Nature is all (around/for) us.

It impresses us with its beauty and (supplies/supply) us with everything we need to survive.

It also provides some people (to/with) the inspiration to create things in a new way.

The act of (creating/created) things based on nature (being/is) called "biomimicry."

This term (derives/is derived) from the Greek words bios, meaning "life," and mimesis, (meaning/means) "imitation."

Architects who (using/use) biomimicry look (after/at) nature as an incredibly successful engineer who has already  (been come/come) up with  answers to some of the problems they now (face/facing).

They carefully study plants, animals, and (the other/other) aspects of nature to learn how they work.

As a result, they (have been/are) able to find some innovative solutions to (engineer/engineering) and architectural challenges.

The Sagrada Familia is an (enormously/enormous) church in Barcelona, Spain.

(Designed/Design) by the world-famous architect Antoni Gaudi, the church is one of the most prominent (building/buildings) in the world.

Construction of this remarkable building (began/has begun) in 1882, and Gaudi (taking/took) over responsibility  for  its  design  in 1883.

Believe it or not, the building (is/had been) still under construction.

Some people love the Sagrada Familia and (the others/others) hate it, but nearly everyone (is fascinated by/fascinates) its unique design.

Gaudi believed that all architects should look (for/to) nature (for/to) inspiration.

This preference can be seen in all his buildings, (included/including)  the Sagrada Familia. 

He preferred the curves (finding/found) in natural objects to the straight lines found in artificial (them/ones).

Many parts of the church (incorporates/incorporate) images and forms from nature.

For example, the church's spires are (topping/topped) with spheres that resemble fruits.

There are also turtles (carve/carved) into the stone bases of columns and spiral stairs that (are resembled/resemble) the shells of sea creatures.

Perhaps the most impressive feature of the Sagrada Familia is the ceiling.

Gaudi designed the columns inside the church to resemble trees and branches, so visitors who look (down/up) can feel (as if/though) they were standing in a great forest.

The light that (coming/comes) through the small holes all over the ceiling even (is resembled/resembles) the light beaming  through leaves in a forest.

These tree-like columns are not just for decoration, though.

(Inspired by/Inspiring) trees, Gaudi gave the columns a single base that (splits/is splitted) off into branches near the top.

This allows (theirs/them) to support the roof better by distributing its weight (even/evenly).

(Because/Although) Gaudi recognized the superiority of natural forms, he was able to design a building that is both beautiful  and functional.

The Eastgate Centre is an office building and shopping complex in Harare, Zimbabwe.

(Building/Built) in 1996, it might not be as (visually/visual) impressive as the Sagrada Familia.

However, the building is an excellent example of biomimicry.

(Because/Due to) the hot climate of Harare, air conditioning systems can be very (costly/cost) to install, run, and maintain.

To solve this problem, the building's architect, Mick Pearce, turned (on/off/to/for) *termite mounds for an alternative.

Termite mounds are large structures (built by/building) certain termite species.

Scientists believe that the mounds stay cool (due to/despite of) a constant flow of air.

Each mound (has/have) a network of holes (referring/referred) to as chimneys.

It has a large central chimney and smaller outer chimneys (where/that) are close to the ground.

The heat (generated by/generates) the daily activity of the termites (rises/rising) up through the central chimney, eventually  (escapes/escaping) through the top of the mound.

In the meantime, cooler air is (pulling/pulled) in through the smaller chimneys, (keeps/keeping) the termites' home at a  comfortable  temperature during the hot day.

Also, the soil (surrounded/surrounding) the mound absorbs heat in the hot daytime hours.

Therefore, the temperature inside the mound does not increase (great/greatly) and (staying/stays) relatively cool.

At night, (when/which) the outside temperature goes down, the heat (is finally released/finally releases).

This process (is inspired/inspired) Pearce to design an innovative climate control system.

The Eastgate Centre was constructed without a conventional cooling system.

Instead, Pearce (is using/used) building materials that can store large amounts of heat.

The floors and walls of the building (absorbing/absorb) heat during the day, just like the soil of a termite mound.

The heat (releases/is released) at night, and the walls cool down, ready to store heat again by the next morning.

The structure of the building also helps (keeping/keep) the building cool.

There are openings near the base of the building, and outside air (came/comes) into the building through them.

This air (is moved/moves) through the building by a system of automatic fans.

Eventually, the air, along with heat (generating/generated by) human activity during the day, (rose/rises) upward through  the building's internal open spaces and (releases/is released) through chimneys on the roof.

As a result, the building has (not only/not) cool temperatures but also fresh air.

More importantly, the Eastgate Centre uses far less energy than other buildings, (where/which) saves money and helps  (protecting/protect) the environment from pollution.

Without the inspiration Pearce received from tiny termites, none of this would (be/have been) possible.

Using biomimicry in architecture is just one way that humans are (utilized/utilizing) the lessons of nature to improve the way  we do things.

Biomimicry is also (being used/using) to solve problems in the fields of robotics, agriculture, and many others.

(Imitated/Imitating) the ideas of nature not only helps (solving/solve) problems, but it also makes us feel closer to nature.

As a result, humans are more likely to stop (to destroy/destroying) the environment and start becoming part of (them/it) instead.

 

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