What are the best practices we have learned from animals in building our environment?

Biomimicry - Taking inspiration from nature to solve human problems

Why do we need tools and shelter?

Animals and organisms found in nature protect themselves from predators and environmental circumstances by adapting physical and chemical features.  

The Anasazi built their homes underground, much like ants found in the same regions. No trees can be found in these Southwestern areas, and the only resources to build with is the Earth's soil itself, so people in this region find inspiration from the animals around them, which are ants and termites. The great pueblos the Anasazi built mimic the structure of termite and ant hills, with particular chambers for different purposes. Both Anasazi and ants/termites utilize specific underground set-ups/ventilation systems to make natural air-conditioning.

Similarly, the Korowai people of New Guinea build scaffolds in the trees to form tree houses and their inspiration comes from the animals around them, namely monkeys who also build their homes in the trees. Their ecosystem is wet and tree-dens, offering a different lens of inspiration for the residents to base their houses from in comparison to the dry region the Anasazi gain inspiration from.

In the medical world, bio-mimicry saves lives. A skin graft technology based off of the spiny head of an intestinal parasite holds to skin three times stronger than surgical tapes. This allows for the skin to grow back without any movement disrupting recovery time.

Many other fields utilize animal functions to improve technology, such as birds inspiring flight in the form of airplanes. Not only does the obvious structure of flying animals provide insight to humans for flight, but upon further inspection their molecular skeletal structure gives engineers and designers something to work with when creating lighter materials for flying machines, cars and even submarines. This is similar to the structure of the strong honeycomb, formed by bees to house their babies, contain honey and support their living structure. Engineers use the honeycomb to create lighter and stronger materials in skyscrapers.

Robotics are also a big field where biomimicry is a necessity. Without the structure of the animal brain as a model, artificial intelligence would be unheard of and robots like the wildcat (shown below) wouldn't exist without the knowledge of the structure of actual cats.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auywGtQq5J0

Communal architecture vs modern which one is more sustainable?

Communal architecture was defined by Pietro Belluschi as " a communal art, not produced by a few intellectuals or specialists but by the spontaneous continuing activity of a whole people with a common heritage, acting under a community of experience." Communal architecture is usually seen in developing or third world countries. It is based around the idea that community members come together to combat their need for shelter and protection by building into their natural surroundings. Communal architecture is sustainable because people use local materials and design housing structures depending on their climate, topography, and cultural activity. Some examples of communal architecture include the Anastazi of Mesa Verde, and the Senegal mud houses.

Modern architecture is typically identified by its use of geometric structures, simplicity and lack of excess decorations. Although people continue develop sustainable design in modern architecture, for the most part modern architecture is not sustainable because it is designed for a profit and for people to want to live there not like communal architecture where the native people use the resources and materials that they have at their disposal to enhance their culture and way of life.

Reading Comparison

Me and Mike compared the two readings this week so find their similarities and differences. What we found was they they both had an overall topic of how people used their resources. Both authors created a discussion over how indigenous people used their natural resources in their homes.  Collapse talked about how the people of Easter Island misused their resources by deforesting the entire island and using many of their resources to create giant statues as idols to their Gods. Architecture talked about how people used vernacular architecture to successfully create homes in their environments. It talks about people making their cities out of the sides of mountains to help protect their people and to define their territory. Both pieces also talk about how we have evolved over time, and how we have changed from a more basic society to a more complex one. Collapse however takes a more pessimistic look at society and looks at more what people did wrong to eventually cause the collapse of their society. Collapse also talks about many other reasons besides resources why societies collapse such as trade partners and weather. Architecture tends to take a more positive look at society and talks more about how people used vernacular architecture in a positive way to advance their society.

5 factors that lead to past societies collapse Sarah Renken and Jacob Smith

5 factors that lead to past societies collapse

Climate Change

-long term change, weather conditions, drought which led to famine.

Timing couldn’t have been worse for the group of colonists who came ashore on Roanoke Island in 1587, attempting to establish the first permanent English settlement in the New World. Along with the usual hardships of starting a new society on the edge of the wilderness, the colonists were confronted with the region’s worst drought in 700 years, which caused mass starvation and aggravated tense relations with Native Americans. By 1590, the ill-fated settlers had vanished with little trace. Roanoke’s collapse in the face of harsh climate puts it in distinguished company.

Collapse of essential trading partners

Loss of trading partners can lead to collapse when a societies livelihood depends on trade.Trade was one of the most important aspects in the Roman Empire.  Trade routes were across the Mediterranean and Black Seas, roads were also built leading to and from Rome.  The Roman navy patrolled the Seas protecting from Pirates.  When the Roman empire collapsed, roads were left unkept, and the seas were unpatrolled leading to an increase in Pirating, causing trade to stop with the what was left of the roman empire.  

Hostile Neighbors

Hostile Neighbors contribute to the fall of past societies.  Societies are less likely to hold off hostile neighbors when they are weakened by another reason.  For example, when Ancient Rome was weakened by several factors (environmental reasons etc.) and was inevitably taken over by the Barbarians because of their vulnerability.  Previously, they were able to protect themselves because they were strong.

Environmental Problems

Includes: erosion, soil problems, deforestation, habitat destruction, water management, overhunting, overfishing, effects of introduced species on native species population growth.

Farming: supplying enough food to keep a society viable.  

Not innovating technology, causing a heavy reliance on trade

Failure to Adapt to Environmental Issues

If societies fail to adapt to the way their environment is responding to them, they will ultimately collapse because their environment cannot support unsustainable behavior forever.

Example: Mayan collapse was due to population increase, exhaustion of soils and forests, and drought.  Although, Mayan civilisation disintegrated largely because its leaders, while capable of empire building, failed to recognise and respond to societal challenges that included a damaged environment, shrinking natural resource base and changing climate.

Arielle and Connor What caused Easter Island to Collapse?

Collapse of Easter Island

Why did Easter Island Collapse?

·      Depletion of resources (deforestation)

·      Lack of trading partners

·      Political, social, religious factors

The collapse of Easter Island is heavily due to its isolated geographical location. The closest landmass to Easter Island was Chile, which was 2,300 miles to the east, and the Pitcairn Islands, which were 1,300 miles to the west. Due to the extreme distances between Easter Island and the mainland they did not have consistent trading partners. This caused them to exhaust their resources before they could be naturally renewed. The citizens of the island, the Rapanui, carved large statues known as Moai, out of stone to represent their ancestral deities. They cut down trees to clear pathways to move the Moai around the island. They also used the trees as logs to push the statues.  This then caused the soil to erode and they could no longer grow crops for food. This deforestation also led to a decline in native bird populations, which the Rapanui used as a food source.  The Rapanui became angry with their leaders and blamed their ancestors for what they thought was a curse on their civilization. They began knocking over the Moai statues as a sign of rebellion. The final Moai statue was knocked down in 1840.

Staying warm/cool before modern air conditioning

Staying warm/cool before modern air conditioning

Korea

     Ondol--

           -Ondols utilize a wood fire furnace outside homes to draw heat into subfloor channels

           -Masonry flooring maintained warmth for extended periods

           -Chimneys on exterior of homes allowed for drafts to consistently draw heat 

                under the entirety of a building

           -Burned predominantly biomass

           -Cultural prevalence of sitting on the floor in Korea 

Windcatchers

           -Tall towers and walls create drafts in buildings below by creating drafts

           -Creates much air circulation in the buildings in hot climates

           -Sometimes air is drawn underground to allow for the thermal mass of the earth to cool it

           -Used to cool water reservoirs as well

           -Tall construction has added benefit of increased shade at ground level

           -Earthen construction's low specific heat and high thermal mass maintains temperature well

           -Used minimal windows that are shaded or face away from sunlight

Adobe Construction

           -Utilizes thermal mass of adobe construction to maintain cool temperatures through the day time

           -Recessed windows limit direct light indoors

           -Thick roofs warm/cool slowly, allowing the cooling effect of the night to persist through day

NYSE

           -the New York Stock Exchange had first modern air conditioning system installed in 1902

           -Ran off of exhaust steam from other building systems

Ian Kilpa

David Brusstar

       

Societies in the Past: What We Learn from Success and Failure Stories?

In this class, we discuss two pieces of literature: "Architecture without Architects" and Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed."