The load-bearing duct: biomimicry in structural design
Journal
Proceedings of the ICE - Engineering Sustainability
Date Issued
December 2007
Author(s)
DOI
10.1680/ensu.2007.160.4.179
Abstract
The philosophical aspects of applying the principles of biomimicry are explored in a case study of structural design. Integrating structural engineering with services engineering can be regarded, to some extent, as taking principles from biological systems and applying them to large-scale conceptual design. The end-product discussed herein a so-called load-bearing duct, a functional naturally ventilated multi-storey office building that takes the applied loading efficiently both structurally and cost-effectively giving it the potential to be sustainable throughout its design life.