A7.

1 // Shannon Reece // Biomimetic Design

07/15/15

Abstracting Strategies
for the hydro-centric house
The purpose of this report is to describe
organism strategies related to the function
of storing liquid into engineering terms that
will assist in emulating these strategies within the built environment. This abstratction
process also helps describe a more practical design solution that is ultimately in line
with Lifes Principles.

Project Description
The hydro-centric house will have water at
its center with all water-related activities
clustered around this precious resource.
The overall intention of this new approach
is to conserve water by design. The purpose of this particular exercise is to explore
the natural world for clues and strategies
on how to re-orient the layout of the home
around water. Animals on vast plains and
deserts order their lives instinctively around
the water hole. By ordering their lives in a
similar fashion, people can become much
more resilient and able to live more independently of present infrastructure.

Ultimate Aim
The ultimate aim of the design is to change
the housing industry to create a precedent that places a premium on the efficient and responsible use of water. The
message I want to communicate is that
the increasing scarcity of fresh water demands that it not be treated as an afterthought in the design of the home but
should in fact be the central focus.

Ecological Context
The design will function in any ecology
where fresh water is scarce: desert, arctic,
oceanic, and space.

Major Function:
Store Liquid

Abstracted Strategies:
1. Leaves of Bromeliads are moisture collectors. The surface of each leaf plane is
bumpy and irregular (Fig.
1.2). Microscopic filaments
protrude from each bump
(Fig. 1.1). Filaments increase in number as the
curving surface decends
toward the liquid storage
tank. Each filament is
coated with wax crystals
that keep mositure from
adhering to the surface.

Instead the filaments shuttle water droplets

along above the actual surface

4. Convex and concave surfaces capture

water and like a half-pipe or chute shuttle
it down into a central holding tank (Fig. 1.5)

2. Tightly packed curving surfaces form a

rosette that fills with liquid and becomes a
storage pool or tank (Fig. 1.3).

5. A radial, fan-shaped arrangment of

planes and surfaces provides a better
chance of capturing rain and moisture
(Fig. 1.6).
3. The pool / tank supports several other
vital water-related functions around the
water source. As the water is used for that
particular function, the waste water is used
for yet another function further down the
line creating a resourceful and multi-functional system based on a single resource
(Fig. 1.4).

6. An underground resevoir takes in moisture and expands like a sponge. Yet its
material is thick, hardy, and impervious to
puncturing. It resists compressive forces
(Fig. 1.7).
7. A water containment system made up
of a series of bladders or sacs built into the
surface of the plane. This redundancy is
important to maintaining the water supply
- should one of the bladders be punctured
the others remain intact (Fig 1.8).