Author(s)

M. A. Hanafi & M. M. Naguib

Abstract

Since the energy crisis in the 1970s, there has been a rising concern to energy efficiency and the influence of building on the natural environment and thus, innovative architectural designs should satisfy the natural environmental desires as much as the client’s desires. Bio-Eco Architecture harnesses and replicates the principles found in nature in order to create built environments which benefit people and other living creatures as well as safe-guarding the biodiversity of the environment. Biomimetics in architecture will help develop a culture of active environmental design. This paper represents a comparative critical revision of five selected checklists aiming to reflect the changes in attitude that have affected sustainable design in the past 15 years as well as to combine all these concepts of sustainability for achieving the most helpful example which will not only help in creating a healthy environment but will also produce positive environmental impacts. It has been commonly noted that the main perception of nature influenced forms is basically aesthetic while little concern is given to the importance of inspiring from nature in the construction and structural performance of buildings, thus, this paper will present a comprehensive analysis of the roles that bio-inspiration (inspiring architectural form, function and construction process from natural organisms) plays in developing the concept of sustainable, ecological design and construction in contemporary architecture. This paper will discuss the significance of quantitative rating systems and checklists which could be applied to a technological worldview and are inappropriate for living system understanding and adaptation, thus, a better understanding of biological morphogenesis can usefully inform architectural

Keywords

biomimetics, wilderness and regenerative based checklist, living building certification, biophilic design, LEED, inspiration from nature