Negin Imani

• PhD, MArchEng. BArchEng (Hons)
• Research Fellow at University of Otago

Insufficient daylighting can negatively affect working quality and productivity and increase lighting energy consumption in buildings. Particularly, the western orientation has a non-uniform daylighting distribution, especially at the zone next to the window resulting from the unequal radiation distribution of sunlight. Therefore, this study presen...

This book includes a review of the use of biomimicry in modern building design; how both the Saharan ant and the zebra have inspired strategies for reducing energy use in Panama City; how the study of biomimetics can contribute to city regeneration; the description of a method to connect the thermal physiology of plants and animals to thermal chall...

Nature has been the source of inspiration for the design and construction of buildings in various ways and at different levels of complexity [...]

The literature shows that translating the thermal adaptation mechanisms of biological organisms to building design solutions can improve energy performance. In the context of bio-inspired thermoregulation several worthwhile attempts have been made to develop a framework for finding relevant thermal adaptation mechanisms in nature as inspiration for...

General anesthesia as used for rodent research can have adverse effects on physiologic mechanisms. Thermoregulation is often greatly inhibited, with resultant deleterious effects on cardiac and respiratory function. These potential effects can be mitigated by providing external heat support. The circulating warm water blanket and associated heat pu...

This book describes the detailed process behind the development of a comprehensive thermo-bio-architectural framework (the ThBA). This framework systematically connects the thermal performance requirements of a building to relevant solutions found in the natural world. This is the first time that architecture has been connected to biology in this m...

The initial aim of the research was to develop a framework that would enable architects to look for thermoregulation methods in nature as inspiration for designing energy efficient buildings. The thermo-bio-architectural framework (ThBA) assumes designers will start with a thermal challenge in a building and then look in a systematic way for how th...

Biomimicry has attracted the attention of scholars and architects because of its potential for contributing to the design of energy efficient buildings. Given the importance of energy efficient buildings in reducing global building energy consumption, the aim of this research was to investigate the practical usefulness of a framework developed for...

Design inspired by nature has been known as biomimicry or biomimetic design that is believed to transform human technologies into a sustainable status through translation of biological models, systems, and processes. Considering energy efficiency as one of the aspects of sustainability in the concept of bio-inspired building design, the problem was...

This paper discusses the characteristics of and relationships between the most common building energy performance tools for simulating and visualising the thermal behaviour of buildings at the early stage of building design. The necessity for the latter and the importance of using relevant tools in practice are discussed. By highlighting existing g...

The advancement of technology has been a prelude to the emergence of different ways of nature inspiration, such as biomimicry, which has led to the lack of recognition of how to model and inspire nature in order to make a scientific review of architectural projects from the biomimetic perspective. The aim of this study was to define a model, using...

This chapter systematically analyzes the existing literature on bio-inspired materials used in architecture, construction, and building design. Imitating nature accounts for an effective strategy for designing innovative buildings. Integrating this biomimicry strategy into the design process generates benefits for both designers and the natural env...

Global population growth and economic growth increase the demand for more buildings and thus more construction materials. Increases in production of construction materials lead also to greenhouse gas emission rise and depletion of natural resources. One of these materials is insulation, which increasingly plays a vital role in the energy performanc...

Systematic literature reviews originated in biomedical science. They are methods to systematically identify, select and critically appraise evidence. They form the foundation of the process reported here which has investigated whether there is any evidence in the literature showing that biomimicry might be a generalizable principle that could assis...

Antoni Gaudi and Santiago Calatrava have reputation for designing bio-inspired creative and technical buildings. Even though they have followed different independent approaches towards design, the source of bio-inspiration seems to be common. Taking a closer look at their projects reveals that Calatrava has been influenced by Gaudi in terms of inte...