Biomimicry
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Nature inspired innovation
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The Termite and the Architect

The Termite and the Architect | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

"In  1991, the multinational Old Mutual investment group approached the Zimbabwean architect Mick Pearce with an audacious assignment. The group wished to construct a retail and office complex called the Eastgate Centre in Zimbabwe’s capital city of Harare that, at 55,000 square meters, would be the country’s largest commercial building. What Old Mutual didn’t wish to do was pay the high cost of air-conditioning such a massive space. Could Pearce, working with the Arup construction firm, devise a design that relied solely on passive, natural climate  control? Pondering the problem, Pearce found inspiration in the termite mounds that dotted the savannas across his country. "

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Green Building in Zimbabwe Modelled on Termites: Eastegate Centre

Green Building in Zimbabwe Modelled on Termites: Eastegate Centre | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

The Eastgate Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe, typifies the best of green architecture and ecologically sensitive adaptation. The country’s largest office and shopping complex is an architectural marvel in its use of biomimicry principles. The mid-rise building, designed by architect Mick Pearce in conjunction with engineers at Arup Associates, has no conventional air-conditioning or heating, yet stays regulated year round with dramatically less energy consumption using design methods inspired by indigenous Zimbabwean masonry and the self-cooling mounds of African termites!

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