In the center of Roosevelt Island (New York), between Manhattan and Queens, the construction of what will be the tallest skyscraper in the world is planned: the Mandragore building. It is an innovative architectural project that will be more than 160 stories high and will be used for residential purposes. Its name refers to the mandrake plant, whose root is shaped like a human body. This skyscraper responds to a new concept, that of biomimetic architecture, which offers a hopeful future, where cities will become living organisms that will clean the air of polluting agents, reduce noise, save energy and increase ambient oxygen. Many of the solutions that are being developed in this sense are taken from nature. Infinite source of inspiration Inspiration from the natural environment has two aspects: identifying an intrinsic characteristic of some living being and from there generating technological development and seeking a solution to one of our problems from the natural environment. Etymologically biomimetic comes from "bios", life; and "mimesis", imitate; so it could literally be translated as "imitating life". In some way, Homo sapiens have reproduced some solutions from nature to design responses. And nature has found efficient solutions to all kinds of problems. As biologist Frederic Vester says, nature is the only company that has not gone bankrupt in its 4 billion years of existence. Kinetic facades, an innovative solution Architects have borrowed elements from nature to shape their buildings, both in their interior and exterior functioning and even in the ornamental details. An example is the Chicago Spire Bridge which is based on the human torso and the development of spiral structures that help cope with wind loads. A few years ago a team of architects turned their attention to cacti. These plants have a system of stomata that open at night, when the ambient temperature drops, in order to achieve a perfect thermal balance. In this strategic line, the Al Bahar towers, in Abu Dhabi, have umbrella-shaped façade panels that open and close in response to the sun, protecting users from excessive light and ambient heat, reducing the need of using air conditioning and, ultimately, making them more sustainable. This would be one of the best examples of what has been called kinetic facades, structures capable of transforming static monoliths into surfaces in constant movement. Clam shells, butterflies and termites In front of the sea in Abu Dahbi (Arab Emirates) there is a skyscraper, Aldar HQ, round with a curved glass skin, built with steel frames and assembled supports that intersect diagonally -diagrid- inspired by the clam shell Santiago Calatrava imbued himself with the design of a butterfly's wings to build the Quadracci pavilion at the Milwaukee Art Museum (United States), so that it opens and closes in bad weather and at night. A multidisciplinary team of engineers and architects borrowed the design of termite mounds to shape the ventilation system of the East Gate Center building (Zimbawe). Its innovative project is based on letting air enter through the ground floors of the building and, once hot, expelling it outside through chimneys. MORE INFORMATION The botany hidden behind the works of William Shakespeare South Korea successfully launches its first lunar mission And Antoni Gaudí already said it in the 19th century: "the architect of the future would be based on imitating nature because it is the way most durable, rational and economical of all methods. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Pedro Gargantilla is an internist at the El Escorial Hospital (Madrid) and author of several popular books.
