An analysis on responsive architectural facades in the 21st century within the context of biomimicry

Throughout history, humankind has taken nature as an example in every field and has observed nature to seek solutions to problems. In this context, the concept of biomimicry came about and served as a bridge between nature and design. Biomimicry is a field that allows for organisms in nature to be examined, as well as integrate strategies developed by nature into design. Like the skins of organisms in nature, architectural facades create the border between buildings and nature, and fulfill an important role in meeting comfort needs of their users. Furthermore, building facades have a large impact on energy consumption, thus, contribute a significant portion of damage done to nature. In regards to that, it can be foreseen that facade designs that use biomimicry as a design method help increase the relationship between architecture and the environment, as well as benefit sustainability while meeting the comfort requirements of the users. With the help of 21st century technological advancements, responsive facade designs that can react to changes in environmental factors, and are sustainable, energy efficient, able to be adjusted based on user needs and wishes and are designed with smart materials, have gained importance. This thesis focuses on 21st century responsive facades that used biomimicry as their design method. The following buildings fulfilling determined criteria have been analyzed within the scope of the thesis; Council House 2, Q1 Building, One Ocean Thematic Pavilion, Al Bahr Towers, Mokyeonri Wood Museum and Hive House. The facade design of these buildings have been inspected based on the organism they took inspiration from, their levels and approaches of biomimicry, their responsive facade systems and their impact on sustainability. The results on their inspection put forth that responsive facade designs that take advantage of biomimicry benefit nature and sustainability in thermal comfort, natural lighting and natural ventilation. With the advancements in material technologies, it is thought that the use of the organism and behavior levels of biomimicry will help transform responsive facade designs into facades that behave like organisms.