When architect Mick Pearce set out to design and build an eco-friendly shopping center in Zimbabwe, he turned to the savannah for inspiration. The new Eastgate Centre is built without conventional air-conditioning and heating and yet it stays a comfortable temperature year round. The architects and engineers owe the revolutionary construction techniques to the lowly termite.The interior of African termite mounds must remain a constant 87 degrees in order for the fungus that termites eat to thrive. Termites achieve this by opening and closing a number of vents throughout the day. By doing this they can create a current that draws cool air into the lower part of the mound and moves the warm air out through the top.
Air surrounding the Eastgate Centre is sucked into the concrete structure and is either cooled our warmed by the building itself. Several fans draw air into the building on the first floor and filters through the building's ducts. Because of this system, Eastgate uses only 10% of the energy that a typical building of its size consumes.
This is all pretty inovative and kudos to Pearce for taking a look at how insects have adapted to handle the climate. We should take a cue from the bugs more often.
[via: arch-peace]
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