, ignorantly taking natural resources to

generate energy, utilities, food and products without considering the true value or the waste

produced. The population is still rising and the resultant damage will become critical. London is

an example. It has a surface area of 160,000 hectares and contains 12%t of Britain’s population.

Yet, to generate enough food for its inhabitants, 40% of Britain’s entire productive land is re-

quired, a figure that is unattainable [Deelstra, T. and Girardet, H]. To accommodate for its urban-

ised humanity, resources are being drawn from ever more distant lands. “In the United Kingdom,

food travels an amazing thirty billion kilometres each year. This is responsible for the United

Kingdom adding nineteen million tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere each year” [Cli-

mate Choices. 2008]. In contrast, ant colonies obtain their food from more local sources, minimis-

ing the travel distances and energy wasted. This is a much more efficient system. If cities do not

6

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change how they function, global warming and its consequences will be inevitable.

Global warming is only a 2-degree average temperature rise away from happening. “Cli-

matologists now think we are perilously close to the threshold beyond which adverse change

sets in; change that on a human time scale is irreversible” [Lovelock, j. 2007 p. 59]. The planet is

a self-regulating system with the ultimate goal of sustaining habitability by creating the optimal

climate for diverse species. Due to the damage humans are inflicting on the environment, the

system is struggling to regulate itself and this is putting the survival of the human race in serious

jeopardy.

As the temperature rises, potentially 6-degrees by the end of the century, “climate change

is intensifying the circulation of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth...seasons are

shifting, and sea levels are rising…causing drought and floods to be more frequent, severe and

widespread” [Nature]. The consequence of this will be: less productive agricultural land, declin-

ing crop yields, longer spells of draught and famine, habitable land reclaimed by the ocean, lack

of homes and utilities to service the population and ultimately, death. The incredible speed in

which the climate is changing will exceed nature’s ability to adapt and Lovelock (2007 p. ) pre-

dicts, “If these huge changes do occur, it is unlikely few of the teeming billions now will survive”.

Cities must replace their current model and become sustainable by embracing a new form of

infrastructure that is more sync with the environment.

8

The link between the human city and the ant colony

My design studio this year involves the concept of ‘extreme’. As part of my research I undertook a

study of insects (an extreme species), their colonies and how they function. This led me to inves-

tigate the Honeypot ant, capable of swelling its abdomen to store food. What became apparent

was that ant colonies had a remarkably similar infrastructure to that of human cities. Kaspari, a

presidential professor of zoology, ecology and evolutionary biology agrees - “Certainly one of the

reasons folks have been interested in insects and the consequences of living in groups is that it

tells us about our own species,” [University of Florida. 2010].

Ant colonies have similarities to cities because their inhabitants are a social species, like

humans. This means they live in groups or societies in which interaction is key to their survival.

They understand this because they are complex organisms able to “process sensory inputs,

modulate behavior according to stimuli, including interactions, and make decisions based on

large amounts of information” [Bonabeua, E. 1999 p. 6]. Complex organisms live “under the laws

of self-organisation” [Gordon, D. 2010 p. 2v]. This is a system where there is no centralised control

and individuals control themselves. For example, in an ant colony the Queen ant does not con-

trol individual ants. Likewise, in human society, the government does not control individuals on

a local scale. Instead, self-organised systems function through the synergistic behaviour of the

combined behaviors of individuals – collective behaviour.

It is the ability of both species to seamlessly work as a team through collective behavior

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that allows them to overcome challenges. On a very basic scale, the human and ant races both

face the same challenges for survival: collecting food, building or extending the home, laboring,

reproduction, responding to external challenges and spreading alarm [Bonabeua, E. 1999].

The ant colony is natures equivalent to the human city. However, the ant has existed for

one hundred million years living within sync of nature, perfectly evolved to its surroundings. In

contrast, the human civilization during fifty thousand years has caused significant damage to the

planet, as previously explained. Therefore, the way in which ant colonies function could be the

perfect sustainable model in which to mimic in the infrastructure of human cities.

Biomimicry of nature’s genius

Nature has been developing and evolving its living systems, to a level where each organism is

perfectly designed for its continued existence. This is because nature is old in comparison to the

relatively young human race and “has benefitted from a 3.8 billion-year research and develop-

ment period” [Pawlyn, M. 2011 p. 1]. With such a vast array of biodiversity, many of the problems

that the human civilization faces today have already been solved by nature and in far greater

economy means. By studying and applying the design principles of insect colonies, are we able

to create a sustainable city?

Innovation inspired from studying nature’s principles is known as biomimicry. This con-

cept is about becoming sustainable by learning from nature rather than just extracting what we

10

need from it (to survive).

Biological-science writer Benyus describes it as “the conscience emulation of natures genius”

[Benyus, J. 2002 p. ] because it is taking the functionality of a natural system and adapting it to a

man-made system so that it may run incoherence with the environment.

Biomimicry is not the repetition of a natural form to create a building form, this is Bio-

morphic architecture. For instance, “Modern architects have frequently used nature as a source

for unconventional shapes and symbolism” states Pawlyn (2011 p.), a leading sustainable archi-

tect. Calatrava Valls is well known for this, most notably in his ‘Milwaukee Art Museum’ in which

he draws form from a bird’s wing. Yet, “engineers find fault with his structural logic” [Aldersey-

williams, H. 2003 p. ]. This is where biomimicry differs from biomorphic architecture. Biomimicry

architecture would instead look at the internal workings of the wings the bone-structure and use

this to inform a coherent form and structural system working in sync, rather than just copying

the external design.

Natures systems are sustainable and efficient because everything endears to a set of prin-

cipals, which in turn rule the organic world. These are: fitting form to function, powered by solar

energy, only using required energy, maximising diversity, rewarding co-operation and recycling

everything. There are a number of ways in which these rules can inform and improve design.

These can be categorised into three sections: mimicking natural systems as a way of functioning,

using natural processes to aid a system and learning from the evolved forms of nature [Benyus, J.

2002]. If cities learnt from nature and implemented their rules, would it create a more balanced

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land and sustainable environment?

As explained earlier, the social ant colony is the perfect example of a sustainable soci-

ety and one, which bares similarities to the human city. Consequently, I propose that, through

biomimicry of the ant colony and the implementation of their underlying principles, we should

improve the sustainability of our current cities. The next section of this writing investigates how

ant colonies function and how these could be implemented in the human city.

The three forms of biomimicry according to Janine Benyus:

'Nature as a model' - studying nature's models and learning from or imitating these designs or processes to solve human problems

'Nature as a mentor' - a new way to value nature looking at what we can learn from it rather than what we can extract from it

'Nature as a measure' - nature knows what works and what lasts. Use this ecological standard to judge the succuess of human

innovations

[Benyus, J. 2003]

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Section two

Analysis of ant colonies and implementation of their principles

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Evolution and adaptation

Whilst human civilisations continue to consume ever-more natural resources, ant colonies live

in harmony and respect of the planet. This is because “insects are the most extreme organisms

on Earth…each has adapted to solve the extreme pressures that arise in the struggle to survive”

[Jones, R. 2011 p. 1]. Ants have been able to survive for over a hundred million years because na-

tures open character has the ability to create new genes and thus, has resulted in open evolution

[Kelly, K. 1995]. Every organism has a “built-in but limited power to evolve” [Kelly, K. 1995 p. 302]

and consequently, when faced with a problem they activate this power by forcing their body to do

something it is not used to. The ants “genes endorse the change by assimilating an adaptation”

[Kelly, K. 1995 p. 304] and if continued to be pushed, the ant will evolve. The Honey-pot ant (stud-

ied in my design studio) has developed the ability to stretch its abdomen to store food, stretching

the membrane from one millimetre to the size of a cherry (fig. 7). This ant can now survive in hot

dry environments because of its ability to store food for the scarce periods. Over a long enough

period, an ant and thus, the colony can evolve so it is perfectly formed to run systematically in its

environment. This is why ant colonies are so sustainable. They are constantly changing with their

inhabitants because they live in an environment that is ever changing.

“Evolution doesn’t care about what makes sense, evolution cares what works”

[Tom Ray citied in Kelly, K. 1995 p. 289]

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Firgure 7 - Honeypot ant

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Although humans have the same ability to evolve as ants, they now rely too much on

technology disregarding nature’s solution. As a result, current cities are not as adaptable as ant

colonies. Ant colonies are built around natural principles and materials, creating a sustainable ‘liv-

ing’ architecture. The ants build their nests using highly porous walls. These walls act as a ‘sensory

system’ essentially giving off atmospheric information allowing the ants to “detect tiny differences

in minuscule air currents. They then can act on this information to improve the architecture of

their buildings”, by opening or closing tunnels to regulate temperature, describes Prof Franks from

Bristol University’s Ant Lab [BBC. 2011].

Currently cities, however, are built around man-made materials and machines and are very

rigid to their current programmes. This is because, unlike nature, man-made objects have pre-de-

fined boundaries (closed character) to which they are constrained. Therefore, there is little room in

which current cities are able to evolve their built structure, to become sustainable. The ants have

already found a solution, adaptable Architecture.

“Imagine a building like a tree, a city like a forest”

[Braungart, M. and Mcdonough, W. 2008 p. 123]

Biomimicry suggests that the genome for sustainable city Architecture is one that ‘lives’,

derived from natural materials. “Nature will continue to elude the grasp of human control”

[Mertins, D. citied in Spuybroek, L. 2009 p. 55]. Instead, future cities must incorporate full-scale

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Figure 8. Sensory facade system from The Bartlett School. (n.d.a) [online image] Available: http://www.ruairiglynn.co.uk/teaching/bartlettucl/ [Accessed 19th Jnuary 2012]

17

technical systems that act, as ‘sensory systems’ creating a different form of ‘living’, yet similar to

the ant Architecture. The system will create resource-driven, adaptive buildings by analysing its

surroundings and acting to lower its energy use and wastage (fig. 8). By creating ‘living’ buildings,

they will no longer be constrained by boundaries and could co-evolve with the environment, which

will result in fewer buildings needing to be demolished and rebuilt for a new purpose, saving re-

sources.

Closed-loop systems

All natural things have been designed to return back into the natural cycle. “Nature operates ac-

cording to a system of nutrients and metabolisms in which there is no such thing as waste” [Mc-

Donough, W. & Braungart, M. 2007 p. 84]. This system is known as a closed-loop. A closed-loop

system can sustain itself because it does not rely on matter exchange outside of the system.

Ant colonies have lived sustainably with minimal environmental impact because they

function using closed-loop systems (fig. 9). This reduces the strain they have on natural resourc-

es. The Leafcutter ant, found in Central and South America in colonies up to fifteen million, gen-

erates food through a closed-loop system, which allows them to cultivate fungi in their nests (fig.

10). Alongside humans, they are the only other living species that farms to create future food.

The ant will forage for decomposing leaves in their immediate area, taking their collected stock

to specially constructed chambers in their colonies. They use the decomposing leaves to grow

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fungus. New material is continuously brought in to grow the fungus and old material is removed.

Plants and soil recycle the old material as nutrients, sustaining their growth [Sleigh, C. 2003].

This cyclical system sustains the ant colony by creating a mutualisistic symbiosis where multiple

organisms can continue to thrive.

Ant colonies have had far longer than humans to develop their relationship with the envi-

ronment, and it is evident. Human settlements once had mutualisitic symbiosis with the environ-

ment, similar to that of the ants, “the Chinese perfected a system that prevents pathogens from

contaminating the food chain, and fertilised rice paddies with biological wastes” [Braungart, M.

and Mcdonough, W. 2008 p. 87]. They would put waste into the ground in order to stimulate the

growth of a food source, just like the Leafcutter ants. Early settlements understood the value of

the environment and benefited in a manner that was sustainable. As human civilisations devel-

oped technology, small settlements became super cities and the reliance on the closed-loop was

lost. Instead, energy was put into dominating the land, rather than preserving. Cities now ac-

count for eighty percent of all carbon emissions.

“Humans are the only species that takes from the soil vast quantities of nutrients needed

for biological process. Our systems are no longer designed in this way” [Braungart, M. and Mc-

donough, W. 2008 p. 88]. Human cities, unlike ant colonies, now have a parasitical symbiosis with

the planet in which the city benefits from causing harm to the environment. “Cities have become

like parasites on the landscape – huge organisms draining the world for their sustenance and en-

ergy: relentless consumers, relentless polluters” [Rogers, R. 1997 p. 27]. The ants think long term,

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Figure 10 - Ants growing fungi. (2011). [online imsge] Available: http://hiddencause.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/the-occasional-hymenoptera-leaf-cutters-spreadl/ [Accessed 21st January 2012]

Figure 9 - ants closed-loop system to grow food

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where as cities think short term. If humans are to prosper in the future they need to learn from

the ant colonies closed-loop cycle.

Biomimicry shows cities need to switch from a linear system to an effective closed-loop

system, which can: sustain itself, minimise waste and help the environment. Urban ecologist

Girardet agrees saying, “the key lies in cities aiming at a circular ‘metabolism’, where consump-

tion is reduced and where re-use of materials is maximised” [citied in Rogers, R. 1997 p. 30]. Each

City must begin to: generate energy, capture water, cultivate food and recycle waste. Masdar

City, Abu Dhabi, is a developing scheme that aims to be the first carbon-neutral, zero-pollution

city (fig. 11). Located in the desert, it has to have a closed-loop system to stand any chance of

sustainability. The scheme will use vernacular architecture, evolved to the climate over time, to

create low energy, naturally ventilated buildings. A solar-powered desalination plant will provide

the city’s water, requiring a quarter of the normal power needs. The city will constantly recycle

available water lowering its needs by sixty percent. The city’s energy will be generated through

solar-photovoltaic, wind farm and ‘the world’s largest hydrogen power plant’. Cars have been

banned and instead, residents will travel using pods powered by magnetic lines. Masdar City is

a precedent for future sustainable cities, demonstrating the importance of closed-loop systems

[BBC, 2008].

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Figure 11 - Masdar city. (2011). [online image] Avaliable from : http://inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2011/05/masdar-city-tafline-laylin-1-537x387.jpg [Accessed 21st January 2012]

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The city in coherence with the environment

“The architecture of all forms of nature, their arrangement of material in space and over time,

emerges from the dynamic interaction of energy and material within complex systems” [Wein-

stock, M. 2010 p. 245] (fig. 12). Ant colonies are complex systems. A complex system is where

each entity in the system has a task. To accomplish the task, the entity uses numerous sensory

inputs [Gordon, D. 2010]. The ant colony acts, as a single ‘organism’ continuously working to sus-

tain its own existence. The underlining principles of cities are also to sustain their existence.

An ant colony has no central control, no one ant giving directions. Instead, the colony

functions using random interaction of ants in which information is shared. Different information

is collected by ants in the colony, relative to their threshold, through stimuli. Gathering sources

of information allows the colony to: construct, recycle and farm. These are vital to their existence.

The ant colony has functioned sustainably using a decentralised control system because

all variables in the ‘organisim’ are being considered at local levels and the response is analytical

and efficient. In contrast, cities don’t have this consideration for local impact. Rather than tailor-

ing the city to the environment, they manipulate the environment to the cities disregarding the

existing eco-systems

If cities used biomimicry of a decentralised control system, the resultant model would

consider all locally environmental impacts and benefits. The responses would create a mutu-

alisitc reltionship. The environment and the city would both benefit from the newly created

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Figure 12 - Emergent forms. (2011) [online image] Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/14993585 [Accessed 21st January 2012}

24

connections, rather than the environment suffering. This is the relationship ants have with the

environment as explained in ‘closed-loop systems’.

There is evidence that future city developments are beginning to use biomimicry to

become part of the existing ecosystem. Benyus has been advising HOK, an architectural practice

specialising in large-scale planning of cities, on designing for natures benefit. HOK are currently

developing the city of Lang Fang in China (fig. 13). The natural ecological system of Lang Fang

was once a forest over four thousand years ago and has since been removed by the city. This

has made water collection challenging and the cities natural aquifer was being consumed [HOK

Architects, 2010]. Benyus, talking about the new design, says “it is now beautiful with green rib-

bons flowing through the city, tracking and echoing the paleo-channels of old rivers that used to

be there” [Hubpages, 2009] refilling the natural aquifer along the way. This mutualisitic relation-

ship is the way in which all cities need sit in symbiosis with the environment as it will bring down

our need to use energy, resources and create mass waste because nature will be doing the hard

work.

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Figure 13 -'Lang Fang Eco-city'. (2011). [Online image] Available: http://www.archdaily.com/107090/langfang-eco-smart-city-woods-bagot-hok/1_patsketch_20100422-1/ [Accessed 17th January 2012]

26

Compact and contained boundaries

An ant colony will function as an individual system, contained from any local colonies in nearby

proximity, reliant only upon themselves. Naturalist Bill Mason explains why ant colonies are so

contained (and thus sustainable), “All ants belong to extended families. Unselfishness is the rule.

Everything they do is for their colony’s good. Close relationships are the basis for their society, for

all the active workers are sisters, spawned by a single queen” [PBS. 2006]. This is also supported

by Deborah Gordon (2010 p. 2) “the colony has a ‘single will, a single law’ based on the love each

ant feels for the others”. Ants, therefore, choose not to leave the colony in which they are born

into, instead creating a tightly contained society all working together towards an ultimate goal –

sustained survival (fig. 14).

Cities function differently to that of the ant colony. Instead of functioning separately, each

city is in someway connected to another (fig. 15). The inhabitants of a city are different to that of

an ant colony because they are not all born from the same person (the ant queen) and thus don’t

share such a large family or love for one another. Therefore, individuals don’t feel the same loy-

alty to their city of birth. The ant will stay in its colony for the greater good. The human will focus

on what is beneficial to them and roam freely between cities.

Biomimicry creates a model where the population of cities would be contained within

compact boundaries, creating dense environments. Currently, the population has been able to

sprawl across the environment. “Migration of people and activities from the city centre’s to sub-

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Figure 14 - Dense colony. (n.d.a). [online image] Available: http://extraordinary-thing.blogspot.com/2010/07/scien-tist-pouring-molten-metal-into-ant.html [Accessed 19th January 2012]

citiescolonies

figure 15 - independant colonies

28

urbia has led to massive development, road-building, increased car use, congestion and pollu-

tion” [Rogers, R. 1997 p. 7]. This sprawling city is personified in Phoenix, Arizona, which is now the

size of Los Angeles but contains only one-third the population [Rogers, R. 1997] (fig. 16). As the

city spreads out, more resources are needed to sustain the population, in comparison to a dense

city.

A dense city with compact boundaries will mimic the sustainable ant colony by promot-

ing inspiring, atmospheric places. The ants live in such confined nests because they rely on

physical interaction. The busier the nest the more frequent the interactions and thus, transfer of

information through the colony. It is these interactions that allow the colony to function in a sus-

tainable manner to complete tasks, “all tasks are completed through chemical communication,

passing them through physical contact or leaving them behind” [Sleigh, C. 2003 p. 23]. Therefore,

the more dense the nest, the more efficient it functions. Taking from this, a busy, dense city cen-

tre is the core for a sustainable city. Architect Richard Rogers [1997] supports the ideology of the

‘dense city’ because, through clever planning it can be designed to “increase energy efficiency,

consume fewer resources, produce less pollution and avoid sprawling over countryside. Where

economic and social activities overlap”.

An extreme model for a future, compact city was design by Archigram in 1964. The insect-

looking ‘walking city’, was a conceptual design for a self-contained city with confining boundar-

ies [Feuerstein, G. 1996]. Barcelona is a city, which has benefitted from restoration during the

1980’s, to its former compactness (fig. 17). “The aim was to minimise suburban expansion be-

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Figure 16 - Phoenix city sprawl. (2008). [online image] Available: http://icons-ak.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/t/TravelHal/323.jpg [accessed 21st January]

Figure 17 - Barcelona centre. (n.d.). [online image] Available from: http://www.thearchitectpainter.com/MadisonG-ray/deep_SIGHT/reviews/barcelona_macba_aerial.400sharp.jpg. [Accessed 21st January 2012}

30

cause it consumes energy and takes up land” [Rogers, R. 2000 p. 5]. Instead, they created socially

open spaces, improving the atmosphere and drawing people back into the city. Thanks to its

density, it has triumphed as a regional capital [Rogers, R. 2000].

Danger of biomimicry

The counter argument to biomimicry is that it doesn’t always create good architecture. Pawlyn, a

leading architect implementing biomimicry, agrees with this: “It is worth considering the limita-

tions of biomimicry. It will not automatically produce good architecture” [Pawlyn, M. 2011 p. 2].

It is important that cities looking at biomimcry of ant colonies are careful not to implement their

principles too far. By creating extremities the needs of the inhabitants are forgotten. The major-

ity of ant colonies inhabit diverse parts of nature: under soil, rock crevasses, on tree leaves and

in tree trunks [Moffet, M. 2010]. Leafcutter ant colonies are underground. Weaver ant colonies

are up in the tree leaves. Carpenter ant colonies live in hollow trees and branches. Overtime,

ants have evolved to function perfectly in their chosen environments. For example, ants are able

to live in the dark underground without any light, even though they have poor eyesight. They

have adapted to communicate and navigate using chemicals, air currents and vibrations [Sleigh,

C. 2003]. Human’s once inhabited similar parts of the environment. The ‘Homininidae’ family,

an early human form derived from Chimpanzee’s approximately seven million years ago, “con-

structed nests in trees” [Weinstock, M. 2010 p. 149]. As humans progressed, civilisations adapted

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Figure 19 - Derinkuyu underground city. (2011). [online image] Available: http://www.mastertourism.com/2011/08/derinkuyu-underground-city.html. [Accessed 19th January 2012]

Figure 18 -Underground colony. (n.d.a) [online image] Available from: http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4728516_ant-colony-operate.html [Accessed 21st January 2012]

32

the environment to the needs of the inhabitants. The Arabic city of Petra, Jordan, approximately

fifteen hundred years before Christ, was a city where humans lived deep inside a desert gorge

sheltered from the desert climate. [Visitjordan. 2010]. Through the evolution and adaption of the

human and its technology, the majority of today’s cities begin from ground level upwards. This is

where humans have become best suited.

If cities were to implement biomimicry of ant colonies to the extreme they would be resorting

back to bygone techniques. Cities would be found underground and aboveground. This would

appear the most sustainable solution, as ant colonies have survived in this manner with minimal.

In contrast, cities have decimated landscapes.

However, humans are no longer suited to live below the ground, they require sunlight for

maintaining health. They cannot see in the dark and daylight is widely accepted to have a posi-

tive psychological effect on the human being. The ancient underground city of Derinkuyu, Tur-

key [Mastertourisim. 2011], which bares remarkable resemblance to the underground colonies of

the Leafcutter ant, is testimony to human’s inability to live underground as it now lies empty (fig.

18 and19). In a modern adaptation, BNKR Architectura has designed ‘The Earthscraper’, a three

hundred meter deep residence [Archdaily. 2011] (fig. 20). Pawlyn says, “Architecture should have

an emotional dimension – it should touch the spirit, be uplifiting and celebrate the age” [Pawlyn,

M. 2011]. Building underground away from sunlight is against everything humans have evolved

to be.

The book Neuromancer, a 1984 novel about a future cyber city, describes desperate,

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depressive, dysfunctional cities built for technology, not the people. It provoked the idea that

cities solely focused on being environmentally sustainable, where humans come second, can

no longer function. Thus, living underground may be most environmentally sustainable, but it is

not humanly functional which is why biomimicry needs to be implemented carefully [Gibson, W.

1984].

Figure 20 -'Earthscraper'. (2011). [Online image] Available: http://www.archdaily.com/156357/the-earthscraper-bnkr-arquitectura/ [Accessed 17th January 2012]

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Conclusion of investigation

35

It is possible to create sustainable cities through biomimicry of ant colonies. I believe this be-

cause they are a lot of similarities between the ant colony and the human city, past and present.

For example, the paragraph ‘closed-loop systems’ explains that alongside humans, ants are the

only other living species that farms to create future food resources. Yet, they do this in a sus-

tainable manner. Using biomimicry to learn from the ant colonies creates a sustainable model,

which can be applied to cities. It is important to remember that biomimicry is not just imitating

nature. As stated in section one, it is taking the functionality of a natural system and adapting it

to a man-made system so that it may run incoherence with the environment. Consequently, the

similarities and the adaptability of their solutions, has convinced me that biomimicry can create

sustainable cities.

I stated in the introduction that ‘natures systems are sustainable and efficient because

everything endears to a set of principals, which in turn rule the organic world. These are: fitting

form to function, powered by solar energy, only using required energy, maximising diversity,

rewarding co-operation and recycling everything’. Each of these principals were covered in my

analysis of ant colonies and explained how they would make the city sustainable by creating an

equivalent

solution:

- ‘Evolution and adaptation’ explained why colonies were so adaptable and thus diverse. The

cities equivalent would be sensory systems acting as ‘living architecture’.

- ‘Closed-loop systems’ looked at how ants generated energy sources and recycled their

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waste. Cities must be cyclical eradicating a waste output.

- ‘The city in coherence with the environment’ looked at cities creating a mutualisitic rela-

tionship with the local environment.

- ‘Compact and contained boundaries’ looked at how a colony was rewarded for the co-

operation of its individuals. This corresponds to cities benefitting from a dense and com-

pacted population.

However, my research also revealed how biomimicry was not always the answer and how

problems may occur with this approach. The implementation of biomimicry in the city would

generate short-term problems. This is because cities are product based and they would have

to alter their cultures to become resource-driven like ant colonies. I experienced this first

hand whilst on my study trip in Stuttgart in November 2011. Le Corbusier attempted to create

a better standard of living post-war and created a radically new way of living in his houses he

designed on the Weissenhoff estate, 1927. This new style of living was so different to that of

the traditional way that they were empty for long periods.

Conclusively, learning from ant colonies and adopting their principles will create sustain-

able cities for the future. The ant colonies are testimony to their sustainability having survived

for nearly two hundred million years in contrast to humans five hundred thousand years on

Earth [Sleigh, C. 2003].

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38

References and bibliography

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Books:

Rogers, R. (2000). Cities for a small country. London: Faber and Faber

Rogers, R. (1997). Cities for a small planet. London: Faber and Faber

Lovelock, L. (2007). The revenge of Gaia. London: Penguin Books

Kelly, K. (1995). Out of control: The new biology of machines, social systems and the eco-nomic world. New York: Basic Books

Pawlyn, M. (2011). Biomimicry in Architecture. London: RIBA Publishing

Benyus, J. (2003). Biomimicry: Innovation inspired by nature. Hammersmith: Harper Collins

Aldersey-Williams, H. (2003). Zoomorphic Architecture: New animal Architecture. London: Laurence King Publishing

Bonabeau, E. (1999). Swarm Intelligence: From natural to artificial systems. New York: Oxford University Press

Gordon, D. (2010). Ant encounters: Interaction networks and colony behaviour. Princeton: Princeton University Press

Johnson, S. (2002). Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software. London: Penguin books

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Jones, R. (2011). Extreme Insects. Hammersmith: Harper Collins

Sleigh, C. (2003). Ant. London: Reaktion Books

Braungart, M. and McDonough, W. (2009). Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things. London: Vintage Books

Spuybroek, L. (2009). Architecture of variation. London: Thames and Hudson

Feuerstein, G. (2002). Biomorphic Architecture: Human and animal forms in Architecture. Fellbach: Edition Axel Menges

Newman, P. and Jennings, I. (2008). Cities as sustainable ecosystems: principles and practices. Washington: Island Press

Moffet, M. (2010). Adventures Among Ants: A Global Safari with a Cast of Trillions. California: University of California Press

Gibson, W. (1984). Neuromancer. New York: Ace Books

Weinstock, M. (2010) The architecture of emergence. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons LTD

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HOK Architects. (2010). HOK Planning Team Wins AIA HK Chapter Merit Award for Langfang Eco-Smart City Urban Design. [online] Available: http://www.hokasiapacific.com/news_56.htm. [Accessed 22nd December]

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Visit Jordan. (2010). History and culture. [online] Available: http://www.visitjordan.com/visitjor-dan_cms/ExploreJordan/HistoryCulture/tabid/71/Default.aspx. [Accessed 17th January 2012]

Archdaily. (2011). The Earthscraper. [online] Available: http://www.archdaily.com/156357/the-earthscraper-bnkr-arquitectura/. [Accessed 17th January 2012]

Master tourism. (2011). Derinkuyu underground city. [online] Available: http://www.master-tourism.com/2011/08/derinkuyu-underground-city.html. [Accessed 19th January 2012]

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Portable Document Format:

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Deelstra, T. and Girardet, H. Urban Agriculture and sustainable cities. [PDF] [Accessed 7th No-vember 2011]

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Images:vAnts growing fungi. (2011). [online imsge] Available: http://hiddencause.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/the-occasional-hymenoptera-leaf-cutters-spreadl/ [Accessed 21st January 2012]

Masdar city. (2011). [online image] Avaliable from : http://inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2011/05/masdar-city-tafline-laylin-1-537x387.jpg [Accessed 21st January 2012]

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Sensory facade system from The Bartlett School. (n.d.a) [online image] Available: http://www.ruairiglynn.co.uk/teaching/bartlettucl/ [Accessed 19th Jnuary 2012]

Phoenix city sprawl. (2008). [online image] Available: http://icons-ak.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/t/TravelHal/323.jpg [accessed 21st January]

Barcelona centre. (n.d.). [online image] Available from: http://www.thearchitectpainter.com/MadisonGray/deep_SIGHT/reviews/barcelona_macba_aerial.400sharp.jpg. [Accessed 21st Janu-ary 2012}

Underground colony. (n.d.a) [online image] Available from: http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4728516_ant-colony-operate.html [Accessed 21st January 2012]

Master tourism. (2011). [onlineimage] Derinkuyu underground city. Available: http://www.mas-tertourism.com/2011/08/derinkuyu-underground-city.html. [Accessed 19th January 2012]

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Earthscraper. (2011). [Online image] Available: http://www.archdaily.com/156357/the-earth-scraper-bnkr-arquitectura/ [Accessed 17th January 2012]

Selected Bibliography:

Brayer, M. and Alison, J. (2007). Future cites: Experiment and Utopia in Architecture. London: Thomas Hudson

Watts, J. (2003). Six degrees: The science of a connected age. London: Vintage Books

Strogatz, S. (2003). Sync: The emerging science of spontaneous order. London: Penguin Books

Battle, G. and Mccarthy, C. (1997). Sustainble ecosystems and the building enviroment. Chich-ester: Wiley-Academy

Fordham, M. and Thomas, R. (1996). Enviromental design: An interoduction for architects and engineers. Glasgow: Bell and Bain LTD

Newman, P. and Jennings, I. (2008). Cities as Sustainable Ecosystems: Principles and Practices. Washington: Island press

Gruba, P. (2011). Biomimitecs in Architecture: Architecture of life and buildings. New York: Springer Wein

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