The terms resiliency and sustainability, although similar in meaning, refer to different design approaches in the context of architecture and cities. Sustainability involves the preservation of natural resources to uphold ecological equilibrium, while resiliency entails the ability to rebound, adapt, and persist in moments of adversity. These concepts greatly influence and complement each other, especially in cases of designing disaster-resilient buildings. Conventional design processes relating to resilient infrastructure have been based on principles of structural robustness and integrity as a measure against anticipated natural disasters. However, sustainable resiliency points at the opportunity of reinforcing buildings by embedding them in biological and ecological systems.
In present day scenarios of changing climates and fast-paced technological disruptions, architects seek solutions that enable buildings to withstand known and unknown disasters. Resilience, a critical concept in disaster preparedness, is defined differently across various fields, from engineering to ecology. Theory and practice around disaster-resilient architecture has often focused on resistance to natural hazards and recovery after them. As we face a future of unprecedented change and uncertainty, a new approach is required to ensure that buildings and infrastructure can not only withstand shocks but also adapt to constantly evolving circumstances.
In wake of recent global natural disasters, particularly those of geological origin such as tsunamis and earthquakes, architects have turned to biomimicry as an ecological strategy to enhance the disaster resilience in construction. Biomimicry, the practice of imitating nature's designs and strategies, holds the potential to revolutionize disaster-resilience in a sustainable manner. The need for flexible and agile infrastructure is met by many principles found in biomimicry, ensuring resiliency. While the field has been primarily associated with form and process-level imitation in architecture, its application at a system level envisions buildings that adapt and thrive in changing environments.
The definition of resilience varies across different disciplines. In the context of architecture, it can be explained in four key concepts: rebound, robustness, extension, and adaptability. These concepts describe a building’s response to natural disasters, including its ability to recover, withstand shocks, and maintain functionality. Natural forms and systems have long demonstrated resilience to disturbances by adapting to changing conditions and maintaining their structure, function, and identity along similar notions. Studying these key concepts in nature can inform structural form and behavior in building design.
Natural elements have the ability to maximize their strength with the use of minimal materials and energy. Mimicking the structural form of natural elements such as trees, bones, or shells can provide clues to designing natural, resilient, and adaptive buildings. The geometrical proportions and structural properties of Bamboo inspired the design of SOM’s China World Trade Center. Located in a seismic-prone area, Beijing’s second-tallest building needed a structural system that would efficiently withstand earthquakes. Bamboo stems, marked by nodes and internodes, change in diameter where internodes are hollow, and the maximum bending resistance is found at a specific point from the stem's neutral axis. These characteristics in bamboo's load-bearing process provided a blueprint for enhancing structural resilience of the skyscraper against lateral loads.
In addition to mimicking natural forms, enhancing the resilience of building structures through biomimicry involves a combination of systemic approaches. Like nature, resilient architecture requires the ability to adapt and the capacity to respond to changing environmental conditions. Buildings must align with its surroundings, fostering cooperative relationships and mimicking nature's feedback loops, optimizing efficiency and minimizing waste. A modular approach to design, as an imitation of nature’s building blocks, boosts flexibility and agility in buildings. To foster adaptation, modularity may enable incremental adjustments to ensure resilience and resource efficiency. This inherent ability to restructure and adapt is a key attribute that can be borrowed for designing resilient infrastructure.
Natural systems continually evolve through prototyping, eliminating unsuccessful strategies through mechanisms such as mutation and natural selection. In contrast, building design leans heavily on past practices, potentially impeding innovation. To bolster structural resilience, recognizing system limitations through testing and prototyping is crucial in the design process. Embracing an evolutionary approach and accounting for past failures during design can better prepare infrastructure for unexpected disasters.
As the world faces unprecedented challenges due to rapidly changing conditions, the role of architects in designing resilient systems becomes increasingly vital. Biomimicry, at various scales of the built environment, offers a promising avenue to enhance infrastructure resilience. While the concept has been primarily applied at the level of individual organisms or specific processes, the focus must shift to ecosystem-level mimicry through implementing modularity and prototyping in the design process. The success of resilient architecture lies in the harmony between human innovation and the wisdom of nature.
