Current estimates suggest that buildings are responsible for about 40 percent of U.S. energy usage. Nature has potential solutions for energy efficiency by integrating systems. Specifically, insects such as termites construct habitats that are structurally stable, regulate internal temperature and provide ventilation through the form of the structure. By computationally mimicking the bottom-up building processes of integrating structural system with ventilation, this study intends to develop a new paradigm for building design. The resulting forms can provide an avenue for new solutions in construction of habitats that require little to no external energy for ventilation, particularly in developing areas where the cost of energy is prohibitive.
This research looks at structural forms and building systems from a new perspective. Rather than focusing on traditional top-down design based on generalized and codified environmental inputs, the research aims to consider the integration of the structural system as part of a responsive habitat modeled on biomimicry of nature. Agent-based modeling is a computational approach by which predictions can be made on complex systems controlled by rules of behavior of individual agent. This can be extended to the physical manifestation of agent movement and include constraints to ensure structural stability. By considering local environmental inputs and adaptable agent based algorithms, a platform will be developed in which structural forms and systems are developed that consider buildings more naturally as an extended physiology of the inhabitants, responding to both local environmental stimuli and intended structural function. This multi-disciplinary effort will build on the current state of the art in engineering, atmospheric science and entomology. In structures, it will employ biomimicry and agent-based modeling to create new paradigms for bottom-up development of section and member topologies that are integrated with environmental function. In atmospheric science, feedbacks between built environments and models of local microclimate will be explored. Numerical simulation will contribute to the state of the art in the understanding of natural ventilation. The developed topologies intend to serve as a proof of concept for fully integrated structural / mechanical building systems.
