Enabling Biomimetic Place-Based Design at Scale

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Urban Planning
• Architecture

Background:

• The built environment faces challenges from climate change, resource scarcity, and population growth, necessitating integration with social and ecological systems.
• Current design and construction practices can degrade living systems and lack resilience to environmental disturbances.
• Biomimetic place-based design (BPD) offers a framework to learn from local ecosystems for more sustainable and resilient built environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the potential of biomimetic place-based design (BPD) for achieving resilient and regenerative outcomes in the built environment.
• To identify barriers hindering the widespread adoption of BPD.
• To propose an action framework for capability-building to enable scaled BPD implementation.

Main Methods:

• Literature review on biomimicry and place-based design principles.
• Analysis of challenges and opportunities for applying BPD at scale (city/region).
• Synthesis of findings from workshops conducted in the USA and Australia.

Main Results:

• Upfront resourcing for BPD knowledge bases is a significant hurdle.
• Conducting BPD at city or regional scales can enhance its value proposition by leveraging research and strategies.
• An action framework for capability-building across industry, government, and academia has been developed.

Conclusions:

• Biomimetic place-based design (BPD) holds significant potential for creating resilient and regenerative built environments.
• Scaling BPD through collaborative efforts can overcome adoption barriers and improve resource efficiency.
• The developed framework provides a resource for practitioners and guides future research and development in scaled BPD.