Biomimetic Buildings: Copying Nature for Energy Efficiency

Dear Colleagues,

Nature has been the source of inspiration for the design and construction of buildings in various ways and at different levels of complexity. Recent years have witnessed the contribution of biomimetic principles to developing innovative materials and structural systems, strategies for the management and operation of building services, building design strategies, such as bio-inspired space layout configurations, and adaptive building envelopes. Initially, these practical implications have been inspired by biological principles found at either the micro, macro or organismal level. Due to the urgent need for climate change adaptation and mitigation, the significant contribution of these innovative solutions should be in reducing building energy use through minimising operational or embodied energy or ideally both.

The building and construction sector is responsible for about 40% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. That said, any approach to bio-inspired architecture, engineering, and construction should make a positive contribution to reducing the sector’s carbon footprint. Operational emissions come directly from fossil fuel combustion and indirectly from the equipment used for generating energy, including electricity and water use. Electricity in buildings is mainly used for heating, cooling, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, running electrical equipment, and supplying hot water. Embodied carbon includes emissions occurring across the supply chain of construction materials and building products.

This Special Issue focuses on bio-inspired approaches used for reducing building operational energy. Energy reduction is therefore expected to have been achieved through bio-inspired building design, construction or the design, development and management of HVAC systems, lighting devices and electrical equipment. Scientific contributions are invited from scientists, researchers, engineers, and industry professionals as a means of disseminating recent design strategies, inventions and developments in the field. Research papers are expected to provide numerical evidence of effect either through simulation or real data. Review papers presenting the state of the art of this research area and pointing out new directions for further research are also welcome.

Dr. Negin Imani
Dr. Brenda Vale
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomimetics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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