Indigenous Materials

Phase 1: Research & Preliminary Design

Week 5: February 6, 2012-February 14, 2012


I believe that in order to truly be sustainable with my attempt at biomimicry, I should look into indigenous materials for my design.  I researched what the natives used in this region and they had no choice but to use local materials.  Today, some of these materials can/are being used, however, strict building codes regulate how they are implemented and often encourage non traditional methods.  

Some Design Ideas for the Lizards

Phase 1: Research & Preliminary Design

Week 4: January 27, 2012-February 6, 2012

Architecture & Material Inspiration for the Lizards

Phase 1: Research & Preliminary Design

Week 4: January 27, 2012-February 6, 2012

Some Design Ideas for the Barrel Cactus

Phase 1: Research & Preliminary Design

Week 4: January 27, 2012-February 6, 2012

Architecture & Material Inspiration for the Barrel Cactus

Phase 1: Research & Preliminary Design

Week 4: January 27, 2012-February 6, 2012

A Supplement to Air Conditioning Lizard Style

Phase 1: Research & Preliminary Design

Week 4: January 27, 2012-February 6, 2012

I thought long and hard about the lizards and how I could use their adaptations for an air conditioning supplement.  I came up with two concepts.  One uses the lizards ability to capture water through its scales and the other involves the lizards predatory instinct to inflate.

The Thorny Devil Lizard & The Texas Horned Lizard

Phase 1: Research & Preliminary Design

Week 3: January 26, 2012-January 31, 2012

My goals was to find both a wildlife and vegetation natural model to mimic.  I have already chosen the barrel cactus for my vegetation model and I was struggling to find a correlating wildlife species.  Luckily, through plenty of research I found two new friends for a wildlife representative.  The new additions are the Thorny Devil Lizard and the Texas Horned Lizard.  Even though they are from opposite sides of the world, the Thorny Devil (from Australia) and the Texas Horned Lizard (from the US), have evolved to have similar adaptive traits.  Their form, adaptive functions, and ecosystems provide me with the ability to mimic them at all levels.  In addition, they have developed similar adaptations to that of the barrel cactus.  Take a look at these lizards...

 My next step is to do what I did with the barrel cactus and determine an air conditioning supplement based on the adaptive traits/characteristics of these lizards.