PRIMARY RESEARCH

INTERVIEW

For the purpose of this research project, a BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology) consultant, Vince Conway a lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, will be contacted to conduct an interview, asking for general knowledge on BREEAM and how biomimicry might fit in to this process. The questions asked are to determine a basic understanding to the processes applied when seeking BREEAM certification and how biomimicry might fit into the application.

“BREEAM inspires developers and creators to excel, innovate and make effective use of resources. The focus on sustainability value and efficiency makes BREEAM certified developments attractive property investments and generates sustainable environments that enhance the well-being of the people who live and work in them”. (BREEAM, 2015).

According to Conway, a motivating aspect found that large international companies will set a “self-appointed requirement” to its buildings that a certification, BREEAM or something similar, must be applied. From this understanding, it is clear to see that companies with large carbon footprints are recognising the need for sustainable outcomes to their endeavours. This is signalling that companies that take a substantial amount of the earth’s natural resources are attempting to correct their own mistakes.

Interestingly, the particular grading system, seventeen points with ratings of one (being the lowest) to five (being the highest), covered a range of aspects. To achieve an ‘Excellent’ rating for a building, fives must be achieved throughout. Even with the concept, that a building could become self-sufficient through the use of biomimicry, it would still have to be graded on the BREEAM seventeen point system, therefore points that might not have been covered through biomimicry would still need to be addressed.

The response was positive showing there is knowledge of biomimicry within this industry but with regards to BREEAM, the initial cost to implement the process of sustainable aspects is high and this cost would roll on to persons purchasing the building.

QUESTIONNAIRE

For the purpose of this research project, a questionnaire was devised to determine people’s understanding of the term biomimicry. For biomimicry to be used as an inspiration source, it must first be understood. It is important to hear the opinions of students who will become the next generation of architects and designers and from the currents designers who are working full-time and might have come across biomimicry in their experiences. Due to the confidentially to this questionnaire, the exact answers are protected and have resulted in the information being displayed as pie charts to give a general overview. This also includes incomplete answers, some responses have been discounted due to the lack of information provided.

QUESTION 1 AND 2

The first two questions, (“What is your age?” and “What is your occupation?”) will help determine the age range and previous experiences of the participants. The responses received were from an age range of 18 to 54 with occupations of students and full-time designers.

QUESTION 3

Within question three, (“Please explain your understanding of the concept for biomimicry?”) it showed that a third of the students participating gave a statement reflecting the true concept of biomimicry. One student’s answer mistakes biomimicry for biomorphism (“Using shapes and materials, which can be found in nature”). The students taking the survey have better understandings of the term biomimicry than expected. Seventy-five percent of full-time designers taking part gave an accurate answer, showing that the majority of designers are aware of the concept. This is not including the unclear answer given by an Interior Designer.

QUESTION 4 AND 5

Question four and five (“Have you ever used biomimicry in your design process?” and “If yes, please explain how and why?”) are to show, if any, the real life uses of biomimicry. Only two responses gave a “yes” answer, one student and one designer; however the student did not clarify their answer, so it has been discounted. The designer’s answer described using “natural forms to provide links from external to internal spaces”. Unfortunately, as the response is limited in its explanation, it has to be presumed that this again is mistaking biomimicry for biomorphism.

QUESTION 7 AND 8

Question seven and eight (“Do you feel this concept of architecture would be useful to learn?” and “Please explain why?”) leads on from question six. Over 80% of the participants who answered feel this concept would be useful to learn. Explaining their responses within question eight, both students and designers, gave positive answers, ranging from “new ideas, structures, forms etc.” to “it’s always good to think of alternative sustainable solutions to design”. One response from a student said “no” to question seven and their reasoning was “we need to understand it to design for the modern world”. This begs the question: would teaching the knowledge of biomimicry to the next generation of architects or designers take up more time within an already demanding subject? If only select areas chosen, specifically tailored towards architecture, it may be too narrow within the overall knowledge of biomimicry.

QUESTION 6

Question six (“How widely known about do you think biomimetic design is?”) asks for the opinion of the participants of the worldly knowledge of biomimicry. Just under half of the responses describe the knowledge being “somewhat known” through to “quite wide in the field of architecture”. These are positive answers, showing that although they themselves may not know a lot about the concept, the idea is out there. One response from a student describes the words “sustainable” and “green” design being keywords for “at least the last five years” and correctly describes “biomimetic design falling somewhere in between these terms”.