Evaluation of the effects of biomimicry applications on building design at the organism, behavior and ecosystem levels

Living intertwined with nature, man has been inspired by observing nature and has tried to understand the behaviour of living things in nature. Nature has been a source of inspiration for mankind from the past to the present. Mankind has imitated and evaluated nature while creating something. While these observations initially led to designs for the formal imitation of nature, in time they turned into an endeavour to understand the perfect order and functioning of nature. Human beings have grasped the principles of nature and adapted this knowledge to use it in their own living spaces. Biomimicry aims to create sustainable designs that will improve human life by examining the solutions developed by living things in nature in evolutionary processes. In this context, how to integrate nature's responses to the problems observed in nature into architectural designs is addressed. Organisms, behaviours and ecosystems in nature produce sustainable solutions by guiding design and form the basis of the biomimicry approach. In this thesis, the relationship between nature, human and architecture is analysed; the definition, history and importance of the concept of biomimicry are explained. Then, the relationship between biomimicry and architecture and the historical development of biomimicry with this understanding are analysed. Biomimicry approaches are basically divided into two categories: Problem Based Approach and Solution Based Approach. The study examines how the three levels of biomimicry; organism, behaviour and ecosystem, are inspired by elements in nature and how these inspirations are transformed into building designs, and how each level is used in architecture is explained with examples. It is analysed how biomimicry practices at these three levels contribute to sustainability goals and how they are effective in creating structures in harmony with the environment. As a result, the potential of biomimicry approaches in creating sustainable designs in architecture is revealed and it is shown how projects inspired by nature contribute to the creation of environmentally compatible buildings. Keywords: Biomimicry, Organism, Behaviour, Ecosystem, Sustainability, Nature, Design