Beyond biomimicry: What termites can tell us about realizing the living building.

摘要: Termites and the structures they build have been used as exemplars of biomimetic designs for climate control in buildings, like Zimbabwe's Eastgate Centre, various other "termite-inspired" buildings. Remarkably, these are based upon an erroneous conception how termite mounds actually work. In this article, we review recent progress structure function mounds, outline new building that could arise from better understanding. We also suggest "extended organism" provides a model to take architecture "beyond biomimicry"—from buildings merely imitate life are, sense, alive.