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Janine, who designed the Lavasa Township in India while Read on to know more about how the redwood forests endure
constructing this city ground up, used this particular life generative natural calamities with collective intelligent resilience.
concept as the basis of the design. She closely studied the
seasons, sun, air, water, native soil, flora, and fauna. The design Redwood Resilience
and buildings were in tandem with all things natural, in the whole The redwood forests in California exist in an otherwise ‘difficult’
new built environment. The idea was to keep intact the core natural environment due to excessive precipitation washing off
resilience of nature while transferring that to the built systems. nutrients in the soil. Furthermore, increasing global warming, add
Biomimetics contains within itself ways to rejuvenate human life to the hostile habitat around the trees. Despite this, highland
by borrowing from the age-old wisdom that resides in nature. redwoods grow up to 500-600 metres tall. Redwoods create a
sequestered coalescent layer of the coastal fog within its confines
Biomemetics/Biomimicry Needs Systems Thinking in order to fulfil its moisture needs. While the atmospheric challenge
Despite the growing adoption of green building design and is being met by the moisture capture, over the ground they remain
construction, use of building physics, and so on, it is yet to be sturdy enough to resist insect attack, fungal infection, and rot.
adopted as a universal form of sustainable design to prevent This they do by ‘communicating’ with each other. The intertwined
natural disasters viz. global warming, destruction of biodiversity, roots, though shallow, are so strongly enmeshed with each other
pandemics, or systematic loss of top soil and arable land. that they enable the trees to withstand the strong coastal lateral
For countries that are party to the COP26, achieving the pre- winds while allowing the trees to grow in height. How is it that
committed sustainability targets as also the SDG Goals would be they show resilience against rising atmospheric temperatures?
almost impossible. One finds that the massive ecosystem operates on an incredibly
This is because policies and programs remain devoid of systems intelligent system where individual microelements are fused in
thinking. There is adequate consideration and accounting of the a partnership with the larger system. The ‘burl’ at the base of a
net carbon footprint, environmental footprint, systems life cycle big redwood tree has within it a complete and self-sustainable
analysis of elements that form part of the design stage in the living system that can clone itself to grow next to the parent tree.
systems thinking approach. The tiny cones spread around the main tree to form a ‘fairy ring’
Interestingly, the lack of systems thinking appears to be a uniquely of new trees. The complex labyrinth of roots holds together the
human phenomenon. In nature, interdependence and best use of entire forest above the surface (like a counter load anchor) which
resources is tacit knowledge that is improved incrementally, while withstands storms and heavy winds. The trunk has a thick, spongy
simultaneously being passed on to each surrounding elements, bark that is resilient to fire and termites and keeps the tree alive
within the ecosystem. The ability to act relatively autonomously, longer. The tiny microstructure inside the bark is a marvel in itself.
and oblivious of the larger consequences of one’s actions, is a The spiral ringlike fibre has a hollow in the middle. This enables the
human phenomenon which finds truck with public institutions. The trees to resist lateral wind loads and prevents breaking, despite the
consequence of this has led human communities to spring up less massive heights they reach (Fig2).
symbiotically and particularly in the last century. This interdependency is so unique that each individual unit adds
Coming back to the Greek heroes, Hyperion, Helios, and Icarus. to the strength of the whole system, while simultaneously receiving
In the Californian Redwood forests, the giant redwood trees, more its ability to survive and thrive from the whole system.
than a couple of thousand years old, bear these names. These The question that begs to be answered is that if redwood trees
giant trees have spawned thousands of offspring over thousands through collective intelligence are equipped to survive over 2000
of years. They should be considered living heroes of our world, to years why are city buildings constructed with shorter life spans?
this day! Why can’t they be designed to exist symbiotically with each other?

SEPTEMBER 2022|CONSTRUCTION OPPORTUNITIES 49