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Lessons From Nature: Uncovering Solutions for Tackling the UK Climate Emergency

Part 2 Dissertation 2024
Oliver Porteous-Williams
University of Bath | UK
The innate ability of all life to continuously adapt to its environment, even in the face of constantly evolving challenges, sharply contrasts with the limitations of the current built environment. The multifaceted role of architecture is fundamentally rooted in meeting the needs of people. This means that architecture must strive to address environmental and surrounding challenges in order to fulfil its role. Given this, if both architecture and nature face similar environmental challenges, why can't their solutions be interconnected?

Today, the anticipated climate conditions in the UK necessitate dynamic, rather than static, solutions for the built environment. Many buildings in the UK currently lack efficient means to respond to climate extremes, thereby contributing to climate change. Consulting biomimetic design may offer a way to incorporate adaptive natural mechanisms into architectural solutions.

While biomimetic morphology is not a new concept in architecture, its complexity makes it a design strategy that is limited in its application and accessibility. Therefore, it is hoped that this paper will address these limitations by defining the link between nature and architecture, ultimately catalysing its mainstream adoption and fostering a new adaptive-focused mentality in the field of building design.

Oliver Porteous-Williams

Tutor(s)
Aoife Houlihan Wiberg
2024
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