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Insect-Inspired Architecture: Insects and Other Arthropods as a Source for Creative Design in Architecture

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Biomimetic Research for Architecture and Building Construction

Part of the book series: Biologically-Inspired Systems ((BISY,volume 8))

Abstract

Materials, structures, surfaces and buildings of insects and other arthropods are of great scientific interest. Moreover, basic knowledge about the functional principles of these structures is also highly relevant for technical applications, especially in architecture. Some of the greatest challenges for today's architecture are multifunctionality and sustainability. Insects have solved these problems during their evolution. Zoologists, entomologists and animal morphologists have collected a huge amount of information about the structure and function of such living constructions and surfaces. This information can be utilized in order to mimic them for applications in architecture. The main technology areas, in which insect solutions to problems can be applied, are the following: (1) new materials, (2) constructions, (3) surfaces, (4) adhesives and bonding technology, (5) optics and photonics. A few selected examples are discussed in this chapter, but having more than one million described species as a source for inspiration, one may expect many more ideas from entomology for insect-based biomimetics in architecture. The incorporation of additional biological knowledge into the design of artificial systems will improve their performance. However, biologists still do not have a complete understanding of how insect materials are constructed, what their performance is, how insect surfaces function, etc. Hence, many technological areas will benefit from additional entomological research. Additionally, most of the huge variety of insects and their systems have been not previously studied at all. This is the reason that the screening for new systems with interesting properties in biology seems to remain an extremely important research field in the near future.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are very grateful to Jan Knippers (Stuttgart) and Oliver Betz (Tübingen) for their valuable comments on an early version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, Zoological Institute of the Kiel University, Am Botanischen Garten 9, D-24118, Kiel, Germany

    Stanislav N. Gorb & Elena V. Gorb

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  1. Stanislav N. Gorb
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  2. Elena V. Gorb
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Correspondence to Stanislav N. Gorb .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. of Building Structures, University of Stuttgart Inst. of Building Structures, Stuttgart, Germany

    Jan Knippers

  2. Angewandte Mineralogie, Universität Tübingen Angewandte Mineralogie, Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

    Klaus G. Nickel

  3. Botanischer Garten der Uni. Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

    Thomas Speck

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Gorb, S.N., Gorb, E.V. (2016). Insect-Inspired Architecture: Insects and Other Arthropods as a Source for Creative Design in Architecture. In: Knippers, J., Nickel, K., Speck, T. (eds) Biomimetic Research for Architecture and Building Construction. Biologically-Inspired Systems, vol 8. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46374-2_4

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