Every architect in the world is trying to incorporate at least some green building principles into each new building design because this is what the world demands. However, a few leading designers are really taking things up a notch with bionic buildings that don’t just act kindly to the Earth but are actually inspired by things found in nature. These aren’t your standard rectangular buildings with some solar panels built in; they are buildings based on the curves and biological structures that are present in the natural world today.

Take a look at the work of these five leading designers in the bionic architecture movement:

1. Vincent Callebaut. This young French designer is really setting trends in forward-thinking architecture. He is best known for the mixed-use Anti-Smog Building he erected in Paris which not only has a unique design to its shape but actually sucks the smog from the streets of Paris and converts it into recycled energy. One of his neatest upcoming projects is The Lilypad, an “auto-sufficient amphibious city” designed to serve as a refuge for those people who get displaced due to global warming. The floating structure is based on the design of a lilypad and will actually rise slightly as water levels rise due to climate changes.
2. William McDonough. McDonough has founded a 40+ person firm of architects committed to sustainable design and has been a lead designer on several bionic architecture projects. The most well-known of these is the Treescraper Tower of Tomorrow, a futuristic skyscraper mimicking the design of a tree. Wastewater recycles through the building in a way similar to how a tree re-uses water and nutrients over time to create a green building beautified by gardens.
3. Greg Lynn. This architecture professor is known not only for his designs but also for coining the term “blobitecture” which refers to the type of non-linear architecture implemented in bionic buildings. One example of his work is the design of The Embryological House, a blob-like house kit that would allow for quick modifications to homes based on the needs of the residents and the relationship of the home to the surrounding environment.
4. Jan Kaplicky. The wings of flies and the interiors of caves are some of the natural sources of inspiration used in the designs that come out of Future Systems, an architectural firm founded by Jan Kaplicky. A floating bridge designed to look like a colorful insect and a media centre actually constructed by a boat-building company are a couple of the firm’s more interesting projects.
5. Foster and Partners. This design firm doesn’t focus solely on bionic buildings but does pay attention to the climate and culture of an area when creating its designs which has caused some bionic architecture to emerge from its offices. A leading example is City Hall in London; just looking at the curvilinear shape of the building causes you to think more about spheres and shapes in nature than about traditional urban skyscrapers.

Photos:

· Callebaut’s Lilypad: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2110/2421167510_70d4e6211c.jpg?v=0

· McDonough’s Treescraper: http://inlinethumb21.webshots.com/39316/2982127250102347975S600x600Q85.jpg

· Greg Lynn’s Embryological House: http://www.artbyte.com/mag/nov_dec_00/images/lynn.jpg

· Kaplicky’s National Library of Prague: http://www.bdonline.co.uk/Pictures/468xAny/c/x/o/Prague_library_south_ready.jpg

· Foster and Partners’ City Hall: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/City.hall.london.arp.jpg/800px-City.hall.london.arp.jpg

Categories: Architectural Design, Urban Design, Environmental Design