What did termite mounds inspire?
Termites. In the 1990s, Mick Pearce, the building’s architect, took his inspiration from mounds built by fungus-farming termites he saw on a nature show. The insects created their own air conditioning systems that circulated hot and cool air between the mound and the outside.
How does the Eastgate building work?
The Eastgate Centre, largely made of concrete, has a ventilation system which operates in a similar way. Outside air that is drawn in is either warmed or cooled by the building mass depending on which is hotter, the building concrete or the air.
What innovative building design was inspired by termites?
One human building inspired by these principles is the Eastgate Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe. It has a porous surface that helps to store and release heat during the day-to-night cycle, much like a termite mound. This has helped to slash the energy costs of running the building.
How does termite ventilation work?
Here’s how it works: Inside the hill is a large central chimney connected to a system of conduits located in the mound’s thin, flutelike buttresses. During the day, the air in the thin buttresses warms more quickly than the air in the insulated chimney.
How do you passively cool a house?
Passive ventilation uses doors, windows, opening skylights and clerestory windows, vents, louvres and other openings to let fresh air into and through your home. This helps to provide cooling, as well as removing moisture and airborne pollutants.
Who designed Eastgate?
Mick PearceMobile & Fashion Center / Architect
How long does it take to make a termite mound?
four to five years
Termite mounds can take four to five years to build, but a really heavy downpour might cause a third of the mounds to collapse. So termites are always scurrying to rebuild their mounds as fast as the weather erodes them.
How deep is a termite nest?
The nests may be located between 4 to 18 inches or more underground and are made up of several rooms, called galleries. These galleries are connected by tunnels made of mud. The tunnels not only connect galleries, but also connect the termites to food sources.
What temperature is a termite nest?
“The Eastgate building [a famous example of a “termite-inspired” design] is modeled on the self-cooling mounds … that maintain the temperature inside their nest to within one degree of 31 °C, day and night … “ –“Indeed, termites must live in a constant temperature of exactly 87 degrees (F) to survive.”
How does a termite mound stay cool?
As the heating sunlight moves across the surface of the mound in the course of the day, different parts warm up and then cool. This shifts the temperature gradients inside the mound, which drives the internal airflow.
How much did it cost to build Eastgate Mall?
In 1976, the projected cost of Eastgate was R40 million, which had escalated to R50 million by 1979 (one thing that hasn’t changed in 40 years is the fact that estimates and actuals seldom pair up once the concrete has set).
How tall can termite mounds be?
A single termite can be barely bigger than the moon of a fingernail, its semi-transparent exoskeleton as vulnerable to sunlight as to being crushed by a child in flip-flops. But in groups of a million or two, termites are formidable architects, building mounds that can reach 17 feet (5 meters) and higher.