Biomimetic Building Skin Development: Evolutionary Designed Building Skins with Embedded Biomimetic Adaptation Behaviours

This study explores the application of biomimicry and adaptation lessons from biology in the design of building skins. Unlike conventional practices that prioritise overall building performance and replicate shading shapes and forms throughout the building skin, thisresearch shifts the focus towards occupants and their comfort. It proposes a methodology that detects and highlights the areas of the building that are most visited by occupants, aiming to enhance the thermal and visual comfort in those specific areas. To achieve this, an innovative approach combining agent-based modelling (ABM) and evolutionary design techniques is proposed. Through computational experiments, the research demonstrates that considering the morphological attributes of building skin forms during the early design exploration phase can improve occupants' view of the outside while blocking unwanted solar radiation. This leads to reduced energy consumption for cooling systems and increased energy performance optimisation. The study investigates how the biologically inspired morphological attributes of skin tissues affect the thermal and visual comfort levels of buildings, particularly in adapting to excessive solar radiation. It proposes generative and analytical processes to enhance the visual and thermal comfort levels of office floors in selected buildings. The research highlights the importance of biomimetic skin morphologies in adapting buildings to solar radiation and explores the role of biomimicry in the adaptive behaviours and design of building skins. As discussed by Steadman, 1979 in 'The Evolution of Designs: Biological Analogy in Architecture and Applied Arts', the notion of nature as a formal metaphor has evolved into one of a collection of interconnected dynamic processes that are credible applications that can be implemented to improve the built environment. By applying biomimetic attributes and evolutionary design simulations, the research demonstrates the potential for creating diverse building skin variants with improved adaptive behaviours. The morphological interventions on the original building shadings result in a wide range of morphological configurations that enhance the adaptability of the skin tissues. The study emphasises the significance of morphological variations and adaptation of skin tissues in achieving enhanced thermal and visual comfort for users. The findings highlight the potential of evolutionary design thinking, agent-based modelling, and computational tools to optimise building skins and address environmental challenges such as excessive solar radiation.