Structural Inspiration

For the SSEF competition, our studio has been asked to look at biomimicry for ideas, or what I would call, inspiration. Many will argue that nature has already solved what humans have been researching their entire lives. In my case, how does nature deal with structure?

In my research I looked the basic structure of animals or living things. There are two types of structural systems in an animal, animals that have either an exoskeleton or endoskeleton.

Common organisms that have an exoskeleton are clams, snails, lobsters and crabs. Others are grasshoppers, cockroaches, and insects. What do most of them have in common? They use their exoskeleton as a form of protection.

Endoskeletons are a structural form that most of us can relate to because humans have one. This is when it is inside the organism or animal. Examples are how we have ribs to protect our organs and a spine to be able to walk. But what I stumbled upon is how unique a giraffe's neck is, apparently we have 7 of these in our own bodies.

So how does this relate to architecture you may ask? I tried thinking of a scenario where this can be architecturally presented and I automatically thought of a cave in Luang Prabang, Laos.

And then I started looking into Cave Architecture...

So I imagine possibly having some sort of deck on the exterior or entrance of the cave, to be expressed as "protection" and a steel structure continuing into the interior of a cave, that can possibly be used to reinforce a cave. Sketches can be seen below.

So that's it for now, until I find a proper site in Canada, I can continue with my quest with steel in a cave.